Rep groups to merge

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 7/1/2000

Chicago-The Safety Equipment Manufacturers' Agents Assn. and the North American Industrial Representatives Assn. agreed in May to merge.

NIRA will become the umbrella association, while SEMAA will become NIRA's first Vertical Market Affiliate. The move is part of NIRA's plan to give more attention to selected product categories, according to association officials.

Both NIRA and SEMAA were founded in 1986. SEMAA's focus is on the industrial safety products industry, while NIRA members serve a broader range of industrial product groups.

NIRA has 207 representative and 66 manufacturer members. SEMAA has 53 representative, 27 manufacturer, and two distributor members.

NIRA president Bob Cutler and SEMAA president Craig Lindsay said the merger is in the best long-term interest of both associations.

"For NIRA, this is the first step in our desire to be the industrial association umbrella for several vertical segments of industrial products and markets," Cutler said in a prepared statement. "It has been our vision plan for several years."

"This new affiliation will allow SEMAA to stay the course on its dedication to industrial safety while taking advantage of all of the NIRA member benefits and services-especially its annual Management & Marketing Conference," Lindsay added. "And we'll be able to do all that without the added responsibilities of association governance and the financial drain of redundant expenses.

This is the ultimate win-win situation."