AD Industrial & Safety-U.S. division celebrates record growth with AD suppliers at 2022 Spring Network Meeting
Kissimmee, FL. – The AD Industrial & Safety-U.S. division held its 2022 Spring Network Meeting on March 30th – April 1st, 2022 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. During the meeting, AD members focused on sharing best practices though networking sessions, strengthening business relationships, and maximizing AD programs.
In his opening remarks, AD’s Chairman and CEO Bill Weisberg praised the division and AD team for astounding record growth, noting that net distributions to AD members grew by 49% to $1.12 billion in 2021.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team we have, that works so hard on behalf of the members. A lot of good things happened financially and strategically last year. It’s a nice neighborhood, the billion-dollar neighborhood. We’d like to live there, not just visit it. 2022 is going to be another strong year,” Weisberg said.
Mike Carr, president of AD’s Industrial & Safety-U.S. division, added, “We are proud to have reached $14B in sales in 2021, and we’re off to a great start in 2022. We are optimistic about the great opportunities that we have with our members and suppliers to build on these record results.”
Rick Martoia, president of Alro Industrial Supply and AD divisional board chair, addressed the group in the member business meeting and encouraged members not to lose focus.
“We are a member-owned and governed organization and I’m privileged to work with the sharpest minds in the industry. The AD team is dedicated to helping us as independent distributors be more profitable and competitive every year,” Martoia said. To assist in this effort, members engaged in three AD program breakout sessions to stay educated on ways to maximize AD programs to help grow their business with AD suppliers.
Martoia continued, “Come and share best practices, and leave with one or two key things that you can implement in your business to make it better. If we do this, we will continue to organically grow our businesses and AD overall.”
AD Growth, Participation and Conversion Awards
To celebrate record growth, a series of awards were given out to recognize member companies who significantly grew their business with AD suppliers in specific categories. These members are seen as leaders among their peers in the division.
The following companies received 2021 AD Member Growth awards:
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, MRO - Tier 2: GT Midwest
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, MRO - Tier 1: HCI Supply
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, Metalworking - Tier 2: Quality Mill Supply Co., Inc.
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, Metalworking - Tier 1: Cutting Tools, Inc.
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, Safety & Janitorial - Tier 2: Mallory Safety & Supply
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, Safety & Janitorial - Tier 1: Howard Supply Co., LLC
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, Tools & Material Handling - Tier 2: F.W. Webb Co.
2021 AD ISD-US Category Growth, Tools & Material Handling - Tier 1: Horizon Distribution, Inc.
The 2021 AD ISD-US Participation Rate Improvement award was given to Shannon Hardware Co., Ltd. for having the greatest increase in year-over-year participation rate.
The AD Conversion Campaign, driven by participation and performance at the local level, has made a significant impact on growth and relationships with AD supplier partners. In 2021, the division had a record year with $154 million in documented conversion opportunities to AD Suppliers with over 7,000 entries.
The 2021 AD ISD-US Conversion MVP winner, Tenaquip, delivered $5.7 million in executed conversions growing their overall remittances in 2021 by an incredible 26%. In addition, this member played a significant role in leading peer network members to own their company’s performance in the conversion campaign, which led to 100% participation in their network.
Closing out the ceremony, Mike Carr announced the prestigious 2021 Conversion Cup, awarded to AD Network 201 for delivering $43 million in conversion opportunities across 1,500 entries, and successfully converted $21 million in business to AD suppliers.