From her perspective as executive director of the Fluid Power Distributors Assn., Kathleen DeMarco looks over the landscape of the fluid power industry and provides a somewhat optimistic outlook on 2003 … so far.

"In 2003, we're ahead of last year by an average of about 4 percent, in terms of sales bookings," she said. "The first quarter was up by 5 percent compared to '02. May and July were down, however (3 and 5 percent, respectively). But we're still on the positive side with sales increasing overall by an average of 4 percent."

FPDA is in the midst of doing a membership scan, DeMarco said. Data is still being compiled, but so far, some positives have emerged, showing improved business morale and a more positive outlook.

In the scan, FPDA members were asked to list what factors, other than the economy, had impacted their businesses, positively and negatively.

Of the positives, she said, "The top one was that members are bringing in new product lines and also are looking at new niches to sell to. This is where much of the improvement is coming from and helping businesses to grow."

Negatives? "By far, the biggest negatives and resulting concerns was that of manufacturing moving offshore," DeMarco said, with China being a popular destination.

Other topics registering as negatives: vendor issues, margin pressures, and the general economy received frequent mention.

These figure to be among the topics that will dominate when FPDA and the National Fluid Power Assn. hold their Joint Fall Conference, set for Oct. 25-28 in Indianapolis.

Economic concerns notwithstanding, DeMarco anticipates a very strong attendance. "We are ahead of where we typically are," she said of advance registration. "We're actually looking at filling our hotel and maybe have to go elsewhere to accommodate everybody."

While FPDA-NFPA officials have scheduled a strong array of speakers and presenters, the highlight of the event may be the presentation being prepared by a unique group of manufacturers and distributors.

The group is comprised of individuals from companies such as Sunsource, Womack Machine Supply, Eaton Corporation, and Parker Hannifin, among others.

The group has been meeting for about a year and collecting views and ideas on the changes affecting both manufacturers and distributors in the general fluid power industry. They also have surveyed purchasing managers as part of their research.

The group carries with it a great deal of professional credibility. "These guys are in the trenches fighting the battles everyday," DeMarco said. "They aren't just consultants, for example."

They approached the two organizations (FPDA and NFPA) to request time at the October meeting to present their findings.

"They really want to make a positive impact and share some information that may make people think about what needs to be done to support the industry," she said. "I'm impressed by the fact that principals of major manufacturers and major distributors in the industry had the foresight a year ago to sit down and say 'We need to work on this if we want to continue to have an industry.'"

The project, tentatively entitled "The Fluid Power Industry in Transition: Perspectives from the Inside Out," will be summarized in a white paper to be released following the convention.