A recent survey of small distributors by Industrial Distribution revealed that one of the top three issues they face is finding employees and keeping the ones they train.

Belting distributors are not immune to this problem. The Strategic Planning Committee of the National Industrial Belting Distributors Assn. met in April to draft a three-year "road map" for the association. The top-priority topic that came from the meetings, according to NIBA president Wayne Hoffman, is recruiting, training and retaining employees in the industry. Finding and keeping employees becomes more difficult every year, Hoffman noted. This is reflected in many industries that are having trouble finding young people interested in pursuing a manufacturing or sales career.

In fact, one of the main topics at this year's NIBA convention was "Employment Recruitment and Retention." NIBA's 2001 focus issue is the education of members' employees, Hoffman added.

"Clearly the economy for belting is not as good as it could be. It's important to put training first, as that's how we'll get opportunities in the future," Hoffman said.

Industrial Distribution's 55th Annual Survey of Distributor Operations notes that, of more than 1,000 respondents, over half depend on formal training programs, both in- and out-of-house, to give personnel expert knowledge about products and services. According to a major belt manufacturer, the belting distributor's expertise in the field, and knowledge of product applications and problems, is the most valuable asset of all to the manufacturer.

Conveyor belting cannot be treated as a commodity, according to the manufacturer. It requires a great deal of expertise and service to meet customers' expectations. That is why formal training is so important to distributors and manufacturers.

The issue has plagued other industries, as well, in recent years. The Fluid Power Distributors Assn., for example, is so concerned about finding recruits for its technical sales positions that it got involved with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). It is a robotics competition program funded in large part by industry groups like FPDA and the Fluid Power Educational Foundation. The program's main purpose is to interest students in science and technology careers.

According to Randall Rakow, NIBA's executive vice president and CEO, employee/employer relationship issues, along with the slowing economy, are the most important issues of the year. "Distributors will do everything in their power to retain the best people. The effort to retain people is as strong as ever," he said.