STAFDA CEO Georgia Foley said the trade show floor had to be reconfigured three times to accommodate the increasing number of booths and higher demand. With 453 booths, including three 2,500-square-foot islands and eight 400-square-foot islands, the overall footprint of the Nashville show was 10% larger than the 2023 event in San Antonio.

Georgia Foley

Held in the heart of Music City USA, the convention and trade show kicked off with an opening jamboree at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as STAFDA members had two hours to enjoy the music, food, and history of folk, country, and bluegrass music at the museum.

As always, education was a central focus of the convention, starting with the Sunday morning workshops offering a full mix of technology, business, and leadership insight. Illustrating the efforts to expand interest in the industry, Foley pointed out that a record number of university students were also in attendance at this year’s event.

“As an educational association, our job is to educate for the benefit of our industry,” she said.

Foley noted that the independent distributor still plays a vital role. Multiple independent distributors joined STAFDA in the months leading up to the show and were present in Nashville. She said more foreign companies are also joining to expand their global footprint and enter the North American market.

“It’s very easy to look at our channel today and feel a bit discouraged,” she said. “There is plenty of industry churn out there but safety, janitorial and sanitation, electrical and other construction-related distributors and manufacturers continue to join our association.”

In addition, Foley stressed that despite the multiple mergers and acquisitions occurring within the industry, the family business continues to be the backbone of STAFDA. She said in September, STAFDA became a trade association member of Family Enterprise USA, a Washington, D.C.-based organization focused on tax and economic legislation affecting generational family business.

INNOVATION EVOLUTION

Innovations were spotlighted during expanded hours of the Power Aisle to allow attendees to vote on their favorite new product. The winner of the 2024 Distributors Choice Award for Best New Product was Evolution Power Tool’s S355MCS 14-inch Mitering Chop Saw.

The S355MCS was designed to give professional fabricators the most efficient cutting results. Compared to most conventional miter saws designed to cut wood, Evolution Power Tools created a 14-inch mitering saw optimized to cut heavy-duty metals.

Evolution Power Tools revealed its second generation tools at the show, including the S14CPS chop saw and its companion blade, the EVOMAX14ST.

Kelly Trumper, regional sales manager at Evolution Power Tools admits that most tool manufacturers offer a chop saw. However, he said the difference between Evolution and “the big guys,” is that the “big guys” don’t care about chop saws.

“This is what we do,” Trumper said. “All the blue tools at Evolution are metal cutters, then we have our orange tools, which are there for everything else.”

The new EVOMAX saws and blades have been dubbed Evolution’s second generation of chop saws. Before the unveiling at the STAFDA show, the company’s blades within the $90 price point would get approximately 1,200 cuts, compared to one of their major competitors’ blades which peaked at around 1,600 cuts.

“We had to do something to at least equal that,” Trumper said. “We went to our manufacturer in Japan and said what can we do, we’ve got to have a killer blade.”

The result is the new EVOMAX14ST 14-inch mild steel blade, which offers up to 3,500 cuts.

“One thing to think about, our 1,200 cut mild steel blade, we equate that to about 20 abrasive wheels on a chop saw,” Trumper said. “This is three times our current blade, so now you’re at 60 wheels or nearly double the competition.”

The new blade is included with Evolution’s new second-generation chop saws, the EVOMAX S14CPS. The saw is engineered with an intelligent motor that keeps a constant speed while cutting. Trumper said independent lab tests show a 30% increase in the lifespan of any blade being used on the tool.

“On our saws and everybody else’s saws, the minute you hit the surface, your RPMs are gone,” Trumper said. “If you’re not pushing evenly, you’re going to get variations in the RPMs going up and down which creates heat on the blade and wears it out.”

Another innovation of the EVOMAX S14CPS is also related to the motor and how the saw starts.

“If you’re familiar with when you kick on a 15-amp motor on a router or saw blade or whatever tool, there’s typically an initial surge of electricity that hits it,” Trumper said. “So, on a 15-amp motor, when you first trigger it, it gets 18 to 20 amps. If you’ve got a weak breaker or you’re on a 15-amp circuit, unless it’s on a surge breaker, you’re probably going to be having issues all day long.”

To counteract that issue, Evolution put a soft start on the new saw to help prevent excessive current surges as the blade reaches full speed. Trumper said with the soft start, the issue of popping breakers is virtually eliminated. It is also easier on the motor and gearbox, extending the overall life of the tool. The saw also features an E-brake, which prevents injuries by stopping the blade within two to three seconds once the trigger is released.

