IBPI VIP Event Series - NA Trading

October 10th, 2018 by Mark Grice

IBPI VIP Event Series
NA Trading and Technology
October 2018

IBPI and NA Trading and Technology (NATT), located in Minneapolis, recently organized a joint event for several IBPI Members who are Sharp dealers. We kicked off the event with a delicious dinner Wednesday night near the Mall of the America.

Following breakfast on Thursday morning, we were transported over to the NATT offices in nearby Bloomington, MN. After a few short presentations, Ted Johnson, General Manager at NATT, gave us a tour of their facility. We visited their administrative, warehouse and shipping areas, but the real eye-opener was their testing labs. This company has several engineers on staff and it really shows through their processes. We saw first-hand the careful and methodical testing that is conducted by NATT before a new product is brought to market. Regardless of whether this process takes years or months, NATT adheres to high standards, as they analyze the success and failure rates for all of their products. Their current average success rate across all products is 99.74% and across all Sharp products, the success rate is 99.83%!

NATT is also committed to recycling electronic waste. They pay for your shipping, so it doesn’t cost Members a dime to recycle old drums and cartridges to reduce landfill waste.

After the facility tour, the weather cooperated, and we were treated to a cookout lunch complete with hamburgers, brats and Spam sliders. Yes, I said Spam sliders...they were delicious and considered to be a local “delicacy”. We also had plenty of sides, some made by NATT employees. It was a great time to enjoy the sunny Fall day and get to know everyone a little better.

After lunch, we had a real treat! Jerry Mathwig visited with our group. Jerry started in this business in 1965 and has a wealth of knowledge. He briefly shared his personal industry history followed by a great discussion about where we all felt the industry was going.

We wrapped up the event at the NATT facility and drove about 45 minutes north to Lake Minnetonka. There, we boarded a beautiful boat and had a wonderful dinner cruise on the lake. The leaves were just beginning to get a little color and the homes on the lake were spectacular. Our captain pointed out the largest home on the lake, which was just over 65,000 square feet.

This was a great event for all attendees. If you ever have the chance to visit the NATT facilities, don’t pass it up. I know they would be glad to host you!

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