In this month's cover story (p.44) we present a special report on how industrial distributors and manufacturers responded to the tragedy at the World Trade Center in New York. Within hours of the crashes, distributors like MSC and W.W. Grainger responded with emergency equipment. Grainger was able to deliver 30 generators to the site and then donated much-needed safety supplies such as hard hats, boots, respirators and gloves.

MSC donated over $100,000 in products and many of its manufacturers added to that amount. Other distributors like Airgas, Colonial Hardware, Argo International, and A & M Industrial Supply also sent emergency products to the scene.

Many of the companies that donated supplies knew some of the people missing in the attack. In many cases they lost friends, neighbors and business associates. But these employees also knew that the supplies in their warehouses were critical to rescue attempts and they worked long hours to make sure the deliveries were made. We, too, felt the loss here at Cahners. As I mentioned last month, two of our employees — Jeff Mladenik and Andrew Curry Green — were on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane that was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center.

The National Assn. of Electrical Distributors reports that a distributor employee was killed in the crash. Michael Lowe, a driver for Liberty Electrical Supply, a division of WESCO, was making a delivery at the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred. Liberty Electrical Supply has set up a memorial fund to benefit his family. To contribute to the fund, send a check to the WESCO Memorial Fund for the Benefit of Michael Lowe, P.O. Box 643253, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15264-3253.

Other agencies are also badly in need of funds. If you would like to contribute, there is a list on p.44.

The distribution community — manufacturers and distributors alike — deserve credit for the manner in which they responded. No one thought of the financial loss to their companies. They were focused on trying to assist those injured in the crash and helping rescuers in any way possible.

Those efforts don't surprise us. We've seen it happen time and again. We've witnessed heroic efforts by distributors and manufacturers to deliver emergency supplies during Hurricane Hugo and the San Francisco earthquake. Their importance to the nation's economy is often overlooked. It shouldn't be.