Greensboro, N.C.—Nearly 230 people turned out for the first "Safety Week" conference held here July 21-24 at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center.

"We're very pleased with the attendance," said Steve King, executive director of the Safety Equipment Distributors Assn., one of the groups sponsoring the four-day meeting. The other sponsors were The Canadian Glove Manufacturers Assn., the International Hand Protection Assn., the National Industrial Glove Distributors Assn., and the Safety Equipment Manufacturers Assn.

Speakers included: Dr. Albert Bates of the Profit Planning Group in Boulder, Colo., whose presentation included techniques for benchmarking a safety distributor's financial performance against industry averages; Charles McKiel, of b2b4business.com, who covered e-commerce; Max Carey, of CRD, who focused on "what separates a great CEO from a good CEO" and Dan Shipp, president of the International Safety Equipment Assn., who gave attendees an update on safety equipment regulatory issues.

Tim Underhill, of Tim Underhill & Associates, described how distributors and manufacturers can work together to improve channel cost efficiencies through supply chain integration. After his presentation, small groups discussed channel issues facing the safety equipment industry.