Progressive Distributor - Unconventional attendance

Unconventional attendance

The Energizer bunny could learn a few things about reliability from four STAFDA members. Margaret and Jim Rhodes of A1 Fasteners & Tools, Charlotte, N.C., Paul Schubert, founder of Pro-Cut Products in Gainesville, Ga., and Bob Dimitri of Marksmen Mfg. Corp. in Lindenhurst, N.Y., have never missed a STAFDA convention since the association was founded in 1977.

They just keep going and going and going.

When the association met in San Antonio Nov. 10-14, 2001, it honored the four members for their perfect attendance record at STAFDA’s annual convention.

What draws them back each year? The chance to network with other distributors and manufacturers, learn about new products and gain insight into how other companies do business are three primary reasons.

Like many long-time STAFDA members, they have fond memories of past STAFDA gatherings. They recall the 1977 convention at the Doral in Miami, where 200 people came together at the invitation of Morrie Halvorsen for the first STAFDA meeting. They remember a young girl named Georgia who first entertained them on the piano and later returned to succeed her father as STAFDA’s executive director.

But mostly, they remember the valued role that the organization played — and continues to play — helping their companies and businesses like them compete.

“An organization like STAFDA was badly needed 25 years ago,” says Schubert. “In the beginning, the major threat to the independent distributors around the country was competing with Hilti.”

STAFDA helped independent distributors learn how to compete, first against companies like Hilti, but later against other forms of competition, including the big box retailers and national chains.

“STAFDA has contributed a lot to the development of independent distributors,” says Dimitri, who served on the manufacturer liaison committee in the early ’80s. “They have become more sophisticated and more knowledgeable.”

Dimitri’s STAFDA relationship has remained constant throughout his career, first with Star Expansion Company, then with Allied Fasteners and today with Marksmen Mfg.

He says the organization has been especially helpful to start-up companies, giving them a chance to compete on a more level playing field with much larger companies.

“The start-up companies always found their home when they hooked up with STAFDA,” he says.

Jim Rhodes agrees that the fledgling organization was a valuable resource for young entrepreneurs.

“We needed guidance,” he recalls. “I had been a specialty tool salesman for 17 years, but I was looking for guidance in running a business of my own. I’ve learned a lot from the people I’ve met through STAFDA.”

Friendships gained
The four say they developed many friendships in STAFDA throughout the years and enjoy the opportunity to renew those friendship at the annual convention.

“It has given me an opportunity to meet suppliers that I might not have met otherwise,” says Rhodes.

Schubert says the organization played a valuable role in introducing his company to distributors from around the country.

He served for three years on the STAFDA manufacturer liaison committee, including one year as chairperson, and gave the manufacturer state-of-the-industry address at the 1983 convention.

“STAFDA is one of the finest organizations a manufacturer or distributor can belong to,” Schubert says.

Rhodes says membership also provides his company with access to industry consultants and others with expertise in a variety of fields who have led seminars on topics ranging from taxes and accounting, to sales and marketing, hiring, technology and more.

“I’ve learned a lot over the years by participating in STAFDA meetings,” says Rhodes, who served on STAFDA’s board for three years. “It’s a good time to talk to other distributors and manufacturers about business and to get good tips on running the business.”

He says the association is just as viable today as the day when it was founded, particularly since the industry has become even more competitive.

As long as STAFDA continues to meet the needs of specialty tool and fastener distributors and manufacturers, expect these four members to keep coming back.