ERMCO hosted the Electric Roundtable Purchasing Summit on April 29th through May 1st, 2008 at our headquarters in Indianapolis. ERMCO is one of nine member companies of the Electric Roundtable Peer Group. The members firms are electrical contractors from throughout the U.S. and are dedicated to making each member the best company they can be and, in turn, provide great benefit to the industry as a whole.

One of the activities in which the members participate is committee meetings made up of the individuals who perform like tasks at each of the member companies. The purpose of these meetings is to exchange ideas and promote best practices within each company. The various groups that meet throughout the year include Marketing, Safety, Finance and Accounting, I.T. Services, Telecomm and Low Voltage Systems, Service and Specialty Contracts, Pre-Construction and Construction Services, and Purchasing Groups.

A different member company hosts and facilitates each of these meetings. ERMCO elected to host the Purchasing meeting under the direction of Greg Gossett, Vice President, and Marty Pickens, Director of Purchasing for ERMCO.

Several topics were included on the agenda including vendor partnerships, equipment rental practices, data entry methods being used, pricing, terms and conditions, A/P turnarounds, subcontracting, purchase documentation methods, new tools available in the market, pooled purchasing power and buying opportunities and creation of the internal chat room on the Electric Roundtable website. The group also exchanged ideas on methods used in the pricing of estimates and the latest innovations in material handling and packaging.

Guest speakers included Kevin Baker and Todd Smith of T&B Commercial Products, Scott Black and Jim O’Shaughnessy of WESCO, and Terry Bair of Acuity Brands. The group toured ERMCO’s Purchasing facilities with special attention given to the Preferred Vendor Partnership concept. Representatives of Graybar, WESCO and ERMCO each explained their roles in the process. They then visited ERMCO’s Service Center which included a complete explanation of our Pre-Fab operations by Bill Riley, Director of Pre-Fab Services and a review of our tool handling services, presented by Jim Hurrle, Tool and Equipment Manager.

There were multiple opportunities during meals and breaks for an open exchange of ideas and networking. The event concluded with a visit to the Indianapolis Midfield Terminal site, a $60 Million project being performed by the ERMCO/Sachs Joint Venture, both members of the Roundtable.
These group meetings always prove to be valuable for everyone attending and this was no exception. Each attendee was able to take new ideas back to their company that can be implemented to improve productivity and profitability. ERMCO is proud to be a member of the Electric Roundtable and views their participation as an investment in the future of the company and in our ability to better serve our customers.

Attendees at this year’s summit included Al Cody and Vickey Geffert of Alterman Electric, Joe Martin of Bruce Electric, Jerry Greeson of Cleveland Electric, Howie Meuse of EJ Electric, Greg Gossett, Rod Burton, and Marty Pickens of ERMCO, Inc., Keith Frischhertz of Frischhertz Electric, Donna Myers and Walt Agnolutto of Mona Electric, and Adam Liley of Sachs Electric. Maron Electric was unable to send a representative but participated in portions of the meeting via teleconferencing.