Bob Arison

Since Pat Adams, president of MKS Pipe & Valve Co. in Kansas City, Missouri, began his tenure as chairman of ASA’s Industrial Piping Division (IPD) three years ago, he has played an instrumental role working with the other members of the IPD Executive Council to ensure that industrial and mechanical PVF distributors and manufacturers have and will continue to benefit from ASA’s renewed focus on education, advocacy, networking and building relationships in the channel.  

“Coming into this position, I recognized that an important challenge for us was to address the misunderstood, maligned and mischaracterized relationship between ASA and IPD. The fact is that ASA has four major values – advocacy, benchmarking, education and networking, and IPD brings the focus onto the unique needs of industrial and mechanical PVF distributors and manufacturers in a variety of ways,” states Adams.  

One clear example is how best to integrate some of the PVF-specific programming, such as the IPD Open House, into the overall program for NetworkASA. The last year that ASA held a tradeshow or conference booth program was in 2008, ending that practice in response to overwhelming feedback from supportive manufacturers throughout the industry. The IPD Open House has come, gone, and come back again. ASA has continued to repurpose and redefine NetworkASA as the industry’s premier educational and networking event, maintaining its relevance to the PVF community and warranting sustained support from manufacturers throughout the industry.  

“The relationship between ASA and the IPD Executive Council has been re-born, revitalized, and re-focused. There is now a clear vision of just what it takes to be the leader in a distribution and manufacturer association, and I am proud to have played a part in this rejuvenation,” continues Adams. “The IPD Executive Council is very fortunate to have as its members some of the most respected individuals in both distribution and manufacturing, and if you think we’ve come a long way I believe the best is yet to come!”   

The success of any organization is attributed to the commitment and enthusiasm of the people involved.  This October, Bob Arison, senior vice president and chief operating officer of All-Tex Pipe & Supply in Dallas, Texas, will become the new IPD chairman.  “Within the IPD, we continue to gain momentum and are blessed with motivated volunteer leaders on the Executive Council who are dedicated to provide all IPD members with improved and expanded benefits,” shares Arison. “The now quarterly publication of the IPD Commodity Reports is a good example, as all IPD members find the information timely and incredibly valuable when communicating with their customers.”  

Membership retention and growth will continue to be a key focus for the Division, and while there have been a few notable losses, there has also been substantial growth in recent years. “All of us on the Executive Council clearly recognize that there are still a number wholesalers and manufacturers that will be great additions as new ASA and IPD members, and going forward, we will continue to work in earnest so as to gain their participation and support throughout the organization as well as at NetworkASA,” Arison emphasizes.  

NetworkASA 2010: THRIVE will be held in Chicago, October 12-15, and Bob is not alone in feeling that the program presents some of the most interesting and thought-provoking speakers and presentations in the history of our industry’s national event. His message to the industry is, “I would strongly encourage wholesalers, manufacturers and manufacturer’s reps to attend the convention and fully participate in the programs that this opportunity represents for all of us. In particular, ASA and IPD look forward to strong support from the industrial manufacturers to participate in the wholesaler-vendor conference appointments as well as the IPD Open House, and during the summer months, all of the volunteer leaders will reach out to ensure the success of this event for all of us.”