Our distributors are key to our success.

If they’re willing to make a commitment to us — to stay current with our products and to represent them well in the marketplace — then they should be rewarded. That reward is offered in the form of rebates.

Here’s how the plan works: An “A” Distributor’s sales goal is set by Koike based on the distributor’s performance in the previous year. General market conditions also are taken into consideration, to make the goal as realistic as possible.

If the distributor exceeds the goal, he earns a rebate. The higher the amount by which the distributor exceeds the goal, the higher the percentage of the rebate.

Koike has made its “A” Distributorship program available since 2004.

Distributors have responded positively, reaching for spots at the “A” level.

In each year since the start of the program, 10 to 15 of Koike’s U.S. distributors have risen to “A” status by increasing their sales and getting on a product training schedule.

Conversely, about the same number falls out of the program each year because they have not fulfilled their requirements.

The requirements for the “A” Distributorship program are designed not just to move more products, but also to help to ensure high quality support for the users of Koike equipment.

To reach “A” status, a distributor must meet the following benchmarks:

Support at least two out of Koike’s three major product GWD12lines. These are cutting machines, positioners, and portables and gas apparatus.

Give Koike a minimum amount of business, measured by annual purchases. Parts and wire consumables don’t count as one of the three major product lines but sales of them do count toward total sales levels and rebate levels.

Post Koike signage and displays at distributor locations.

Send sales and service personnel to one Training School per year. A distributor can attend a Koike Product Overview School at his own location or at one of Koike’s facilities. Training keeps service and sales personnel up to date with Koike equipment.

Meet Koike credit and payment requirements.

Distributors regularly call us to see how they can get to the “A” level.

Having an established program in place with clear guidelines makes things easier for both the company and distributors.

The program has been good to the distributors who put in the effort, and Koike Aronson paid out more than over $500,000 in rebates in 2007.

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Koike Aronson/Ransome, Inc., a manufacturer of cutting and positioning equipment for the metalworking industry, is on a roll with four straight years of record profits. New product introductions and a reputation for quality have been important to its run, but salesmanship also has played a part.

Koike sells through approximately 1,500 distributors worldwide, about 600 of whom are in the U.S.

These sales organizations have seen their revenues grow right along with Koike’s.

However, for an elite group of the company’s distributors, the last few years have been especially profitable. They are Koike’s “A” Distributors, the top-grossing sellers in the U.S.

Jerry Leary, chief executive officer of Koike Aronson/Ransome, talked about what the company has done to classify its distributors and how its “A” List distributors differ from others.