Celebrating 25 Years of Leadership

Maui, Hawaii - Over 400 distributors, sales representatives, Mitsubishi Electric HVAC employees, and their families, converged on Maui to celebrate Mitsubishi Electric HVAC's 25 years of leadership in the U.S. commercial and residential HVAC markets and to look ahead to future goals and projections, according to William Rau, senior vice president and general manager, Mitsubishi Electric HVAC, Lawrenceville, Ga.

"Since we wanted to instill the leadership theme into the conference, we invited one of our country's former leaders, President George H.W. Bush, to be the keynote speaker at the Finale Dinner. President Bush joined our distributors for dinner and spoke about his views on leadership," said Rau.

During the four-day conference, distributors and sales representatives attended seminars and general sessions covering customer service, new products, technical support, training, marketing communications, lead distribution and more.

In the general session's opening remarks, Akira Tasaki, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA Inc., Cypress, Calif., said, "Twenty-five years ago, Mitsubishi Electric entered the U.S. HVAC market with a small group of products that were new to America." According to Tasaki, many competitors did not take this entrance seriously. However, Mitsubishi stayed the course, educated the industry, developed a network of dealers and distributors, introduced new products, increased production, improved delivery and lowered prices.

Although the conference's theme was about the past 25 years, there also was an emphasis on the future and the opportunity Mitsubishi Electric HVAC has to capture U.S. market share. "A key part of making sure this opportunity is realized is for distributors to ensure their contractors are aware of what Mitsubishi Electric HVAC is doing to bring customers to them," said Rau.

Looking into the future, Lorie Quillin-Bell, director of marketing, introduced an aggressive national television advertising campaign. "The consumer is ready and willing to buy our products. The opportunity for us to succeed is enormous. We need your help (meaning distributors) to make sure the contractor knows about the training, marketing and service solutions available to them," she said.

In addition to the conference and keynote dinner, Mitsubishi Electric HVAC presented the 2004 Distributor Awards. The 2004 Distributor of the Year, which distinguishes exemplary sales, sales growth and overall effort with Mitsubishi Electric HVAC products, was awarded to General Supply & Machine Co., Inc., Meridan, Miss. The International Distributor of the Year was awarded to Quality Electric Supply, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

The 2004 Manufacturer's Representative of the Year, which acknowledges an independent representative's overall growth in sales territory and commitment to Mitsubishi Electric HVAC's Diamond Alliance program, was presented to The Joyce Agency, Springfield, Va.

About Mitsubishi Electric HVAC Advanced Products Division

With headquarters in Lawrenceville, Ga., Mitsubishi Electric HVAC Advanced Products Division is a leading marketer of intelligent air conditioning and heating technology, manufactured by its parent corporation, Mitsubishi Electric. The division was established in 1980 by Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. to market Mr. Slim® split-ductless air conditioning and heating systems in North America. Since then, the division has expanded its market distribution to include Latin America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

The company's product line also includes CITY MULTI Variable Refrigerant Flow Zoning Systems, compressors, PlasmaPure™ room air purification systems and a full line of accessories for the Mr. Slim line, including Line-Hide line set covers. For more information on the Diamond Alliance, CITY MULTI, Mr. Slim and the Mitsubishi Electric HVAC Advanced Products Division, call 800/687-1966 or visit www.mehvac.com.

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