PTDA Canadian Conference focuses on team building

PTDA’s 12th annual Canadian Conference set a new high when a record-breaking 250 participants gathered in Toronto June 6-8. Canadian distributors and their manufacturing partners met to network and hear about building effective teams, insights on sales management and end-user market updates.

Held at the InterContinental Toronto Centre, the conference kicked off with the fourth annual Industry Showcase, featuring more than 30 companies displaying their latest products on tables set up in a conference room. This was followed over the course of the next two days by sessions selected by a committee of industry volunteers.

Developing Star Power was the topic of Mike Lipkin of Environics Research Group, Toronto, one of Canada’s leading research houses. He emphasized how a personal focus on being a catalyst for building good teams can make working for your company an extraordinary experience.

Renewable Energies in the Mining Sector was the theme of a talk by Dr. Dean Millar, Mirarco Research Chair of Energy and Mining at Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON. He discussed renewable energies in the mining industry and explained how one mine, Nickel Rim South in Sudbury, could reduce its fossil energy consumption by 40%.

Gord Duncan, president of SPAR Consulting Inc., Toronto, and former president of Kinecor (now Wajax), discussed how distributors can maximize their chances for growth and profitability. According to Duncan, distributors need to do three things: 1) figure out how to properly price their products and services, 2) find out where their sales forces are going, and 3) find a way to build stronger relationships with suppliers.

Greg Taylor, co-founder of Steam Whistle Brewing, Toronto, shared his successes and failures. Taylor’s message was that consumers drive your brand. “Branding is not what you say about your product, but what the consumer says about you based on their cumulative experience with your brand at every touch point.” 

PTDA Canadian Conference attendees got to experience first-hand the culture of the company with a dinner event and tours at Steam Whistle Brewing.

Consultant and author Joe Ellers of Clemson, SC, spoke of the importance of offering defined, quantified and proveable benefits to customers, or risk being only able to compete on price.

A highlight of the conference for many PTDA members was a visit by Toronto Argonauts legend Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons of Oakville, ON. He inspired attendees in his closing keynote, sharing his four-pronged message: stay pumped, know what drives you, understand that leadership is doing more with less, and adversity in life is guaranteed so it’s how you deal with adversity that dictates how successful you will be. His main take-away was “Do one thing really, really well.”

PTDA is represents 172 power transmission/motion control distribution firms that generate more than $11 billion in sales and span over 3,400 locations in 10 countries. PTDA members also include over 200 manufacturers and associated companies that supply the PT/MC industry. For more information, visit www.ptda.org.