Upon addressing the challenge of the motor start, Trumper said the next step was for Evolution to further address the stereotypical “measure twice, cut once” mantra. Several saws offer laser technology to show the path of the saw. Over time, due to vibration and ongoing use, the lasers tend to go out of square. According to Trumper, the shadow line implemented by Evolution gives operators a precise cutting guide to show the exact path of the blade every time.

“We built the best metal cutting chop saw that we’ve ever made to make sure it’s the best saw that you’ve ever owned,” Trumper said.

MARKET EXPANSION

In his last STAFDA workshop before retiring, Alan Beaulieu, president and principal at ITR Economics offered an in-depth and relatable analysis of a wide variety of economic factors including global forces, inflation trends, AI, electricity prices, and other critical factors.

A fixture at the STAFDA convention for years, he delivered a mixed message of upbeat and downtrodden news to the show attendees during his presentation. To start, based on the leading economic indicators, Beaulieu said construction distribution and industrial markets will expand in both 2025 and 2026.

“Distribution is going to have a good year and you’re going to find that the biggest concern is whether you have enough inventory and enough labor as you go forward,” he said. “You’re going to make more money and you’re going to find that inflation is ebbing, interest rates are coming down, and you’re going to be able to enjoy 2025.”

Going forward into 2025 and 2026, he anticipates STAFDA members will find their world is getting better because the consumer will be driving the economy.

“The industrial economy will also be going to B2B and it’s going to be good news for you,” Beaulieu said. “When we look at the wholesale trade that you are part of and compare that to retail sales, we can see that as retail sales expand, it’s good for you.”

Even within a disinflation environment, by the end of his forecast period, he said business is expected to be at record levels by the end of 2026. However, while booming times may be forecast in the next couple of years, Beaulieu kept his long-time forecast of a depression in the 2030s as part of his presentation.

Alan Beaulieu, president and principal at ITR Economics, offered his final economic forecast to the 2024 STAFDA audience before his retirement.

While interest rates are relaxing now, Beaulieu said they will rise again through the rest of the decade as inflation again increases, leading the Federal Reserve to step in with a quantitative tightening of both rates and the money supply. To counteract the forecasted economic decline, his suggestion is for distributors to undertake a massive borrowing over the next year.

“You want your bank to worry about your health,” he said. “You want to do everything you can to reduce your dependency upon labor growth as your business grows. You want to make sure that you’re bringing out all the costs and waste that you possibly can.”

Beaulieu said the key is to use the next five years to strategically position your business to be profitable and resilient through the upcoming economic challenges. He urged STAFDA members to focus their investments on the areas that will drive efficiency, marketing effectiveness, and sustainable competitive advantages.

He said more money should be spent on marketing to target audiences including expending efforts on social media and other online content. Also, Beaulieu encouraged the distributors to find ways they could differentiate themselves from their competition and improve on that.

“You’re going to be busy in 2025 and you’re going to be busy through the rest of the decade,” he said. “Take this next year and say to yourself, what should I stop doing? What am I selling and who am I selling to that makes no sense? If you do that, you’ll find yourself more profitable, and able to deal with the economy as you go through the rest of the decade.”

“Revenue is not the goal here. Revenue is a vanity item,” he said. “Profit is what counts.”

Beaulieu said a business can make money in the coming 2030 depression, but it won’t happen accidentally, it must be planned for. He said these next five years are when the planning must occur.

“It’s pretty simple, take the next five years, build wealth by planning on inflation and acting accordingly,” he said. “Inflation coming back means you will be able to raise prices, but you’ll be ready for it and you’re going to go through the rest of this decade very profitable.”

TOOLS OF TOMORROW

Mike Foster, STAFDA’s cyber-security consultant, took attendees on a tour of AI and what it currently can do for members to help maximize the use of their time and increase efficiency.

He was joined on stage by a panel of industry leaders to share what AI is doing for their companies

Panelists included Patrick Murray, director of sales, ORS Nasco; Joshua Mason, director of sales, Milwaukee Tool; Dale Hahs II, president of AIS Industrial and Construction Supply and 2025 STAFDA president; Nelson Valderrama, founder Intuilize; Ken Novak, founder, Hatch quantified; and Andrew Hartman, president of Hartman Independent and STAFDA immediate past president.

The shared message from the panel was that use of AI was possible but that the first step must be taken.

