More than 200 people gathered June 5-7, 2014, at the historic
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, in Québec City, Québec for PTDA’s 13th
annual Canadian Conference. Networking between channel partners and
peers was the top priority, and there were numerous opportunities to
meet with fellow industry executives.
The Canadian Conference
kicked off with the Industry Showcase and Welcome Reception, a
combination of business (with tabletop displays by 28 PTDA manufacturer
members) and informal conversations. A highlight of the event was a
reception and dinner at the Parliament Building, home of the Assemblée
nationale du Québec.
Canadian Conference Co-Chairs Gerry Prezeau
of Rotator Products Limited and Bruno Mylchreest of Timken Canada LP
alternated as the conference’s emcees, presenting PTDA President Ken
Miko of BDI speaking on PTDA’s strategic plan and PTDA Foundation
President Barbara Ross of Garlock Sealing Technologies addressing recent
successes of the Industrial Careers Pathway
® program.
Prezeau
and Mylchreest, and an industry committee of volunteers, developed a
program of keynotes and educational sessions including:
- Lifting the Loonie with BNN’s Andrew Bell:
Andrew Bell, reporter and news anchor on Business News Network,
entertained and informed attendees. Bell interspersed his rather bleak
outlook for manufacturing in Canada with clips of bloopers from various
news media outlets.
- Take Back Manufacturing with Nigel Southway: Nigel
Southway, president of Nexus Consulting and chair of the Toronto
chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), informed
attendees about the need for and the goals of SME’s “Take Back
Manufacturing” initiative. More information is available at www.sme-tbm.org.
- Market Briefing: Aerospace Industry with Dale Gordon: A
briefing on the aerospace market was presented by Dale Gordon, director
of supplier quality assurance for Aerojet Rocketdyne. Speaking on
behalf of the International Aerospace Quality Group (www.iaqg.org), Gordon discussed the organization’s efforts in product and supply chain improvements.
- Panel Discussion: How Technology is Affecting the Distributor/Manufacturer Relationship: In
response to recommendations for industry-relevant content, the Canadian
Conference called up a panel made up of a quartet of industry
executives to discuss how technology is affecting
distributor/manufacturer relationships. Distributors Ali Moghadam of
Canadian Bearings and Mitch Bouchard of General Bearing Service joined
manufacturers Jean-Sebastien (JS) Lavigne of Baldor Electric Company and
Dave Strutt of C&U Bearings to share their perceptions. The panel
discussion was facilitated by Peter Helston of Annex Business Media.
- Striving for Excellence with Stephan Maighan: Canadian
Conference attendees were entertained, motivated and engaged by Stephan
Maighan’s closing keynote. Interspersing his six lessons for achieving
excellence with activities involving combination locks and dancing,
Maighan used his own experience to demonstrate how a positive attitude
can produce a positive result.
A conference recap and a link to photographs from the event are available at
ptda.org/CanadianConference. PTDA members also gain exclusive access to presentations from three of the speakers.
The
Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) is the leading
global association for the industrial power transmission/motion control
(PT/MC) distribution channel. Headquartered in Chicago, PTDA represents
power transmission/motion control distribution firms that generate more
than $16 billion in sales and span over 3,400 locations. PTDA members
also include manufacturers that supply the PT/MC industry.PTDA
is dedicated to providing exceptional networking, targeted education,
relevant information and leading-edge business tools to help
distributors and manufacturers meet marketplace demands competitively
and profitably. For more information, visit ptda.org or follow @PTDAorg.
