The primary benefit of attending trade shows for me is the opportunity to meet people and learn. I try to note any new ideas, concepts or problems that I hear about and then use the airport time on the return trip to organize and think about what I have learned.    

Sometimes we hear about things that we are doing wrong or things we could do better.  Usually we make some internal changes either at Braxton-Bragg or in the Slippery Rock Gazette based on what we learn.

Occasionally we hear something that requires immediate action. We had a customer from Utah point out a way to improve the marketing of our new Supreme Surface Fabricator program (if you are curious, call your Braxton-Bragg salesman). The idea was an obvious slam dunk improvement, so as soon as we said goodbye, I was on the phone having artwork created. The suggestion was clearly of the “Why didn’t I think of that?” variety, so not much discussion was needed.

Sometimes a bit more analysis is needed and work required to understand if changes could or should be made. One change that we decided to make is to offer free next day delivery for all Lavina, WerkMaster and Viper CNC tooling. We learned that these are often time sensitive items and the average cost of an order was high enough to offset a little extra freight, so everyone got together and the changes went into effect on February 1.  

Sometimes we learn about something that is important but we really don’t know what to do about it. I met several people active in the MIA at the show and learned about several successes and a disappointment of the last year. The successes were in dealing with the ever present radon rumors and safety training and the disappointment was something called “Check-Off.”

“Check-Off” is an idea that is very common in many industries; it is an assessment that is charged and used for research and advocacy of group interests. The “Got Milk?” campaign was the result of a “check-off.”  For the Stone Industry, the idea was to charge a nominal amount for each slab of natural stone that would be used to promote the use of natural stone. I think it is potentially a good idea. The man-made materials all have big ad budgets but who speaks for natural stone?

For reasons that must be clear to our government, this activity required government action and the stone “check-off” was included in the Farm Bill. Seems to me that everything from ethanol to unhealthy junk food is somehow tied to The Farm Bill, so I guess granite slabs tied to Fritos makes as much sense as anything else in Washington.  

Well, to make a long story short, the stone industry’s “check-off” was stricken from the bill (it only lost by a few votes). The amount of the fee was minimal. I am not aware of any strong opposition to the assessment, and the industry is small enough so it is not clear why anyone cares, but it was defeated. It seems to me that the lesson is that if you need something done in Washington, it takes influence, what in Chicago they call “clout.” I wish it were not so, but I think that it is.

Given how many people are in our industry, it is possible that some people may know their elected representative. Some may even contribute to campaigns. If you feel that you are in a position to “get the ear” of one of our representatives, you might want to contact Jim Hieb at the MIA (440-250-9222, jhieb@marble-institute.com) and volunteer to help with legislative activity. The MIA is just getting started with legislative action and you might be able to really help. I’m not sure if “check-offs” will be part of the MIA’s plans for 2014, but the regulatory climate of OSHA, MSHA, and the EPA are reason enough to get involved. Representatives run for re-election every two years and they do tend to listen to local voices. 

Hope you enjoy the read,

Rich Hassert

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