Ken Novak of Hatch quantified, acknowledged the overwhelming nature of AI and its assorted options, particularly the way it is often portrayed in the news.

“AI’s purpose is meant to do one of two things, remove humans from a process that is unnecessary, or it’s meant to complement their abilities,” he said. “If we can leverage our technologies and AI opportunities to make their experiences better, guess what happens, we grow.”

Milwaukee Tool representative Joshua Mason suggested that there is no telling the benefit of the technology if you don’t try.

“Now I know our organization is very large, so we have the resources to invest in this, but my recommendation to everyone in this room is just take the first step,” he said.

Other panelists agreed. For example, Dale Hahs II, STAFDA’s 2025 president, said the challenge for small or mid-sized firms is to recognize that it is OK to start from wherever you’re at.

“Don’t worry about that, just start exploring it,” he said.

Knowing he was going to be on the panel, Hahs admitted to playing around with chat GPT on some spreadsheets. He learned quickly it was easy to get impatient with his prompts and quickly resumed using it the ‘regular way’ by doing it himself.

“I think the challenge is, how do you educate your small company to use AI?” Hahs said. “I think you just have to look for good advisors that are in your space, who work with smaller companies, and just start where you’re at and don’t worry about how you are compared with somebody else, because everybody starts at some point.”

He said Foster had suggested that business owners should think of AI as a best friend who stays up all night to read the entire internet and then have perfect recall of its contents.

“If you think about chat GPT or these chatbots and the use of the AI in that regard, you might find it a little more approachable,” Hartman said. “That’s what we’ve started to try to do in our organization (Hartman Independent), is just imagine you have a crazy best friend who’s sitting across from you who knows everything.”

“This is sort of like repackaging and a new iteration, but we’ve all been exposed to these things,” Hartman said. “If we’re running a business and we’re using ERP systems and other things, a lot of this stuff is already native to it, so jump in and I hope you have a funny picture in your head of your crazy best friend.”

2025 AND BEYOND

Over the past few years, STAFDA has been searching for ways to allow end users and distributors to coexist at the STAFDA convention while keeping a controlled environment.

“As a distributor-based association, we need to be mindful of our core membership and who we serve, yet recognize how the STAFDA trade show has grown over the years to become a major industry show,” Foley said.

“So that’s our world,” Foley said. “Buying group/co-ops for select distributors and suppliers, World of Concrete for end users, and STAFDA as the bridge between wholesalers and end users.”

Last year, 18 Texas-based contractor associations were contacted with options for members to attend the second day of the STAFDA show for a chance to see, demo, but not buy the latest tools and technology. A similar marketing plan was intended in Nashville.

During the conversation, the topic of end users came up. At the Milwaukee Tool facility, the company has a large digital sign naming all the vertical markets they serve including one panel dedicated to the top-end user organizations they align with.

Foley said these included the National Electrical Contractors Association; Associated Building Contractors; Associated General Contractors of America; the Mechanical Contractors Association of America; and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association.

Ultimately, senior leadership from the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association, executives from Associated Construction Distributors International, and the director of the Adhesive and Sealant Council attended the show in Nashville.

“We hope they like what they see and experience so we can further our relationship with them in 2025,” Foley said. “For those who want to see end users at our show, it’s important to keep in mind Rome was not built in a day.”

STAFDA’s 49th Annual Convention and Trade Show is scheduled for November 9-11, 2025, in downtown Phoenix. Registration will open June 23 at 8 a.m.

“STAFDA has been described by some large manufacturers as the ‘umbrella’ organization for our channel,” Foley said. “That’s an incredible compliment and one we don’t take lightly. It’s our goal and mission to offer the best available education, connections, and exposure to new products and ideas in our space.”

This article originally appeared in the December 2024/January 2025 issue of Contractor Supply magazine. Copyright, 2024/2025 Direct Business Media.

Share This!

CONTRACTOR SUPPLY MAGAZINE

The December 2024/January 2025 of Contractor Supply magazine is here!

Our cover story, A Diamond on the Rough, visits the family-owned Esch Construction Supply. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, the company sells and services anything that will cut, grind, drill or polish concrete.

Also in this issue are a 2024 STAFDA show report and Industry Updates on Abrasives Discs and Wheels; Grinders and Sanders; Cold Weather PPE and Heaters; Jobsite Lighting and Ladders, Lifts and Scaffolds.

This digital edition, sponsored by BECK AMERICA Inc., is fully searchable and contains live links to every advertiser and new product listing. Click away!