PTDA Industry Summit Oct. 13-15
Top executives in power transmission and motion control (PT/MC) will converge in Washington, D.C. at the Power Transmission Distributors Association's (PTDA) 2011 Industry Summit to strengthen their business relationships and forge new ones as they grapple with and "CAPITOLize on Change."
Held at the Washington Hilton on October 13-15, 2011, the Industry Summit is the premier venue for PTDA members to devote essential time to working on their businesses with incomparable networking, leading-edge keynotes and workshops, and targeted business development opportunities.
The Industry Summit's signature event, the Manufacturer-Distributor Idea Exchange (MD-IDEX), efficiently brings together existing and potential channel partners to strategically plan for the upcoming year.
Pete Kalgreen, president of PTDA member Akron Bearing Supply, a family owned and operated distributorship that serves customers large and small primarily in northeast Ohio, said the investment to attend is returned many times over. "My first year (at the Industry Summit's MD-IDEX event), I was able to meet with the national leaders of a large manufacturer. Helping them better understand our business during our discussions allowed them to make changes, which has allowed me to buy a lot more of their product. It was a meeting of the minds made possible by the Industry Summit," Kalgreen said.
As an incubator for innovations and solutions, Industry Summit participants will collect ideas they can implement immediately upon their return to the office. Dave Witwer, of Missouri Power Trans Inc., a St. Louis-based distributor, has attended more than 20 PTDA Industry Summits. "The Industry Summit is all about people. In the end, we can get products, we can get customers, but at the Industry Summit, we can step back and learn from our fellow distributors about processes and procedures to do things better, more efficiently. You get ideas and information that you wouldn't have thought about. This is stuff that you can't get anywhere else," Witwer said.
By offering multiple networking opportunities, forums, panel discussions and workshops as well as two keynote speakers, PTDA has structured the Industry Summit so participants can experience information about market changes, new ideas and changes in methods of communication and leadership in a style that allows a custom experience. Some highlights for the 2011 Industry Summit:
Two highly regarded keynote speakers will address leadership in difficult circumstances and management in a difficult economy, respectively.
- Alison Levine, a world-renowned mountain climber and cold-weather adventurer as well as Wall Street investment banker and professor at The United States Academy at West Point, will be the opening keynote speaker. Ms. Levine's life and accomplishments are the subject of the PBS documentary, Living Courageously (2007). Levine has also appeared on numerous national television shows to talk about her experiences.
- Alan Beaulieau of the Institute for Trend Research, is an economist with a special focus on industrial distribution. Beaulieu will discuss how the economy will affect the business in the near and far future.
- "Websites that Work: Your Secret Online Weapon" will help participants gain more ROI from their websites, transforming them from electronic billboards to active cash registers. The workshop will be led by Tim Ash of Site Tuners, a website optimization firm.
- "Rule Your InBox: Don't Let Your Tech Manage You" is designed to train participants to take charge of their mobile devices, transforming them into the time saving devices they were meant to be, rather than the time wasting gadgets they've become. The workshop will be facilitated by Steve Turner of TurnerTime Management.
- "The Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Distribution Channel" is a panel forum led by industry members for industry members. The discussion will shed light on the ripple effect of consolidation of both distribution companies and suppliers.
Special networking sessions for each distinct industry segment are a highlight of this year's Industry Summit. Distributors and manufacturers will meet independently to discuss issues and problems and find solutions and ideas from among their own peer groups, allowing them to better assist their customers in the long run.
Kicking off the Industry Summit is the fifth annual Motion Control Showcase, offering participants a chance to see the latest trends and new products offered by manufacturers of motion control products.
Industry Summit registration is now open for all PTDA members. Early registration discounts are in place until September 12. For more information, visit www.ptda.org/IndustrySummit.
