NEMA Listens and Reaches Out to Smaller Members

On Monday we presented at NEMA’s Small Manufacturer Forum, which was NEMA’s inaugural endeavor in serving this audience’s interest in small manufacturer networking. The event, according to all, was a resounding success.

The quality of the speakers and the information communicated was excellent and very informative for the attendees. In fact, a number of attendees commented that the informal style encouraged interaction and information sharing.

Highlights of the session included:

• Evan Gaddis from NEMA mention that there is $64.8 billion of electrical “needs / opportunities” in the stimulus package. He also mentioned that emerging market opportunities for NEMA members, and possibly electrical distributors, that the association is involved in at the legislative level include standards for battery storage for energy (think of for auto, solar, wind, renewables, etc) as well as for development of a national smartgrid.
• Kyle Pitsor, VP Government Relations for NEMA, highlighted some of NEMA’s legislative and regulatory initiatives and emphasized that manufacturers should consider engaging their employees and channels in advocacy initiatives for issues that affect the electrical industry as well as business issues such as card check. He also mentioned that he expects OSHA enforcement to increase with the new administration.
• Kyle had a staff person from the majority party of the House Small Business Regulatory Committee who spoke on a number of issues before their group. An interesting comment was “we look to trade associations to help craft our agenda”, hence NEMA’s strong relationship with appropriate Congressional committees. “Small business” infers manufacturers and distributors. NEMA obviously focuses on the manufacturer side.
• This then led to a conversation on card check. Greg Casey from BIPAC presented information and strategies on how companies can inform their work forces on issues that will affect business. BIPAC is an advocacy group that can facilitate communications via custom-branded websites. One major project they are working on is the Prosperity Project® which is a standardized website toolkit. Your employees and shareholders can use “your” Prosperity Project® website to educate themselves about candidates and workplace issues. A major topic for BIPAC is card check and the impact a unionized workforce can have on businesses in the United States. (personal comment – isn’t freedom to vote in secret consistent with freedom of speech? Why would someone want an open ballot process on something like this? The track record in the auto industry speaks for itself.)
• We then presented on Channel Challenges and Opportunities. Rather than touch on what we discussed, here is the presentation. Feel free to call with any questions.
• Next was a presentation from a person at National Federation of Independent Business who shared much information regarding the status of healthcare proposals and discussions in Congress. Very enlightening and educational to help attendees consider alternatives and prepare for change.
• Last was a presentation from a regional VP for HSBC, the world’s largest bank based upon assets, but a smaller player in the U.S. as they haven’t been here for long. They reinforced that for companies who have the right 5 C’s (character, collateral, capacity, credit worthiness and cash flow) money is available, just maybe not from some of the “name brands”. Many banks have not taken TARP funds and are open for business, albeit they are more conservative and cautious than ever before.

According to one attendee, “this session added much value to my NEMA membership. The networking, information sharing and business insights will help me consider opportunities for my business. NEMA responding to its small members and creating this forum for us was very helpful.” NEMA listened to its members and designed an agenda tailored to the small manufacturer needs with insightful speakers who were knowledgeable and could answer questions in-depth.

If you would like to learn more about our 4 R’s to Driving Business in a Recession, give us a call and download our presentation.