Bridge the culture gap by recognizing special non-Anglo holidays.
Right after Thanksgiving of last year I was giving a conference for some business owners in Arizona, and this Anglo gentleman approached me with the following statement: “Why are some of my Hispanics so ungrateful?”
There's a revolution underway in the kitchen and bath.
It doesn't seem that many years ago that we viewed stainless steel as a material suited for making sinks and toasters - and that was about it. For use beyond that, whether for other applications in the kitchen or anywhere else in the house, it was generally considered too cold and institutional looking.
Cayce Mill Supply's new 8,600-sq.-ft. showroom is designed to impress both homeowners and trade professionals.
A 16-foot high ceiling in the entrance area. Clusters of sparkling chandeliers. A working kitchen large enough to accommodate 20 to 30 people or more. Alcove after alcove with tastefully decorated product groupings or vignettes.
PMI originally began as the Plumbing Brass Institute. The scope of the organization was expanded in 1975 and the name changed to the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI). In 1998, it was reorganized around focus issues, product groups and standing committees. PMI is the voluntary, not-for-profit association for plumbing manufacturers.
The Hispanic workforce is unique to our contemporary business environment. As a group of people, this workforce is considered to be critical to the success of the construction industry. That being said, members of the Hispanic workforce have special training needs that their Anglo counterparts do not have.
The concept of The PVF Roundtable evolved from the efforts of Westbrook Manufacturing in 1987 to implement the quality process in its manufacturing operations. After several years of informal meetings, Sidney Westbrook hosted an industry-wide meeting in May of 1990, attended by more than 75 representatives from all phases of the PVF supply chain.
There are two kinds of people in the business world. We all recognize Type 1 as the vaunted “people person” who parlays a winning personality into lasting business relationships. All of us also have encountered Type 2, who might be labeled the “numbers cruncher.” To them, personalities are irrelevant.
Master distribution is a testimony to entrepreneurial inventiveness in a free economy. Our industry's manufacturer-distributor channel serves as the best way to get bulk goods to market, but it doesn't work all that well for dealing with oddball items, short orders, imports, repair parts and other specialty goods that don't fit snugly into this channel's normal stream of commerce. Master distributors popped up to fill the gaps.
The past few years have delivered a long-awaited turnaround for the wholesale distribution industry. The United States continues to expand at a sustainable rate. In 2005, Pembroke Consulting estimates that total sales of wholesaler-distributors will reach nearly $3.6 trillion, representing a 7% increase over 2004. Pembroke Consulting forecasts continued growth in 2006, with industry revenues growing by 6.5%.
The American Supply Association (ASA) was officially formed in December 1969 through the merger of two groups: The Central Supply Association (CSA) and the American Institute of Supply Associations (AI). ASA is a not-for-profit national organization serving wholesale distributors and their suppliers in the plumbing, heating, cooling and industrial pipe, valves, and fittings industries.
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