GLEN ELLYN, IL — Over 150 top bearing industry leaders representing authorized distributors and participating manufacturers gathered in Naples, FL from Nov. 14-17 to learn, get motivated for 2022, renew old relationships and make new ones.
More than 94% of Annual Convention attendees say they won’t miss the next Annual Convention and they will recommend BSA to a friend or colleague.
The 2022 Annual Convention is located at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California, April 30 – May 3, 2022.
2021 marked the 55th Annual Convention. The Convention opened with a presentation to acknowledge members who passed away over the past two years. Their memory and contributions to BSA and the bearing industry will not be forgotten.
Important updates from BSA and ABMA on the state of the industry were presented, including ongoing BSA projects such as the Product Information Exchange (P.I.E), the updated CBS Study Guide and recognition of the 2020 Excellence Award Winner.
The 2020 BSA Distributor Excellence Award was presented to BDI Canada. The winner of the 2020 Bearing Manufacturer Excellence of Innovation in Product Design Award was presented to Dodge Mechanical Power Transmission Company Inc. for the Dodge Food Safe Bearing. The second Manufacturer Excellence Award was presented to SKF USA for the SKF Cooper Split Sealed Spherical.
The theme of reconnecting long-term relationships was woven throughout Convention programming, including the presentation of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award and recognition of newly-elected officers.
Jim Scardina, Executive Vice President of Bearing Headquarters Company, and 2020/2021 BSA President, presented the BSA’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Doug Savage, Chairman, Bearing Service Inc., (Livonia, Michigan).
The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) elected Mitch Bouchard, General Bearing Service, Inc. as President for 2021-2022, effective immediately. In addition to Mitch Bouchard, the following industry leaders were elected to serve BSA in 2021-2022: Jim Scardina, Bearing Headquarters, Inc., as Chairman of Board; Todd Hamlin, DXP
Enterprises, as Vice President; and Jason Vasquez, Applied Industrial Technologies as Treasurer. BSA also elected Jeff Cloud, IBT, Inc. and Ben Padd, Applied Industrial Technologies to serve three-year terms on the Board of Directors. Mark Stoneburner, Kaman Industrial Technologies, was elected to fill a one-year Board of Directors term.
Steve Durston, Jamaica Bearings Company, was recognized for his most recent four-year term on the BSA Board of Directors.
Bill Shepard, BDI, John Masek, Bearing Service, Inc., and Scott Eiss, NTN Bearing Corp. of America, were recognized as subject matter experts and for their outstanding work to update the Certified Bearing Specialists Study Guide, Pre-Tests, and Examinations.
BSA Convention networking events such as the Sunshine State, Havana Nights, and Margaritaville receptions, and Conference Tables provided essential opportunities for relationship building while the business program examined how relationships are the core to successful long-term partnerships.
- Mark Dryden, Comedian, reviewed that you can achieve your goals and finding humor while you do it.
- Justin Roff-Marsh, President of Ballistix, outlined a radically different approach to the design of the sales department (and to adjacent departments). His central idea is that salespeople should do nothing other than selling conversations (exclusively in pursuit of new business) and that the rest of the organization should be designed around this end-state.
- Sanjay Agarwal, President & CEO, Blue Meteor, outlined how your business can leverage the power of content to win big on the digital shelf.
- Joe Block, Disruption Futurist, Hedge Fund Manager, & Venture Capitalist Bullseye Capital, shared ways to navigate disruptive business trends and the powerful strategies to make it happen by empowering your team to predict and prepare for its future.
BSA is the “must belong to organization for authorized bearing distributors.” The association’s mission states, “BSA builds meaningful and lasting relationships by connecting distributor and manufacturer leaders to move our industry forward”. BSA is an international service and educational organization of authorized distributors representing almost one hundred companies distributing factory-warranted, anti-friction bearings and invited manufacturers of bearings and related products.
For more information on BSA contact the BSA office at (630) 858-3838; fax (630) 790-3095; e mail [email protected] or visit the association website at www.bsahome.org.
