For two distributors who concentrate on the general power transmission field, business has shown good improvement in 2004 but future success will hinge more on what they do internally than on anything else.

Helen Yost, vice-president at the Rowland Co., of Philadelphia, says that for her company this year, business has improved.

"But compared to the last three years, anything would be better," she laughs. "We are seeing more activity from our customers. They seem to have a more positive attitude as far as their level of activity, approval for purchases and their general business environment."

LeRoy Burcroff, vice president of sales at Bearing Services, Inc., based in Livonia, Mich., recently attended the Power Transmission Distributors Assn. summit in Orlando.

"It was the busiest and most productive summit I've seen," he said. "Everybody was busy. Distributor attendance was up, too. I heard a lot of good comments about that from manufacturers and new distributor members."

Both distributors share concerns and battle scars over steel prices and the impact they've had on their companies and the industry.

"We've had to adjust pricing and have had cost adjustments from the manufacturers more frequently and in higher percentages," Burcroff says. "And when you're trying to tie up long-term contracts with customers, it's a challenge."

Yost agrees in general, but adds that lately Rowland has seen some benefit as some steel mills have increased their orders for machinery and transmission parts.

"We're seeing more orders from them," Yost says. "Some steel mills that had been relatively quiet for the past couple of years are showing more activity again…. They need to get their equipment up and running more productively."

Both distributorships have stayed in business and maintained success by refusing to remain stagnant in the way they do business. Rowland, for example, was founded in 1732, making it "the oldest continually operating company in Philadelphia," Yost says. And while Rowland is still very involved in working with mechanical transmission industries, Yost explains, it does so with its eyes open.

"Because we're such a mature industry, we know that in order for us to stay a good solid business entity, we have to look into new product lines," she explains, "so that as the mechanical power transmission business dries up, we'll have more than our share that's in the pipeline to start replacing those older applications."

At Bearing Service, the sales force has an annual documented cost savings goal for their customers. The savings is measured on a quarterly basis, Burcroff explains, with a virtual "scorecard" being kept of the savings and documentation.

"We do this in areas such as product innovation or inventory management packages," Burcroff says. "And we'll sell various training packages as a niche for [Bearing Service]."

At its best, it can be a win-win arrangement.

"If you really hone into the areas that customers value," he says, "and they are willing to sign off on it, it can be a real feather in the cap for the customer. It is also a defensive move to keep us in the account, but can also be an offensive move to allow us to get more business."

jnowlan@reedbusiness.com