On Spec

Leggett & Platt, Carthage, Mo., has launched a new branch, DisplayPlan US, to provide management, strategic direction and project management for point-of-purchase and display service to its U.S.-based clients. The new branch is headquartered in Chicago.

Carl’s Jr. franchise owner MJKL Enterprises, which operates 52 locations in Arizona, is converting all corporate-fleet vehicles to operate on alternative fuel derived from waste vegetable oil (WVO) collected at its restaurants. To date, 20% of the company’s vehicles have been converted to run on a WVO-based alternative fuel, with plans to convert the remaining fleet within the next 36 months.

Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company) is encouraging its business customers to apply for more than $10 million in energy-efficiency rebates and incentives reserved for them in 2007. It is the highest level of funding for such programs in the company’s 140-year history.

The money is available through a number of programs, including the Express Efficiency Program, the Food Service Equipment Rebate Program, the Energy-Efficiency Grant Program and the Custom Process Improvement and Process Equipment Replacement programs. Visit www.socalgas.com/energyefficiency for more information.

Students at college bookstores across the country will be among the first consumers to experience a new type of dynamic advertising, one that delivers color, motion and sound literally right at their feet. C&N Sports Group, a performance-and athletic-apparel distributor, will sell digital floor displays from IntelliMat, Roanoke, Va., to some 750 collegiate bookstores nationwide.

“Not only is the IntelliMat one of the most unique products I’ve ever seen, but it has an unparalleled ability to quickly capture and hold the consumer’s attention,” said Russell Gaddy, president and CEO, C&N Sports Group, Roanoke, Va. Gaddy became familiar with the display technology during a pilot program at Virginia Tech’s University Bookstore.

The IntelliMat is a wireless computer embedded in a thin mat made of a thermoplastic alloy. Featuring four LCD screens, it creates a 30-in. diagonal display with full multimedia capability in the floor. The mat can be placed on top of virtually any floor surface. It is less than 1-in. thick, and the surround is ramped down on all four sides to bring it level to the floor.

The content on the display can be changed easily from a central location, allowing the retailer to target customers by demographics and day parts, highlight specific promotions and advertising or broadcast informational messages. Ads for C&N’s sports apparel will rotate on the mats in the college bookstores.

Tesco, one of the greenest retailers in the United Kingdom, is extending its environmental commitment to its fledgling U.S. operation. The company is installing a $13 million solar roof on its distribution center in Riverside, Calif., which is now under construction.

“We believe this will be the largest roof-mounted solar installation in California and possibly the world,” said Tim Mason, CEO, Tesco USA.

The building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing system, from Solar Integrated Technologies, Los Angeles, is expected to produce more than 2.6 million kilowatt hours per year, providing nearly a fifth of the building’s power supply. It is expected to save approximately 1,200 tons of carbondioxide emissions each year.

The solar panels will be installed on two of the five distribution center buildings, and will cover 500,000 sq. ft. of the 640,000 sq. ft. of roof space.