Heard at the NAED Western Conference

Lots of the industry chatter in the halls of the Hilton Bayside in sunny San Diego at this week’s NAED Western was about the slow start distributors and reps in the nation’s oil markets have seen because of declining oil prices, and the decision by Mayer Electric Supply, Birmingham, Ala., to leave  the Affiliated Distributors buying/marketing group to join the IMARK buying/group. Mayer Electric, a charter AD member and the 12th largest electrical distributor on Electrical Wholesaling’s Top 200 listing, bring some significant buying power to IMARK, as the company’s 2013 sales were $672 million.

The NAED Western was the first  of the regional conferences for IDEA’s Paul Molitor as CEO and president of the association, and he was busy meeting and greeting distributors and manufacturers. Molitor is a familiar face in electrical circles due to his time as a senior executive for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). Another man on the move is Sean Leahy, a long-time industry executive who will be joining Sonepar North America in a senior executive post in 1Q 2015. Leahy is best known in the electrical business for his stints with Vantage and Vanguard National Alliance (VNA) in national accounts, with Ideal Industries, and as author of The Sales Shot, a sales training book.

The meeting had a good buzz about it and NAED staffers were pleased with attendance figures. Next year’s NAED Western Conference will be in Phoenix, Jan. 18-20.