SAN ANTONIO—The National Industrial Belting Assn. convenes September 15-18 in San Antonio. The convention's theme is "Tools for Success."

Finding and keeping good employees is a major concern throughout the distribution industry, and NIBA's focus this year is education. Dr. Thomas Mahan, an expert on employee education, will present "Employment Recruitment and Retention" in the opening business session, according to NIBA.

Randall Rakow, NIBA's executive vice president, said registration for the convention is running well ahead of where it was at this time last year.

"We feel our members are perhaps saying it's the place to be this year," he said.

NIBA expects 500 to 550 people to attend.

"I strongly believe a fairly representative number of distributors are experiencing a more difficult year. With the opportunity to network, they should attend the convention," Rakow said.

Another reason to attend, he noted, is that recruitment and retention of employees is the focus this year. This was the top problem expressed by members at a strategic planning meeting in April.

Wayne Hoffman, NIBA president, also is concerned about helping fabricators battle the economy and find opportunities in recruitment and sales.

"It's a difficult year. We just had our board meeting in Vancouver and everyone was concerned about economic business problems. Networking will be more valuable than ever and [the convention] is an opportunity to recover and reach for the future," he said.