As one who has spent more than 20 years in distribution, Tommy Thompson, senior vice president of sales for Turner Supply in Mobile, says he's seen the industry change many times.

“But I've probably seen more changes in the last six or seven years than in the previous 21,” he explains.

Among the more recent changes has been Turner's fluid power sales slowing down slightly, Thompson explains.

“It's softened up a little since last year,” he says. “Unless you can do the product specifications and the entire service package, it makes it difficult for a general-line house like Turner Supply to compete in some of those [fluid power] markets.”

While fluid power is still a productive line for Turner, Thompson admits it has been affected by the usual suspects these days: housing and oil.

With housing, Thompson says, “the secondary [markets], the wood products and forestry customers we call on, are buying less,” he says. “Sometimes it's those secondary losses that really hurt.”

In addition to transportation, fuel costs affect the availability and price of oil-based products, including some of Turner's fluid power offerings. As a result, Thompson says, many customers are pressing them for guaranteed cost savings. Doing so with oil-based products can be a major challenge, given the volatility of its price and availability.

“We find ourselves trying to categorize products we can impact [price wise]…. But there's no way we can offset what the cost of oil is doing to products that are so influenced by it,” he says.

Another change Thompson has noted finds Turner Supply offering more training opportunities to its customers, something it had curtailed at one point.

“The simple things we used to do, that were expected and demanded by the customers, kind of got away from us. Things like the in-the-field training fell to the wayside as some customers began to scale back,” Thompson explains.

For some customers, he says, this resulted in their smaller staffs not always knowing the proper installation of belts, for example, or the proper techniques for some hoses. Many of the recent training sessions emphasize safety standards in addition to each product's individual merits.

“We've seen that pendulum swing back a little bit. Safety [for example] touches every product line we sell, including fluid power. Customers are more open to on-site training. We've been able to wrap our arms around programs that we can present to our customers to show how the products need to be used properly and in a safe way,” Thompson explains.

Turner Supply also brings customers to its locations for more in-depth training, frequently with a supplier's cooperation, he adds.

Thompson voices concern, however, about getting talented younger employees at Turner. He knows this is an industry-wide dilemma and applauds what companies and associations are doing to address it.

“It's difficult to find qualified people who are willing to come in and learn this business,” Thompson says. “I think our industry recognizes there is a talent pool out there coming out of the junior college ranks. If you give me someone who has commitment and passion…and that work ethic, we can teach them the business.”