The North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) announced the launch of the NATM Affiliate Program, which will bring safety and regulatory information from the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) down to the trailer dealers.
“We’re very excited about providing our members access to this very valuable information,” NATDA Vice President Amy Rubenstein said. “The great relationship that we are building with NATM will lay the foundation for a successful future for the trailer industry. This is a great opportunity for these two associations to work together to better educate the dealers, and ultimately the end users, on the safety and regulatory information. In these tough economic times it is critical that the dealers, manufacturers and vendors that serve the industry work together to stay strong and tackle these times together. Having NATM and the Trailer Dealers Association on the same page and working towards the same common goal will unify our industry, which is exactly what we need right now.”
“We at NATM are very excited about our new affiliation with NATDA and the opportunities it creates to better serve the trailer industry as a whole -- vendors, manufacturers and dealers. Being able to directly include trailer dealers in NATM's safety, regulatory and legislative efforts will put our message where the rubber meets the road . . . at trailer dealerships” said Michael Terry, NATM Vice President.
NATDA dealer members will reap the benefits of the NATM Affiliate Program by having direct access to safety and regulatory information that will be provided by NATM. In addition, NATDA dealer members will now receive a subscription to the NATM bi-monthly magazine Tracks. Trailer dealer members also will have access to the NATM Technical Director for questions pertaining to trailer safety standards through natm.com. NATM will provide educational materials to dealers such as wheel torque, lighting and compliance posters. Other benefits include regular legislative updates regarding the trailer industry, access to archive issues of Tracks and a complete list of NATM compliant trailer manufacturers.
Dealer education has been a very hot topic of conversation and a focal point for NATDA.
“Dealers are starting to run their operations more like the auto industry, meaning sales, parts, service, finance and rentals are all departments within the dealership that need to be held accountable to achieve profit. Dealers have had nowhere to turn for education and training, and that is exactly what we provide,” said NATDA President Andy Ackerman. "With the additional value that NATM brings to our members, there shouldn’t be a trailer dealer in business today that can’t see value in belonging to NATDA.”
Every manufacturer and vendor involved in the trailer industry needs to be kept informed, and in encouraging a more active participation, NATDA has reduced the membership rates for NATM members that also belong to NATDA.
“Having direct access to trailer dealers, and the being in the loop is imperative and we feel NATM members can benefit by maintaining memberships in both association,” said Ackerman.
For more information about this affiliation, contact NATDA at www.natda.org or (727) 360-0304 or NATM Headquarters at www.natm.com or (785) 272-4433.