ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT COMPRESSOR DISTRIBUTORS GUIDELINE FOR DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN COMPETITORS AT TRADE ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

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What you can’t do:

 

1. Do not discuss present, future, or past prices, increases in price, standardizing or stabilizing prices and procedures utilized by you in arriving at prices

 

2. Do not discuss what is a fair profit level

 

3. Do not discuss discounts 4. Do not discuss credit terms

 

5. Do not agree with a competitor to control sales

 

6. Do not discuss allocation of markets

 

What you can do:

 

1. Discuss ways to better educate fellow competitors to make them better distributors

 

2. Discuss ways to reduce expenses, overhead, and labor costs in a way which will improve your profits and competitive advantage

 

3. Discuss how to maintain costs at as low level as possible

 

4. Discuss labor and service problems

 

5. Discuss, under guidance of counsel, Quincy-Distributor relations

 

6. Discuss Federal and State government actions and develop industry -wide lobbying efforts

 

7. Discuss ways to improve the public image of the industry

 

8. Discuss economic trends, business forecasts, and material availability. Emphasizing that each company is free to use this information in the way it sees fit and should make its own business decisions

 

To accomplish these goals, make sure that all association meetings are carefully planned ahead of time. Agendas should be drafted by the meeting chairman in advance and distributed to all members (and where appropriate to counsel) several days prior to the meeting. Meetings should be conducted in accordance with the agendas with no deviation. Minutes of the meetings should be promptly drafted and distributed after each meeting. If any member is concerned that any topic listed in an agenda could cause anti-trust problems, he should discuss it with the chairman and/or with counsel prior to the meeting. Any member who believes that a discussion at a meeting is causing a violation of the antitrust laws, should immediately ask that the discussion be stopped. If the discussion is not stopped, the member should leave the meeting immediately and ask that the minutes reflect his objection and departure