Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/287259
From the Chairman April 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 5 President & CEO - Brian McGuire Associated Equipment Distributors Oak Brook, Ill. Executive Vice President & COO roBert Henderson Associated Equipment Distributors Oak Brook, Ill. Officers Chairman - tiM Watters Hoffman Equipment Co., Piscataway, N.J. Vice Chairman - don sHillinG General Equipment & Supplies, Inc. Fargo, N.D. Sr. Vice President - WHit perryMan Vermeer Equipment of Texas, Inc. Irving, Texas Vice President - rick van exan Toromont Industries Ltd. Concord, Ont., Canada Vice President - Wes stoWers Stowers Machinery Corp. Knoxville, Tenn. Vice President of Finance MicHael d. Brennan Brandeis Machinery & Supply Co., Louisville, Ky. Past Chairman - Mike quirk Wagner Equipment Co. Aurora, Colo. At-LArge DirectOrs todd BacHMan Florida Coast Equipment, Inc. Boynton Beach, Fla. ron Barlet Bejac Corp. Placentia, Calif. dennis J. Heller Stephenson Equipment Inc. Harrisburg, Pa. larry r. Miller Kelbe Bros. Equipment Co. Inc. Butler, Wis. MitcH nevins Four Seasons Equipment, Inc. Houston, Texas Mike rooney Thompson Tractor Co., Inc. Tarrant, Ala. regiOnAL DirectOrs ryan GreenaWalt Midwest Reg. Alta Equipment Co. Wixom, Mich. todd Hystad Western Canada Reg. Vimar Equipment Ltd. Burnaby, B.C. patrick W. Mcconnell West Reg. Clyde/West, Inc. Portland, Ore. cHristopHer palMer Northeast Reg. Wood's CRW Corp. Williston, Vt. Giles poulson Rocky Mountain Reg. Faris Machinery Co. Commerce City, Colo. Jay rodes, Southeast Reg. Wilson Equipment Co. Lexington, Ky. rick van exan Eastern Canada Reg. Toromont Industries Ltd. Concord, Ont. Gary d. vauGHn South Central Reg. OCT Equipment, Inc. Oklahoma City, Okla. We have already discussed the benefits that AED brings a manufacturer – a healthier distribution channel with stronger and more productive dealers. How does AED build stronger dealers? Our workforce development activities improve a dealer's ability to find and train technicians (which improves their product support capa- bility). Our ongoing training programs and webinars improve dealers' performance in all aspects of the business – parts, service, rentals, sales, and financial. Our events and meetings allow dealers to network and learn from their peers. And our advocacy efforts improve the environment in which we work by influencing the regulations and tax laws from Washington and by increasing the investment of those tax revenues into infrastructure. Given these facts, of course every manu- facturer wants to support AED; but what's the easiest way to help AED without spending even one additional dollar? Easy: Host your next dealer gathering at our Annual Meeting (Summit), which is held every year in January or February (next year will be in Orlando, Fla). That's right, just hosting your next dealer event at Summit gives a tremendous boost to our association. Be it a product launch, dealer council or advi- sory board meeting, awards breakfast, or any other type of dealer event, choose the AED Summit as the venue (and your dealers will appreciate it, too). The AED Summit & CONDEX trade show is our biggest source of revenues outside of dues, and lately attendance at this meeting is declining, primarily a result of manufac- turers no longer using this venue to host their dealer meetings. Whenever a manufacturer hosts a dealer meeting at Summit, some 30 or 40 distributors (or more) from that manu- facturer's channel are now assured to attend as well; plus, all of the manufacturer staff who are involved in the meeting. Once at the Summit, these dealers' and manufacturers' participation in other Summit events have a tremendously positive impact on the meeting, creating a more vibrant atmosphere at our events, increasing the opportunities for all to network and learn from each other. Conversely, a manufacturer's decision to host its meeting elsewhere has a tremen- dously negative impact on AED. Our associa- tion almost always comes out on the losing end when a manufacturer forces its dealers to choose between a manufacturer meeting or the AED Summit. And even if the meetings don't directly conflict, dealers' travel schedules are already full, and many simply cannot afford to be away from their businesses to attend all of the manufacturer meetings and their association meeting, too, forcing many to skip the Summit so as to accommodate their manufacturers. This year, only three (enlightened, progres- sive, forward-thinking) manufacturers chose to host a dealer meeting at the AED Summit in Houston, and I want to thank them for their support of this great association! Thank you Volvo, Esco and Komatsu!! We would love to see many more (enlightened, progres- sive, forward-thinking) manufacturers come back and support our association by hosting their next dealer meeting at AED Summit. P.S. – Many manufacturers supported our association by way of exhibiting at CONDEX (63 manufacturers and 41 service providers) or hosting a suite or meeting room (42 manufacturers and 10 service providers) at Summit – a big "shout out" to you, as well. P.P.S. – The 2015 Summit is in Orlando, Feb. 10-12 – what a great spot for your dealers to spend an extra day to attend your meeting. Please start planning now. Tim WaTTers (timwatters@hoffmanequip.com) is president of Hoffman Equipment in Piscataway, N.J. The Easiest – and Most Cost- Effective – Way for Manufacturers to Support Their Own Dealers They'll thank you for this, and so will AED. By Tim WaTTers 5_fromthechairman_KP.indd 5 3/27/14 4:17 PM