AD Electrical Members and Suppliers “All In” at 2019 North American Meeting

Nov 18, 2019

AD’s Electrical Business Unit hosted its U.S., Canada and Mexico members, supplier partners and service providers at a new venue, the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado for a very successful North American Meeting Oct. 28-30, 2019. A few inches of signature Colorado snow didn’t stop over 1,014 attendees from coming together, with over 150 first-time attendees and 35 service providers.

AD offers a host of gatherings for members and supplier partners throughout the year across its 12 divisions spanning North America, underscoring the importance it places on networking, building relationships and recognizing excellence.

The theme of the year’s meetings is “All In,” described as absolute commitment, pushing the status quo, getting fully involved and having an unwavering drive with customers, business partners and fellow associates. 

“All In” means many things to many people, and the power of AD begins with the collective strength and commitment of its members.

Ed Crawford, president of AD’s Electrical Business Unit and chief marketing officer commented on strong member engagement.

“I am proud to announce that our engagement scores have never been higher,” he said. “In fact, our average score has increased on every question since 2016 for both members and suppliers, with our overall engagement now at 4.62 and 4.35 (out of 5.0) respectively.  Those are world-class levels.”

Despite consolidation and some challenging headwinds, Crawford says the Electrical Division is on a roll. “We measure performance in many ways, but winning matters; and we continue to win at AD,” he said.

AD’s Chairman and CEO Bill Weisberg took the opportunity to share insights with attending members and supplier partners about how he defines being All In.

“We want you actively participating,” he said. “We want you outspoken. Contributing. Engaged. We want you making an impact on others and having an impact made on you. We don’t just want you in AD, we want you ALL in.”

As part of the week’s events, Weisberg was honored for 35 years of service.

Weisberg also shared key details on what’s tracking as a record-breaking AD year, illustrating just how “All In” AD is for its members and supplier partners. Highlights included:

• A projected $46 billion in member sales this year 
• Year-to-date 9% increase in total member purchases in the group
• Expected purchases from AD supplier partners are on track to grow by $1.2 billion

New to the agenda this year was an Emerging Leaders session led by High Performing Culture’s Bill Kaiser, a 2020 planning workshop for suppliers led by MDM’s Tom Gale and John Gunderson, and strategic partner briefing sessions facilitated by AD’s thirteen premier partners who shared their plans for continued growth with AD members. The new sessions were well-received by attendees, who continue to benefit from a variety of agenda topics throughout the meeting including individual networks, marketing networks, business meetings and booth sessions.

One highlight of the meeting was the unveiling of the 2019 AD Spirit of Independence honorees. Awardees are:

US Member Dollar Growth:  Schaedler Yesco

US Member Percentage Growth:  Frost Electric Supply Co.

Canadian Member Dollar Growth: Robertson Electric Wholesale

Canadian Member Percentage Growth:  Electrimat

US Supplier Dollar Growth: Siemens

US Supplier Percentage Growth:  SATCO Products Inc.

Canadian Supplier Dollar Growth:  Acuity Brands Inc.

Canadian Supplier Percentage Growth:  Hammond Power Solutions

Mexico Member Commitment: Multielectrico

Mexico Supplier of the Year, Performance: Milwaukee Tool

AD MVP:  Prisinnia Longo, VP, Corporate Purchasing, Turtle & Hughes

Supplier of the Year, Marketing Excellence:  Rittal Systems Ltd.

Best Conversion to an AD Supplier:  VP Supply Corp. and Hubbell Lighting

Network 804 Conversion Cup Winners: EECO; Electrozad; Gerrie Electric; Horizon Solutions; Kendall Electric; Stanion Wholesale Electric; Turtle & Hughes; Van Meter Inc; Werner Electric WI

Best Annual Planning Process:  Main Electric Supply

Giving Back:  Van Meter Inc.

Best Workplace Recognitions: Border States; Bricos; Schaedler Yesco; Van Meter, Inc; Werner Electric Co. of MN