LAS VEGAS, NV — Talks of a merger between two wholesale-distributor organizations, the Northamerican Heating, Refrigeration & Airconditioning Wholesalers Association (NHRAW) and Air-conditioning Refrigeration Wholesalers International (ARWI), continued to pick up momentum at the NHRAW convention held here recently.

As a result of a special white paper published for both organizations by the Indian River Consulting Group (IRCG), NHRAW president Scott Nicholson urged members to voice their opinions about the possible merger.

“The preparation of the white paper is part of the process,” Nicholson said. “I encourage everyone to respond to the [white paper] survey.”

A “transitional exploration task force” consisting of members from both organizations met in Chicago in October with the express purpose to “explore the issues, review the input of the membership based on a confidential web survey, and to make a clear go/no-go decision with respect to continued exploration of the project.”

At the outset of the meeting, task force members were asked, in a secret vote, to ascertain their confidence level regarding the potential for success in forming a new, joint organization. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing a “slam dunk,” the average was 8.5. At the end of the meeting, the average rose to 9.6.

The task force also emphasized that all member benefits of both organizations would remain intact.

At the end of the exploratory session, the task force decided to proceed with the project, citing that the results of the task force meeting was “very encouraging.”

The next step recommended by the task force is to circulate the white paper among members of NHRAW and ARWI, and provide the opportunity for membership to participate in an online survey.

The white paper concluded with the following statement: “The action planning committee will review member input to this white paper and address the issues and structure of the new organization.”

Nicholson stated, “The basis of the survey will provide a direction that discussions will take in the coming months.”

NHRAW and ARWI members can view and complete the online survey at www.ircg.com (website).

Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact Mike Emerson at memerson@ircg.com (e-mail), or call 321-956-8617.

Publication date: 12/24/2001