By Dylan O’Hagan
Las Vegas, Nevada — March 10, 2016 — PPG recently concluded its 25th annual Platinum Distributors conference. This year was a smashing success for the Canadian contingent, with a record-breaking number of Canadian distributors travelling to take part in the conference. The 2016 PPG Platinum Conference took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The conference is designed for distributors, who can then take the information and provide it to their customers, according to Heather Spratt, PPG Canada’s Manager of Value Added Programs.
“The theme of this year’s conference was Parade of Opportunities,” says Spratt. “Our focus was on change in the marketplace and how PPG stays ahead of the competition.”
For the distributors that attend, it’s a chance to keep up to date and gain an edge that they can pass on to their customers in the autobody field. This year’s event covered Canadian business extensively, more so than in year’s past, according to Bob Jaworski of Auto Electric Service in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jaworski has attended the conference several times. He notes that this year’s event had more Canadian specific content than ever before.
“Now it’s both USA and Canada, they put on separate demonstrations for certain distributors,” says Jaworski. “It addresses Canadian needs more so now then when they started out.”
Spratt says market trends and where future opportunities may come from both in the US or Canada are discussed collaboratively between distributors. “We provide a forum for our distributors to exchange different views, ideas and personal experiences in a collaborative environment, with the hopes they can then take away points they feel may help their own business,” she says.
It was Pino Chiappetta’s second time attending the Platinum Distributor’s conference. Chiappetta is with CHC Wholesale, based out of Woodbridge, Ontario. He says PPG always puts on a first class event that gives distributors everything they should know.
“PPG are cutting edge, you see things like OEMs, generational customer perspectives, motivational speakers, new technologies and what’s changed,” said Chiappetta. “In one event you get everything you need to know.”
For more information, please visit ca.ppgrefinish.com.
