MURRAY HILL, N.J. - (Business Wire) The more than 40 distributors who attended the 14th annual meeting of the Airco Distributor Association (ADA), held in Memphis, Tennessee, in early October, left the meeting with a renewed enthusiasm and many new ideas, according to Mark Falconer, ADA co-chairman and president of Minneapolis Oxygen Company. ADA members use the meeting to share ideas for business improvement and to network with preferred vendors. Since its inception in 1993, the ADA has enabled independent distributors to leverage the group purchasing power of a respected association to achieve volume discounts and earn rebates. Linde North America, a member of The Linde Group, provides marketing and administrative support to the ADA.
Falconer opened the meeting by introducing the leaders of the ADA executive board. They include: Gary Lichtenheld, president, Terrace Supply Company of Villa Park, Illinois; Kelly Root, vice president of sales for Capitol Welders Supply, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Craig Wood, executive vice president, O.E. Meyer Company of Sandusky, OH; Emmett Aldredge III, vice president of planning and finance for Machine and Welding Supply of Dunn, North Carolina; Bob Iverson, president of Springfield, Massachusetts -based Ivey Industries, Inc.; Lloyd Robinson, president of AWISCO, New York Corp., based in Maspeth, New York; Terry Hall, ADA co-chairman; Scott Latta, head of markets region south, Linde North America; Jim Lisiecki, distributor program manager, Linde North America and Bob VanKirk, head of key customers and distributors, Linde North America.
Throughout the two-day event, 20 vendors participated in breakout sessions to discuss product lines, promote rebate programs and introduce special sales available only to meeting attendees.
“In spite of a difficult year for most distributors, this year’s meeting was met with a lot of enthusiasm from both the attending members and their vendor partners,” said Falconer. “There was a good interchange of ideas and strategies by all attendees in hopes of combating the potentially difficult economy in the last quarter of this year and potentially 2010.”
Weldcote Metals, the Kings Mountain, North Carolina, producer of alloys and spooled wire, was chosen as ADA’s vendor of the year, based on service, delivery and sales communication.
“I was surprised and very excited to receive the vendor of the year award,” said Bill Roland, president of Weldcote Metals. “It also made our employees very proud. We work hard at giving our customers quality products – and the best service possible -- at competitive prices,” Roland said. “We’re very thankful to ADA for the award.”
This year’s ADA meeting was sponsored by ADA preferred vendors Bernard, Cryovation, Direct Wire and Cable, Flame Technologies, Hypertherm, Label Solutions, Metabo, Norton Abrasives, ORS Nasco, Ratermann Manufacturing, Smith Equipment Company, Taylor Wharton, Thermal Dynamics, John Tillman Company, Tweco/Arcair, Victor Equipment Company, Washington Alloys, Weldcote Metals, Weldcraft, Worthington Industries and 3M Hornell.
Bob VanKirk spoke to the group about Linde’s business and the industrial gas industry in general. His presentation covered industrial gas supply and demand, Linde’s bulk and packaged gas network and integrated supply offerings for industries, including food and beverage, chemicals, electronics, manufacturing, construction and energy.
Terry Hall closed the meeting by reminding the members of their commitment to the preferred vendors’ programs and to generating new ideas.
The ADA has 75 independent members who have over 400 retail locations throughout the U.S. Today, the members represent approximately $1 billion in annual purchases and, through compliance with their vendors, have earned about $26 million in rebates since ADA’s inception.
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2008 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.7 billion (USD 15.9 billion). The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.
Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.
For more information, see Linde online at http://www.lindeus.com
Linde corporate communications
Peter Gavigan, 908-771-1512
Peter.Gavigan@linde.com
