IDA Universal

BRUNO MONTESANO, JR President PRESIDENT'S POST THANK YOU TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR IDA Universal Nov - Dec 2025 6 Dublin, Ireland – The aftermarket is stronger than ever! nly a few weeks ago we were in Dublin, Ireland for our convention. O Our return to Europe in more than 17 years since our visit in Rome, Italy. is gathering of the IDA will be remembered by all who attended. It was a week filled with various activities from sightseeing and visiting all the amazing places that attract tourists as well as business related activities, like our visit to the factory of Dromone Engi- neering Ltd. who specialize in manufacturing coupling systems for excavators and hitch systems for the agricultural market. ey were gracious enough to orga- nize a visit of their installations showing off their know-how, their innovation, in both the products and their manufac- turing processes, their quality control at every step of manu- facturing, their concern about safety and how they monitor all these aspects with daily metrics. e visit was followed by a visit of Trim Castle built in 1174, and notably the castle used to shoot the movie Braveheart with Mel Gibson, followed by a wonder- ful lunch catered by Dromone Engineering Ltd to close the morning. I would like again to thank Wil- liam and his team for their hos- pitality and welcome them to the IDA family. Make sure to look them up and say hi at Conex- po-Con/Agg 2026 in Las Vegas in March; they'll be exhibiting. is year's convention was packed with new initiatives, like the industry panel where a group of 4 independent manu- facturers shared their insight on what differentiates them from the OEMs. In fact, hearing them on this topic made me realize that this is exactly what IDA members do. We offer high qual- ity products, reasonable pricing, and above and beyond customer service. e last one is the im- portant one, we're interested in the repeat business as we nurture the relationships we have with our customers. It's more than just numbers and profitability. We're partners. We also had another first with the Past President's Luncheon. Former IDA President Dennis Brown, who served as such from 1999-2001, was graceful enough to come up and speak on his years as President. He shared his memories, his challenges, and his successes. I had the closing words following Dennis' allocution and I want to reiterate what I said then again to you today: "Lets honour the past and embrace the future!". e consensus amongst every- one present is that aermarket parts aren't going anywhere, if anything, the opportunities are growing, and we need to be more present than ever. IDA members, it's your time to shine! I'd also like to welcome our new members who joined us for the first time. Your involvement, your energy, and your passion for the industry is contagious. I hope we lived up to your ex- pectations and hope to see again soon. Lastly, I would also like to give kudos to our Executive Director, Tiffany, for all her hard work in getting this planned and orga- nized, as well to all the volun- teers who assisted with registra- tion and other tasks during the convention to ensure everyone had a great time. ank you very much to all of you for making this event one to remember. If you missed us this year, make sure to be seen in San Diego, California for our 2026 conven- tion. See you there! Be well and keep your eye on the ball! Bruno

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