FRIENDLY RIVALRY CAN DRIVE SUCCESS
ASSOCIATION AEMT MEMBER TOM BEATSON
AEMT
FRIENDLY RIVALRY CAN DRIVE SUCCESS
It is natural for business people to be cautious when it comes to dealing with competitor companies , but the world is not entirely dog-eat-dog ; sometimes a bit of friendly rivalry , co- operation or mutual support can pay handsome dividends .
Here Thomas Marks , Secretary of the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades ( AEMT ), speaks to some members about their experiences and concludes that there is more to be gained than lost by keeping in touch with others in your industry .
Trade associations , such as the AEMT , exist to serve given markets , both supply-side and demand-side .
Their membership consists mainly , often exclusively , of the companies serving the market .
As such , it is inevitable that competing companies come together in trade associations and are required to interact with one another at certain levels .
Naturally , the more they interact and cooperate , the better the trade association can function to provide services benefiting its members , the market and the wider economy .
Most trade associations have an executive committee ( although it may operate under a different name , such as a board of management or council ) that directs and drives their operations .
People on the executive committee tend to be senior or relatively senior managers of the member companies , who naturally tend to be sophisticated and worldly .
They are able to recognise activities that are worth pursuing and to avoid those that are not ; the fact that they give time to their trade association suggests that there are beneficial effects to be gained .
So , what are these beneficial effects and who do they help ?
In short , they can be separated into two categories : development of the market , meaning there is more business around to keep the suppliers active and to contribute to the general economy , and benefits for individual member companies , such as the opportunity to form alliances , share knowledge and develop joint strategies .
8 PECM Issue 34
Swapping favours
AEMT member Tom Beatson of Beatson Fans & Motors Ltd in Sheffield , gives an overview of one of the most common advantages of co-operation . " One of our core values is to always help people . Our customers need a service they can rely on and we endeavour to do our best for anyone we can .
If we can ' t help we ' ll refer them to someone who can . Hopefully they will remember us for helping them find what they needed and the company we refer them to will be grateful for the work . One day they may have the chance to repay the favour .
“ Further , when potential new customers contact us asking about rewinds or repairs , we will make a judgement . If they are too far away for us to offer our full support and provide a professional service , we will have to think about it and see if there is anyone nearer at hand that we would be happy recommending .”
Naturally one wants to recommend capable and helpful companies , so actually knowing them is a great advantage . Membership of the AEMT , or other trade associations , is an effective way to get to know other companies in your field . You will meet representatives in both formal and informal settings , such as in committee meetings , at golf days , on visits to members ’ facilities and at gala dinners . Mr Beatson is the fourth generation of a longstanding member of the AEMT and has served on many of its committees .
So , how has that effort assisted in the development of his own company ?
“ The market is always changing , and we all have to keep up with developments . For instance , it seems that there is always some new legislation that we have to get our heads around . Formal and informal discussions with other AEMT members are great for this ; we get to hear other peoples ’ perspectives and to talk through our own ideas .
“ Being a small company , we can adapt and change as we need fairly easily , but it is invaluable knowing how the rest of the market is adapting . As an example , there is a drive to increase the use of condition monitoring techniques . Through the AEMT we will be able to develop industry-wide universal standards that we can all operate to , which means our customers won ’ t have to spend time and effort working with different systems from different suppliers .”
On a human level Mr Beatson says there is comfort in meeting fellow travellers . “ It ’ s always interesting to hear that the challenges we face on a daily basis are challenges many others , if not all , in the industry face as well .”
www . theaemt . com thomas . marks @ aemt . co . uk