Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

I had the privilege of attending the 2018 Fluid Power Distributor Association (FPDA) annual meeting in Lake Tahoe last week.  First of all, Lake Tahoe and the whole region around it is beautiful.  Secondly, the Resort at Squaw Creek was incredible. Having the Annual Summit Meeting of the FPDA and the International Sealing Distribution Association (ISD) at this beautiful venue set the foundation for an amazing few days.  Add to that, some of the best speakers makes this a memorable event.  The two associations, FPDA and ISD joined forces several years ago to take advantage of the adjacent technologies, fluid power and sealing. Tim David held us all captivated with his presentation titled 7 Magic Words.  Beth Ziesenis told us more about apps that I would have imagined existed in her presentation Secret Tech Weapons for Distribution.  There were many opportunities for networking, a fun brewery visit, great meals, and a really cool 80s Bingo pa...

The 2017 Fluid Power Distributor Association / International Sealing Distribution Association Joint Industry Summit is taking place at the Music City Center in Nashville.  With over 250 attendees, this year's event has grown to a very robust position thanks to the leadership of both associations. After a wonderful Welcome Reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville, the event kicked off with a presentation titled Economic Outlook for 2017 and Beyond by economist Chris Kuehl on Monday morning.  In this session, Dr. Kuehl discussed key indicators for the economy such as capacity utilization, the PMI index for optimism, and the Credit Managers' Index, a new one to me. Next on the Monday agenda were two UID-In-A-Day sessions by Mike Marks and Don Buttrey.  Marks, of Indian River Consulting Group, addressed how distributors must move quickly to address today's challenges.  He talked about innovation sand how the game continues to cha...