AD Spotlights Independent Distributors at North American Meeting

AD members and supplier partners celebrated a year of growth at the 2022 North American Meeting. 

The AD Bearings and Power Transmission division gathered for its annual North American Meeting on March 8-11, giving AD members and supplier partners a chance to celebrate a year of growth and new opportunities.

The division’s success tracks with exceptional growth across all of AD. In his keynote address, AD Chairman and CEO Bill Weisberg said an 18–20% increase in members’ same-store sales indicates that independent distributors are growing faster than the overall market. Weisberg also shared that total AD member sales had grown 39% to a record $58.5 billion—a figure he said was once unimaginable.

Weisberg noted that the growing trend towards consolidation marks an inflection point in the industry, with independents uniquely positioned to capture more market share.

“What’s happening in the industry creates a tremendous opportunity for the AD community to leverage the business strategies that make them so effective,” Weisberg said. “Investing in people, customer service, knowledge and solutions is what makes independents so attractive to suppliers who are looking for true business partners.”

During the meeting, AD leaders shared updates on programs that are adding additional value to the BPT community including supplyFORCE that joins together independent distributors to provide full-service solutions for national customers, opening up national accounts to regional AD members. During the member business meeting, supplyFORCE’s Executive Vice President of Channel Management, Jim Curran, shared a number of program enhancements.

In line with AD’s commitment to equip independent distributors with superior technical expertise, Davenport announced that the BPT division will bring back in-person training via the AD Education Center in 2022. Classes had been postponed during the pandemic.

With expert instructors and hands-on training, the Education Center is a comprehensive educational platform serving AD members and supplier partners as well as non-members from the industrial distribution industry. Three in-person courses are scheduled within the Power Transmission Principles curriculum for this year, with a Bearing Principles and Bulk Material Handling course forthcoming.

During the member business update, Davenport took a moment to recognize two board members exiting their seats: Jim Scardina of Bearing Headquarters and Brad Fitzgerald of Binkelman. On behalf of all of AD, Davenport thanked the two members for their years of dedicated service and leadership contributions.

One seat was previously filled by Rob LaRue of Baldwin Supply Company, who had been voted in during the division’s fall meeting. At this meeting, members voted unanimously to approve the nomination of Chris DuComb of W.C. DuComb Co., one of the industry’s younger company leaders.

“The most productive I can be for the sake of our company is talking to decision makers that work for our partners,” said DuComb. “Serving on the governing bodies gives me a greater understanding of how our industry functions below the surface and allows me to develop personal relationships that deliver value for our family business and our team.”