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A. O. Smith Electrical Products Company earns
2003 sales and marketing award from Johnstone Supply

The combination of a broad motor product line, personalized customer service, merchandising support, and on-site training enabled the A. O. Smith Electrical Products Company to earn Johnstone Supply's 2003 Excellence in Sales & Marketing Award.

Johnstone, with headquarters in Portland, Ore., is a nationwide wholesale distributor serving the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration industries.

"This award is given to a supplier based on their field coverage of our corporate operations and store locations, the quality of their marketing efforts, and the quality of their support," Monte Salsman, vice president of marketing for Johnstone Supply, said.

The Excellence in Sales & Marketing Award is one of three supplier honors that Johnstone Supply presents each year. The company evaluated more than 350 suppliers in determining this year's awards.

"Johnstone has very high standards when it comes to fill rates, on-time delivery, and product support," according to David E. Hacker, global business manager, for A. O. Smith Electrical Products Company. "Our entire organization understands their mission, and our manufacturing, customer service, and field sales force really share in this award." This is the first time A. O. Smith has earned the sales and marketing award.

"A. O. Smith demonstrates a top-down interest in Johnstone Supply as a customer," Salsman observed. "Their leadership is interested in our business, they are

involved, they understand our needs. A. O. Smith has embraced our needs by being flexible and adapting to our uniqueness."

"Johnstone is a large customer with an entrepreneurial atmosphere," Joseph M. Blackburn, account executive for A. O. Smith Electrical Products, pointed out. "It's a co-op in the true sense of the word, with buying decisions often made by the individual store owners. The A.O. Smith sales force has done an outstanding job of supporting the Johnstone store owners."

A. O. Smith offers Johnstone the advantages of one of the broadest electric motor product lines in the industry as well as a high degree of name recognition. In addition to replacement motors that meet OEM specifications, the company manufactures products that are targeted at motor replacement applications, such as the new "4 in 1" motor, a multi-horsepower specifically designed for the HVAC market.

Over the last year, the company was able to expand Johnstone's line of integral horsepower motors and enable the wholesaler to increase its presence in commercial air conditioning. "We worked closely with Johnstone to determine which motors to put in their catalog and initially introduced 5, 7, 10, and up to 20 horsepower motors with select store owners to test the concept," Hacker explained. "Based on the success of these trials, we were able to roll out the product line to all locations."

A team of 30 field sales professionals covers the more than 275 Johnstone Supply stores in the U. S. They not only serve the stores' electric motor needs, but also assist Johnstone personnel in meeting their customers' needs, often making joint sales calls.

The sales people also are responsible for providing motor training to Johnstone counter employees and the distributor's customers as well. "We'll work after hours with contractors and commercial customers, explaining how to select a motor, how to maintain and service the motor, and troubleshooting techniques," Blackburn noted.

To further focus its customer service efforts, A. O. Smith assigned Johnstone account responsibility to one individual, Michelle Bell, a team leader in its LaVergne, Tenn., distribution center.

"Michelle probably talks to each of the store owners on a daily basis," Dennis L. Furlong, manager-distribution operations planning, said. "Any tech question, cross reference information, order tracking, it all goes through her. For Johnstone, it's one-stop shopping."

A. O. Smith serves Johnstone's two regional warehouses in Portland and Memphis, Tenn., but in many cases, store owners buy directly from the motor manufacturer. "We ship every day, if necessary," Furlong pointed out.

Using EDI and other automated technologies, A. O. Smith is able to meet its far-flung customer's order requirements accurately and timely, processing nearly every order the same day it is received from distribution centers in LaVergne, and El Paso, Texas.

A. O. Smith Electrical Products Company earns 2003 sales and marketing award from Johnstone Supply

A. O. Smith Electrical Products Company earns
2003 sales and marketing award from Johnstone Supply