By Lily Bearings
©2004-2008
The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) has announced a panel of bearing industry leaders in distribution and manufacturing to discuss the audience responses to an interactive survey planned for the association¡¯s 2009 Annual Convention, taking place May 2-5 at the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel, Orlando, FL.
Distributor panelists include William J. Stevens, president and CEO, Motion Industries Inc.; Gordon Duncan, president, Kinecor LP; and James Fitzpatrick, president, Bearings Specialty Company. Manufacturer panelists are Tony Martell, vice-president/general manager, aftermarket business, NSK Corp.; Bill Childers, president, North American Sales, Rexnord Industries LLC; and Dr. Michael Hartnett, president and CEO, RBC Bearings.
Together they will be analyzing the results of BSA¡¯s interactive, rapid response survey, 'Are Manufacturers from Mars and Distributors from Venus' Peter Negri, president, Jamaica Bearings, will serve as the moderator for the panel.
The 2009 Convention Committee believes participation of these six industry leaders representing small, medium and large distribution and manufacturing companies -- which is also representative of the top-level industry leadership within BSA -- will lend even more credibility to this ¡¡ãhonest, gut-check conversation between distributors and manufacturers that industry has needed, but never before achieved.¡¡À
This program is the result of conversations among the members of BSA¡¯s Long Range Convention Planning and Distributor-Manufacturer Relations Committees that have considered the differences in the way distributors and manufacturers think.
Two special sessions at the 2009 Convention will address this topic. On Sunday, May 3rd, attendees will answer a series of multiple choice questions from their perspective as distributor or manufacturer using a wireless keypad system. This audience response system will separate the answers of distributors and manufacturers. Attendees will immediately see the aggregate responses of distributors and manufacturers onscreen. On Monday, May 4th, a panel of industry leaders named above will analyze the results of these responses.
As a result of this survey and the ensuing conversation, BSA leaders believe that when participants learn what industry peers are thinking, they will be ready to meet distributor/manufacturer needs as well as those of the end-user.
BSA is an international service and educational organization of distributors representing a total of almost 100 companies distributing factory-warranted ball-, roller-, and anti-friction bearings and invited manufacturers of bearings and related products. For more information about the BSA 2009 Annual Convention or to register, visit the convention website, www.bsaconventions.org. For more information on BSA, visit the association website at www.bsahome.org.