ASSOCIATIONS

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 2/1/2001

STAFDA announces e-commerce boot camp. The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Assn. and Steve Epner of BSW Consulting have embarked on a seven-city tour with a one-day workshop titled, "E-commerce Boot Camp," which will feature both classroom instruction and roundtable discussions.

Topics will include how the Internet and electronic commerce will affect the way products are bought and sold; how to get started in e-commerce and what the costs are; specific examples of how to build and use electronic catalogs; an explanation of the legal aspects of e-commerce; and security issues.

Epner will also discuss the five steps to a great Web presence, improving customer service while reducing operating costs, and how to develop new ways to approach the sales process.

Remaining locations and dates are: Atlanta, Feb. 16; Dallas/Fort Worth, Feb. 23; Seattle, March 9; Toronto, March 15; Philadelphia, March 16; and Las Vegas, March 23.

For more information, call STAFDA at 262-784-4774.

PTDA raises $90,000 for education. The Power Transmission Distributors Assn.'s Educational & Scholastic Foundation raised nearly $90,000 in 2000, of which more than $68,000 was received in response to the foundation's most successful fund-raising campaign ever.

Along with contributions outside the campaign, the $89,268 raised by the foundation in 2000 will fund initiatives that assist both power transmission/motion control distribution and manufacturing firms in: 1) best leveraging e-business; 2) better managing increasingly demanding customers and 3) identifying and training qualified employees.

In other news, PTDA recently released a new tool to help companies in the PT/MC industry retain current customers and gain new ones. The new "PTDA Guide to Understanding Customer Expectations" is designed to help both distributors and manufacturers solicit customer feedback on needed improvements, recommended actions and industry trends. The guide outlines the purpose, use and resources available for soliciting customer feedback via surveys and meetings.

For more information, contact PTDA at 312-876-9461.

FPDA heads for Palm Beach Gardens. The Fluid Power Distributors Assn. is gearing up for its 2001 Annual Meeting, Feb. 24-28, at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

This year's Annual Meeting, titled "Technology, Leadership & the Customer: An Instant Classic" will focus on the impact of technology on the specialty distributor, and skills building to achieve excellence in customer satisfaction through the implementation of technology and the retention, training, and motivation of personnel.

Key speakers will include:

Max Carey of CRDr, "Stepping Up to Greatness: What Separates the Great CEO from the Good CEO"

Chip Bell of Performance Research Associates, "Customer Love: Attracting & Keeping Customers for Life"

Robert Nadeau, Industrial Performance Group, "Preparing for & Profiting from the Information Revolution"

Dr. Bill McCleave, of W.R. McCleave & Associates, "Steering Your Distributor Company Through Strategic Thinking"

Mary LoVerde, author of "Stop Screaming at the Microwave," "Keeping Your Life in Balance When Cloning Yourself Won't Work."

Other topics to be discussed will include: fluid power and electronics, compensation systems, motivating and managing today's workforce, analog selling, employee stock distribution and more.

For more information, call FPDA at 856-424-8998.

NIBA reference manual available on CD-ROM. The National Industrial Belting Assn. is now offering Version 2.0 of its reference manual, "NIBA Engineering Handbook," in CD-ROM format.

Among the topics covered in the manual are carcass selection; mechanical belt fasteners; problems, causes and solutions; tolerances; vulcanized splices; and a glossary of industry terms. The CD-ROM also features NIBA's "Introductory Guide to Belting" and "Belt Tracking" video, and an activities and services catalog.

For more information, contact NIBA at 262-523-9090, ext. 3442.

Send Association News to senior editor Susan Srikonda, 275 Washington St., Newton, Mass., 02458; call (617) 558-4722; fax to (617) 558-4327; or e-mail to ssrikonda@cahners.com.