In a business climate where many trade show organizers were seeing attendance at their conferences and trade shows plummet by 30 percent or more, staffers from the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA), Tarrytown, N.Y., were delighted with attendance at the 2009 NEMRA Annual conference, held March 18-March 21 in Orlando. With more than 1,300 attendees, conference registration was only down 8 percent from last year's meeting in Washington, D.C.

Despite the economic tsunami that's engulfed the electrical market and the rest of the global economy, this year's NEMRA Conference had the same buzz as other meetings in past years. The one-on-one sessions and group meetings were as active as ever and reps coming out of their pow-wows with manufacturers didn't look too battered or bruised — a bit of a surprise considering the economic conditions. Several reps told EM that manufacturers had more realistic sales expectations this year because of the recession. One rep from the Midwest said he considered himself lucky because his business was “only” down less than 10 percent. “I feel like I hit the lottery, compared to some other reps who are seeing their businesses down 30 percent or even more,” he said.

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Thank-you from the staff of Electrical Marketing.