BSA Honors 40 Years of Industry Leadership

Glen Ellyn, IL ¨C The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) celebrated its 40th Anniversary and Annual Convention April 22-25 at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, Sarasota, Florida, by recognizing the remarkable working relationships between distributor members and participating manufacturers that now span generations. Eleven of the original BSA members in 1966 are association members today. They are: Allied Bearings Supply Co., Inc; Bay State Bearings Services, Inc.; Bearing Headquarters Company; Bearings & Drives, Inc.; Bearings Specialty Company; General Bearing Service, Inc.; General Bearings Company; IBT, Inc.; Jamaica Bearings Company, Inc.; Miller Bearings, Inc.; and Precision Industries. BSA was founded in 1966 by the merger of the former Anti-Friction Bearing Distributors Association and the Association of Bearing Distributors. Since then it has developed into the industry¡¯s leading association of international authorized distributors of ball-, roller- and other anti-friction bearings and their participating manufacturers. Industry education, training, the crucial role of bearings within the greater manufacturing context, and the ability to nimbly respond to important industry issues have been hallmarks of BSA. Together BSA members and participating manufacturers have developed a complete library of training materials, kept current with additions and revisions that reflect the technological changes in the industry; a variety of supply chain efficiencies including the Product & Price Information Format (PPIF) and Debit Credit Memo Format that speed and refine the communications between members; and an industry-wide certification program that demonstrates the value these companies and their employees deliver to every transaction. In addition to these initiatives, BSA continues to work hard with related industries and their associations to develop mutually beneficial programs and to continuously monitor issues of importance to its members and participating manufacturers. In honor of the 40th anniversary event, BSA extended a special invitation to retired BSA members to join them once again in Sarasota. The convention website, www.bsaconventions.org, celebrated the association¡¯s 40-year history with two walks down memory lane: a review of former BSA leaders and a pictorial time capsule of BSA conventions from the last 40 years. BSA is the ¡°must belong to organization for authorized bearing distributors.¡± An international service and educational organization of authorized distributors representing more than 50 companies distributing factory-warranted ball-, roller-, and anti-friction bearings and 47 invited manufacturers of bearings and related products, the association¡¯s mission says, ¡°BSA is the forum to enhance networking and knowledge sharing and promote the sale of bearings through authorized distributors.¡±