President’s Report Tracks
(R-TX) to a legislative roundtable, and Sen. Grassley (R-IA) toured a Carry-On facility and held a question and answer session with employees. We always encourage NATM members to host legislators. If you are interested, contact Executive Director Pam Trusdale at NATM Headquarters.
By far the biggest accomplishment in 2015 was ISO 17020:2012 accreditation. This has been an ongoing project for a number of years, and thanks to the efforts of NATM Assistant Director Kendra Fritz, NATM successfully completed the accreditation process. She was supported by the NATM staff and several key members whose companies had undergone ISO 9001 accreditation. ISO accreditation adds credibility to NATM’s Compliance Verifi cation Program, assists staff in continually improving the program, and allows for ongoing feedback and communication with members.
The July Board of Directors meeting included a facilitated Strategic Planning Session. The board members reviewed the mission, vision and values statements and developed a comprehensive strategic plan to ensure NATM’s success in the future. The plan is being fi ne-tuned and the fi nal product will be reviewed and approved at the October Board of Directors meeting. Once approved, it will be published in a future issue of Tracks. The plan includes goals, strategies and performance metrics for the next three years with the hopes of long lasting change. The performance metrics provide measurable results that will be monitored to ensure full implementation of the plan.
In August, NATM’s Guidelines for Recommended Minimum Manufacturing Practices for Light- and Medium-Duty Trailers was reviewed, edited and shipped out to members ahead of schedule. NATM’s Guidelines is a compilation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and industry best practices for manufacturing trailers, and is the backbone to what we do in this Association. The Association owes a very special thank you to NATM’s Technical Committee and technical staff for their hard work updating this massive document.
During September, NATM staff attended two trade shows and distributed its new "Safely Towing a Trailer" brochures to trailer dealers and fl eet managers across the country. This informational booklet has been very well received, and I encourage all of our members to contact headquarters to order copies to distribute to your customers and dealers! The Association also published another fantastic Membership Directory & Buyer’s Guide which will be mailed with renewals to members this fall.
www.NATM.com
As I write this in October, 2016 trade show booth spaces are nearly sold out, and registrations for trailer manufacturers opened a month ahead of schedule. I am very pleased to see that the various promotions for trailer manufacturers are encouraging both fi rst time attendees, and those that have not attended in a few years, to come to the show in Las Vegas. The Association is trying a few new things including a “speed networking" event for attendees. It will be another great show!
For more information about this year’s achievements, I encourage you all to pick up a copy of NATM’s 2016 Annual Report that will be distributed at the Annual Membership Meeting at the Convention & Trade Show in February.
I don’t anticipate that the Association’s progress will slow in 2016. The convention will be here before we know it, and with registration numbers already up, it is sure to be another success. I am also looking forward to putting our new strategic plan into action after the fi nal approval by the NATM Board. The next Regulatory Roundup will be held in July instead of our usual May next year, and I feel that it is very important to keep up our work revisiting with staff and legislators.
NATM’s success is only possible because of the hard work and dedication of its members, and we truly value your contributions to making this year’s achievements a reality. Thank you to everyone that took time to serve on an NATM committee, attend the trade show, or take part in our government affairs initiatives. I hope you all take the quieter time in production during the winter months to refl ect on your own personal and company successes, and enjoy quality time with friends and loved ones.
To my NATM family, I hope you all have a safe winter holiday season and a very happy New Year!
Greg Snyder
CAR MATE Trailers, Inc. NATM President
November/December 2015
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