ERA Show Produces Crowd, Cooperative Spirit By Traci Matt STAFF WRITER More than 750 members of the rebuilding industry came together October 11, 12 and 13 for the first Electrical Rebuilder’s Association (ERA) Trade Show in Kansas City, MO. Far more impressive than the numbers was the fact that leading sup- pliers—rivals turned allies—had worked together to make this show an event unlike any other in the history of the industry. In addition to a day and a half of first- rate exhibits, 522 attendees came out for technical seminars, business education, hands-on training stations, roundtable discussion groups, and a_vendor- sponsored reception, complete with Kansas City barbeque and jazz. “Whenever we’ve had suppliers real- ly get behind something we’ve had a great turnout,” said Joe Davis of Joe Davis Enterprises, who brought his legendary show-on-wheels to the show. Davis had such an outstanding response to his seminar—125 rebuilders in two sessions—that he ran out of training manuals at Sunday’s session and had to ship them to rebuilders after the show. To complement Davis’ technical seminar on Friday, rebuilder Jim Thomas of Smith Auto Electric, Yakima, WA, offered practical business advice and answered questions for more than 90 attendees in the “Where’s the Profit” session (see the ‘“Where’s the Profit” recap on page 4). Jim Quattlebaum of Alternator & Starter Service, Okolona, MS, said he enjoyed the business seminar and learned that “‘profit is not a dirty word.” “This was excellent. There were a lot more people than at the E+ Shows before. I like the fact that it’s all electrical,” said Quattlebaum. Joel Smith, owner of Smith Automotive in White Deer, TX, said he attended all the weekend seminars and was overwhelmed with the information. Smith is a new ERA member and this was the first show he has attended. “I wish I knew a third of what Joe Davis knows,” said Smith. “TI got a lot of helpful information at the booths and spent more money than I should have. The food was good. The drive home is my only complaint.” Friday was capped off with a round- table discussion featuring Richard Vensel of Vensel Enterprises and moder- ated by Alan Melton of Northwest Regulator Supply. Bill Meyer of Bill’s Auto Electric in Mt. Vernon, OH, was particularly impressed by Melton’s skill as a master of ceremonies. “He worked close to 100 rebuilders like he was directing an orchestra. He was in the front of the room, he was in the back, he was in the middle. I don’t think he missed a comment, a question, or an answer from anybody. There wasn’t a person in that room that didn’t learn something,” Meyer said. Business was brisk on the show floor all day Saturday. Sixty vendors were represented taking a total of 100 booth spaces for an impressive display. The centerpiece of the show floor was a training area which featured training stations and technical presenta- tions on Saturday and Sunday. Rob Buksar’s hands-on soldering session included everything from cleaning techniques to insulators while attendees participated, asked questions, and franti- cally took notes. Dave Kaplan’s afternoon session on test equipment drew 130 rebuilders to the center of the show floor. His “You Don’t Have to Sell the Farm to Accurately Test PCM Regulators” class was well received and included the use of an overhead projector and accompa- nying handout. “Tf a rebuilder spends $1,000 on test equipment he can accurately test any regulator that’s used in the market today,” said Kaplan. “Using an inexpen- sive test fixture and adding options for tests can be easily done.” The location of the training stations on the floor enabled rebuilders to learn without leaving the exhibit hall—some- thing the vendors were pleased with. “When else have you had people on the show floor at 5 pm?’ commented exhibitor Rob Buksar of Hoosier Electric. One spot that was jumping all weekend, with the help of some dedi- cated volunteers, was the ERA booth. ERA members Bill Smith, Glenn Cheaney, Dan Smith, Pat Soliday, Bill Meyer, Mike and Michele Schroeder, Bob and Sarah Thomas, Bob and Jody Nava, took shifts reining prospective members in for an Internet demonstra- tion. More than 40 businesses joined on the spot, including new members from such faraway places as the Virgin Islands, New Zealand and the Netherlands. Members Sarah Thomas, Michele Schroeder and Sam Mosley, also helped tremendously at the regis- tration booth, while Ronnie Charnes assisted on the show floor. “T am so grateful to this group of people for volunteering their time and energy. Their commitment to the association and the industry is contagious, and they made the whole weekend a lot of fun,” said ERA Chair Polly Shea. The Saturday evening barbeque, including brisket, chicken and award- winning baked beans, drew a crowd of 610, as well as rave reviews. Drew Vecchione of ADA Auto Parts in Farmingdale, NY, even joined the band for the Sinatra classic “Fly Me to the Moon.” Daniel Smith of United Aut