|
|
 |
ID editors Jack Keough
and Victoria Fraza Kickham were on hand to cover the Power
Transmission Distributors Assn.’s 2005 Industry Summit, held
last week in Las Vegas. Here’s their report highlighting the
convention’s activities. |
 | | |
PTDA records strong
attendance
| While some trade associations
have been off numbers-wise this year in convention attendance,
that wasn’t the case at the Power Transmission Distributors
Assn.’s Industry Summit, held last week in Las Vegas. A total
of 831 members turned out for the annual meeting, a 23 percent
increase in attendance over last year. Particularly
significant was the 26 percent increase in the number of
distributors who attended. Andy Nations, president of Bearing
& Drives Inc. was elected as the association’s 2006
president; Jeff Pickelman of Northern Industrial Supply was
elected first vice president ; John Masek of Bearing Service
Inc. was elected second vice president; and Kevin McCloskey of
the Dodge-Newark Supply Co. was elected treasurer. Rick White
of Flexible Steel Lacing Co. was elected manufacturer council
chair, and John Stewart of Duff-Norton was elected
manufacturing council vice chair. |
Sponsored by
| | |
Jerry Ethridge, Jr. wins PTDA’s
lifetime achievement award
Girard G. “Jerry” Etheridge, Jr.
is the 16th recipient of the Warren Pike Award for lifetime
achievement in the power transmission/motion control industry,
given by the Power Transmission Distributors
Assn.
Etheridge received the award, named for PTDA’s
co-founder and first president, at the association’s annual
Industry Summit in Las Vegas Oct. 19th. The award was
established in 1984 to honor individuals who have demonstrated
outstanding, continuous, long-term support of PTDA and the
PT/MC industry.
The Warren Pike Award is not
automatically given each year, and is presented only if a
qualified individual is identified, explained Mary Sue Lyon,
PTDA’s executive vice president, in presenting the
award.
Etheridge is chairman emeritus of Orlando,
Fla.-based Miller Bearings, Inc., a PTDA charter member with
17 locations across Florida.
From 1970 to 1985,
Etheridge was one of PTDA’s most active, energetic leaders,
Lyon said. He was PTDA’s president in 1979, and served on its
board of directors from 1974 to 1980. He also served on 10
PTDA committees—including ones addressing industry relations,
membership, convention planning, long-range planning, bylaws
and government affairs—as well as its advisory
board.
“Jerry’s commitment has been a critical card in
the association’s success,” Lyon added.
“It is a
privilege for me to accept this [award] on your behalf,”
Etheridge said to attendees in accepting the
award.
| | |
PTDA raises awareness of
industry
The Power Transmission
Distributors Assn. is doing its part to raise awareness of the
industrial distribution channel through its workforce
development project, the Industrial Careers Pathway. The
association announced several milestones in this effort at its
recent Industry Summit, held at Bally’s Las Vegas, Oct.
18-20.
Together with 22 industry associations and one
regional development organization, PTDA is working with
community colleges and technical schools in the United States
and Canada to create certificate and associate degree programs
in industrial distribution under the ICP umbrella. To date,
programs are underway in Cleveland, Detroit and Omaha, and
partnerships have been formed with schools in greater
Philadelphia, Orlando, the Twin Cities, Toronto and
Vancouver.
The ICP is funded and developed by the PTDA
Foundation, the association’s education arm. It’s designed to
create affordable, industry-specific resources for employee
training and to serve as a source for developing new talent
for the industry.
In a presentation to PTDA members at
the recent Summit, Foundation president Penny Omnes said the
group had raised nearly $163,000 in 2005, a 42 percent
increase in contributions compared to 2004. The ICP is the
Foundation’s core initiative.
The next step is to help
distributors and manufacturers work with local schools and
employers to develop additional programs, Omnes said. The
Foundation is working on the Industrial Careers Pathway
Implementation Toolkit, which is a comprehensive manual to be
used by those interested in introducing ICP at schools in
their communities. The Toolkit will be released early next
year.
In addition, a grant on behalf of the Foundation
has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor to
underwrite and substantially expand the ICP initiative. Omnes
said the DOL plans to host a series of Web-based seminars to
introduce ICP to a national audience of workforce development
agencies and help connect employers to available workforce
funds.
Further DOL support is under consideration,
according to
PTDA. | | |
Marketing takes center
stage
In an effort to educate members
on marketing techniques, PTDA held a special workshop on the
subject led by Jerry Peerbolte of J. Peerbolte &
Associates. Peerbolte is a former executive with motor
manufacturer Baldor Electric, a longtime PTDA
member.
The workshop was titled, “Low-Cost/High-Impact
Marketing,” and it identified some simple steps companies can
take to initiate a marketing program. Among his suggestions
were:
• Offer customer training programs
• Develop
newsletters
• Use the Internet
• Use e-mail as
electronic “direct mail”
• Host open houses
• Network
through local organizations supported by your
customers
Peerbolte added that an important question
companies should ask themselves prior to developing a
marketing campaign is, “Why should someone do business with
your company?” Answering that question will help a company
position itself in the marketplace–a key part of developing a
marketing strategy, he said.
Other workshops at the
Industry Summit covered inside sales, networking, health care,
logistics and the
economy.
| | |
PTDA focuses on Latin
America
The Power Transmission
Distributors Assn. offered several programs to benefit its
Latin American members at its recent 2005 Industry Summit in
Las Vegas.
A member forum on doing business in
Latin America featured presentations by member distributors
and manufacturers doing business in the region, as well as by
government spokesman Timothy C. Thompson, Jr. Thompson is with
the U.S. Department of Commerce, and spoke about the ways the
government can help facilitate business between American
manufacturers and Latin American distributors.
The
Industry Summit also featured a Latin American Pavilion as
part of the Manufacturer-Distributor Idea Exchange, the
association’s conference booth program. In addition,
Spanish-speaking facilitators were on hand at the First Timer
Welcome Event, and translators were used during the Latin
American
Forum.
| | |
Copyright 2005 Reed
Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights
reserved. | |
View All Blogs
