This diverse group of five participants includes roles from executive and marketing to purchasing and inventory experts. After the nearly three-hour conversation, it was clear one thing is for certain; the current supply chain status and high-demand calls for an all-hands-on-deck approach.

On Dec. 7, 2021, more than 27,000 customers of Amazon Web Services (AWS) — which includes Ring Security Cameras, Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, Facebook, Venmo and more— experienced site outages, slow streaming or complete shut-offs of services. The outage also affected Amazon’s ability to deliver on its usually two-day shipping promise and delayed updates for customers.

There are certain world/U.S. events that you can recall exactly where you were when they happened. The first in my upbringing was the attempted assassination of President Reagan. I was walking up to our front porch after getting off the school bus when my mom told me about it. The Space Shuttle tragedy: I was in school that day. If my memory serves correctly, we had a grainy TV on that was on one of those huge school AV carts.

Each year, ASA members compete for the award by submitting an application and their prior year’s incident rate (300A form). Thank you to all those that participated in the ASA Safety Award competition, and to all those who help form ASA's safety culture and education through volunteerism, and support through such efforts as its Safety Recognition Program.

Digital presence can be somewhat of a buzzword in the PHCP-PVF industry as it continues to adapt and evolve in an accelerating digital age. Each company may have a different definition of what digital transformation means to them. For Fargo, North Dakota-based PHCP distributor Dakota Supply Group, it’s simply about delivering the best online solutions to its customers.

The Valve Manufacturers International (VMA) membership elected the 2021-2022 Board of Directors, following the announcement of the slate of candidates at its Annual Meeting, which took place in October. VMA’s Chairman of the Board for the 2021-2022 year is Ron Warren, president/COO of Bray International, based out of Houston.

It is pretty rare to see a private, family-owned company reach fourth-generation leadership, much less fifth. For more than a century — 120 years to be exact — the Dowd family has led Charlotte, North Carolina-based pipe and fitting manufacturer Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. Built by W. Frank Dowd in 1901, the original foundry in Charlotte employed 25 men and produced cast iron soil pipe and fittings.

Net sales of $6,803 million were 26.6% ahead of last year, 24.5% higher on an organic basis with 1.8% from acquisitions and a further 0.3% from the impact of foreign exchange. Inflation in the first quarter was in the low teens.

After enduring a unique set of challenges through 2020 and 2021, industry experts are excited to move forward into another high-demand year. The excitement is coupled with caution, as supply chain constraints, material pricing and labor shortages are not expected to resolve themselves in the near future.

ASA’s monthly sales report shows October 2021 results that reflect another month of robust performance compared to the same month a year ago. Year-to-date and trailing-twelve-month figures remained strong when compared against 2020, a year that had multiple weeks, if not months of closures or partial closures.