CLEVELAND— The annual spring convention of the Industrial Supply Manufacturers Assn. and the Industrial Distribution Assn. is now known as the Industrial Supply Convention, or ISCON. According to directors of ISMA, the group that hosts the event, the change reflects "dramatic changes taking place in the marketplace."

The new name is effective with ISCON 2004, scheduled for Orlando, May 23-25.

ISMA and I.D.A. divided the management of their twice yearly joint conventions in 2002. I.D.A. manages the fall convention, known as I.D.A.'s Annual Distributor & Manufacturer Business Expo, and ISMA handles the spring event.

Each group made changes to the organization of their respective events in the last year. Most notably, I.D.A. opened the fall meeting to non-ISMA manufacturers, including master distributors, foreign manufacturers and others, and ISMA opened the spring event to non-I.D.A. members.

"It is our goal to expand ISCON into a multi-faceted convention, which represents a rapidly expanding channel," said ISMA executive director Chuck Stockinger. "We want attendees to have the ultimate networking experience, in a venue that brings together the broadest possible representation of manufacturers from North America and industrial distributors from all segments of the MROP channel from around the world."

Stockinger said ISCON 2004 will continue to focus on the concerns of both distributors and manufacturers.