AD Industrial hosted the 2017 AD North American Meeting at the Gaylord Texan, in Grapevine, TX from Sept. 17-20. It was a record breaking year for the division with more than 800 attendees. Members and suppliers are also trending towards record breaking numbers to finish out 2017. For the second year, AD Industrial combined its North American Meeting with the AD Bearings & Power Transmission Network meeting.
The theme for this year is #ADSTRONG. During the keynote address by AD’s Chairman and CEO, Bill Weisberg, he shared the top three attributes that define AD members and suppliers as smart, driven and unwavering in their beliefs. Weisberg also introduced the AD Disaster Relief Foundation which now allows AD members and suppliers to help one another when a natural or man-made disaster strikes.
AD continues to leverage economies of scale to help their members and suppliers stay ahead of the curve. Programs such as AD eCommerce Solutions, AD HR Services, and AD Procurement Services are our most recent examples of how the group continues to support the future of independents. Additional highlights of the AD North American Meeting included best in class networking, strategic partner briefings, young leaders’ events and one on one booth appointments.
At the event, Calpipe Industries, Inc. was named the 2017 Affiliated Distributors U.S. Supplier of the Year for Performance over $10M. In 2014 Calpipe Industries, Inc. received the Supplier of the Year for Performance under $10M. With the recent win, this is the first time a company has won the award in both the over and under $10M category.
Every year, AD recognizes a number of companies in the electrical industry for categories such as ‘Marketing Excellence’ and ‘Giving Back’. The Supplier of the Year category is the top award for AD. Runner-ups to the Supplier of the Year award included Dialight and Wheatland Tube.
2017 AD Spirit Of Independence Honorees
Best Annual Planning Process — Quality Mill Supply
Best MRO Conversion to an AD Supplier — All Integrated Solutions, Sia Abrasives, & Cribmaster, Inc.
Best Tool & Material Handling Conversion to an AD Supplier — Black & Company & Milwaukee Tool
Best Safety Conversion to an AD Supplier — Industrial Supply Company Inc. & Kimberly Clark
Best Metalworking Conversion to an AD Supplier — Sterling Supply Co. & Dormer Pramet
Supplier of the Year, Performance, Tier 1 — Tingley Rubber Corp.
Supplier of the Year, Performance, Tier 2 — Stanley Black & Decker, DeWalt, Proto
Member of the Year, Performance, Tier 1 — S.L. Fusco
Member of the Year, Performance, Tier 2 — P&I Supply
Member of the Year, Leadership — Dan Amatruda, Senior Vice President, Weber Supply Company Inc.
AD MVPs — Kevin Ketter and Jeff Ketter, T&A Industrial Distributors
Giving Back Award – Weber Supply Company Inc.
