July 10 2011
Volume 41, Issue 13 - Interview: Airgas 'Returns to Normalcy'
41
13
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MDM: Last year seems to have been a pretty good year for Airgas, even with the need to fend off the bid from Air Products. What were the key drivers for growth in 2010?
Peter McCausland: I suppose you’re talking about our fiscal year 2011 that ended this past March 31, since that’s mostly calendar 2010. And it was a pretty good year.
I think the real driver was a resurgence in the U.S. economy, especially among manufacturers. It started with large manufacturers, and toward the end of our fiscal year we saw the recovery begin to spread.
Energy companies and energy markets were showing...
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Many distributors are wary of charging separately for items such as delivery, small orders or fuel, but experts say that if it’s done correctly, what’s known as price partitioning can be a successful (and even accepted) part of a distributor pricing strategy.
Consumers have long been used to the idea of price partitioning – what the authors of a recent article in the MIT Sloan Management Review called the practice of charging separately for such things as shipping, installation, checked baggage or tire disposal.
The concept is gaining traction among distributors ...
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MDM attended the recent Canadian Power Transmission Distributors Association conference in Ottawa, Ontario. Topics discussed at the conference and summarized in this article include the Canadian economic outlook, business opportunities and talent management.
From the economy to recruitment and retention concerns to new opportunities, the topics front of mind for power transmission and bearing distributors in Canada aren’t all that different from those of their U.S. counterparts. How they approach these topics, however, may be.
Speakers addressed these topics at the annual Canadian Conference of the Power Transmission Distributors Association in Ottawa, Ontario, which MDM attended at the beginning of June.
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MDM: Last year seems to have been a pretty good year for Airgas, even with the need to fend off the bid from Air Products. What were the key drivers for growth in 2010?
Peter McCausland: I suppose you’re talking about our fiscal year 2011 that ended this past March 31, since that’s mostly calendar 2010. And it was a pretty good year.
I think the real driver was a resurgence in the U.S. economy, especially among manufacturers. It started with large manufacturers, and toward the end of our fiscal year we saw the recovery begin to spread.
Energy companies and energy markets were showing...
- Premium
- Premium
Many distributors are wary of charging separately for items such as delivery, small orders or fuel, but experts say that if it’s done correctly, what’s known as price partitioning can be a successful (and even accepted) part of a distributor pricing strategy.
Consumers have long been used to the idea of price partitioning – what the authors of a recent article in the MIT Sloan Management Review called the practice of charging separately for such things as shipping, installation, checked baggage or tire disposal.
The concept is gaining traction among distributors ...
- Premium
MDM attended the recent Canadian Power Transmission Distributors Association conference in Ottawa, Ontario. Topics discussed at the conference and summarized in this article include the Canadian economic outlook, business opportunities and talent management.
From the economy to recruitment and retention concerns to new opportunities, the topics front of mind for power transmission and bearing distributors in Canada aren’t all that different from those of their U.S. counterparts. How they approach these topics, however, may be.
Speakers addressed these topics at the annual Canadian Conference of the Power Transmission Distributors Association in Ottawa, Ontario, which MDM attended at the beginning of June.
- Premium