2007 Annual Conference

With AGMA
Marriott Marco Island
March 15-17, 2007
Marco Island, FL

Once again, ABMA partnered with the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) for its 2007 Annual Meeting.  The meeting was a great success and everyone enjoyed the sessions, meetings, speakers and especially the beautiful Florida weather!

The conference kicked off on Thursday morning with the ABMA Board-of-Directors meeting, which ran concurrently with meetings of three of ABMA's committees; the Bearing Technical Committee, Statistics Committee, and Human Resources Committee.  The morning of meetings was followed by an ABMA luncheon and business meeting.  At the business meeting, ABMA Chairman Bob Swinehart welcomed first time attendees, including representatives from Kaydon and ART Technologies.  Mark Samolczyk from Timken shared the exciting progress of the World Bearing Association (WBA) including news of the anti-counterfeiting mission to China scheduled for later this year.  ABMA President Scott Lynch discussed a new venture with Freedonia to analyze ABMA statistical data and create informative reports.  Chairman Swinehart also recognized Tod Ackerly, ABMA Legal Counsel for his 30 years of service to ABMA.  During the business meeting, the annual election of ABMA Officers was held.  For 2007-2008, Bob Swinehart of Emerson Power Transmission will remain as Chairman, with Mark Samolcyzk as the new Vice-Chairman, and Dan Nebesio of Nachi Technology serving as Treasurer.  Following the business meeting, ABMA joined AGMA for the first general session, a presentation from William Beach of the Heritage Foundation on the future of America's workforce.  A welcome reception was held that evening giving ABMA members an opportunity to catch up with old friends and network with other attendees.

                    

ABMA Chairman Bob Swinehart presided over the Friday General Session.  This session began with an insightful presentation from David Pearce Snyder from the Futurist Magazine.  Mr. Snyder was followed by a panel discussion on Supply Chain Management comprised of ABMA's Diane Yavor of Emerson and Jeff Hodge of NN, Inc.

Taking advantage of the fantastic weather, the afternoon's focus turned to the AGMA/ABMA golf and tennis tournaments.  Over 80 golfers participated in the tournament held at the Rookery at Marco Island and ABMA is pleased to announce that Fred Bachert of Baldor was a part of the winning foursome.  As for the tennis tournament, Chris Yates of Timken took first prize with Gus Sperrazza of Pacamor earning second place.

On Saturday morning, political guru Charlie Cook gave predictions and evaluations of the candidates in the 2008 presidential election. It was a lively session, as attendees fired questions at Cook about his insight on Obama's staying power, the chances of Fred Thompson throwing his hat in the ring and the likelihood of McCain winning the Republican nomination. 

After enjoying an afternoon outdoors, ABMA hosted our closing dinner and reception.  At the dinner Fred Bachert was recognized, as he will be retiring in the coming months. ABMA wishes Fred and Connie the best in future endeavors.  At the conclusion of the reception, ABMA joined AGMA for an evening of dancing.

                      

Once again, ABMA would like to thank Nachi Technology, Schaeffler Group, SKF USA, Emerson Power Transmission, Timken, Kaydon and NSK for their generous support of the meeting.

ABMA is looking forward to next year's annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8-10. See you there!

For more pictures of the ABMA Annual Meeting, please visit http://flickr.com/photos/7551478@N06/