DELRAY BEACH, FL - Timesavers Inc., received WMIA's 18th Partner of the Year Award at WIC 2012, the wood industry suppliers annual conference in Delray Beach, FL.
Conferred annually by the Wood Machinery Industry Association (WMIA), the Partner of the Year Award is given to the manufacturer or importer who best exemplifies the spirit of partnership in its dealings with woodworking machinery distributors.
Timesavers, Inc. received the award in recognition for reinventing its approach to customer engagement. The company began emphasizing service and responsiveness, said company president Greg Larson in accepting the award. Larson said the new approach changed its relationships with its dealers.
"When we took the focus off the bottom line and put it on the customers, our bottom line improved," Larson said as he received the award. Larson said the switch to a customer focus instead of the bottom line was personally challenging to him, since he previously was chief financial officer of Timesavers.
It is the second time Timesavers, Inc. has been named Partner of the Year. The Maple Grove, MN-based maker of wood sanding and finishing equipment first won 16 years ago.
The award originated in 1993 by a machinery dealers group (WMDA) that later merged with WMIA. Nominations are sought annually only from distributor members of WMIA, asking for names of "manufacturers and importers who go above and beyond that norm and stand out as a true 'Partner' in business with the distributor partner." Nominees are evaluated by a group of distributors against a criteria established 20 years ago, after whch a final vote is taken.
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.