LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. –Differentiation: Stand Apart to Get Ahead is the theme of the Fluid Power Distributors Assn.'s Annual Meeting, to be held March 2-5.

Like many members of various distribution associations, fluid power distributors felt the effects of the severe economic recession of the last two years. The annual meeting is a chance to get away and meet peers and suppliers, but more importantly to network with others looking to become the leader in their region in sales and service, said FPDA executive director Kathy DeMarco.

The convention format changed this year to include more interactive time for members, even though the event is one day shorter, DeMarco said. That way, individuals can concentrate on their main reason for attending – meeting business partners and potential customers face-to-face, she said. For that reason, the golf and tennis outings occur on Wednesday afternoon, after adjournment of the regular meeting.

The differentiation theme will be carried through four general sessions, all aimed at helping distributors set themselves apart from the competition. The kickoff general session on Monday morning, The Many Faces of Differentiation, features two distributors, a logistics manager and a fluid power customer discussing how to become the supplier of choice.

The focus on differentiation means the association went after speakers that have created unique and positive changes for their companies, DeMarco said. Tom Berger of Fuchs Machinery in Omaha, Neb., and Colin Haase of Holland Applied Technologies, Burr Ridge, Ill., are host-participants for the first general session.

On Monday afternoon, the second general session features Tom Pryor, president of Integrated Cost Management, presenting Gross Margin Profiling. The third session, on Tuesday morning, is The Inside Scoop: Why Good Doesn't Cut It Anymore, presented by Barry Banther of Banther Consulting.

The last session is on Wednesday morning. It features Banther presenting Outside Sales is Over – Sales Leadership is an Outside Job; David Raso of Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney presenting How Investors View Manufacturers and Their Choice of Distribution Methods; and a presentation of the FISH philosophy of selling, by a speaker to be determined.

As with the general sessions, the focus groups are particularly well attended each year because they are based on topics specifically requested by members.

"We get the topic started and let the participants go, and they love it," said DeMarco. "It sometimes changes into a topic discussed elsewhere at the meeting that day, so it's very current."

A kids' program is scheduled for the first time this spring, and FPDA has a number of discounted tickets to nearby Disney World, a site DeMarco said appeals to everyone.

"When we meet near a Disney site, most everyone gets involved in going to Disney, one way or another," DeMarco said.