NEMRA 2026 Conference in Orlando Attracts 2,100 Rep, Manufacturer and Industry Execs

NEMRA’s 2026 Annual Conference, held Feb. 8-Feb. 11 in Orlando, FL, topped 2,100 attendees, one of the largest attendance figures in years. Sessions were well-attended, as members appeared eager to learn how to maximize the sales opportunities available in data centers; how they can harness AI in their own businesses; and how to handle their digital product and sales data as efficiently as possible.

Futureview

Electri International’s Josh Bone gave NEMRA attendees a solid overview of the opportunities and challenges data centers offer independent reps and electrical manufacturers and that NEMRA reps, their manufacturers and contractors are in prime position to prosper in the Electrification Super-Cycle now sweeping the United States. “We are the bull in the bull market,” he said.

Bone also believes the sales opportunities in data centers will continue to be strong over the next few years and that contractors need to watch the growth of humanoid robots in the future because they are on track to transform warehouses and factory floors and the home.

Contractors Connection

NEMRA President and CEO Jim Johnson has worked hard once the past few years to strengthen ties and work jointly with the heads of the NECA, NEMA and NAED trade organizations on industry projects of mutual interest. He has a particularly strong working relationship with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), and in the NEMRA26 workshop, “Contractor Currents - What’s Shifting,” NECA CEO David Long, and execs with two large electrical contractors, ERMCO’s David Peterson and Miller Electric Co.’s James MacDonald talked about the importance of prefab in data center projects because owners need these facilities running as fast as possible to meet processing needs and to head off concerns with obsolescence of GPUs.

Data Connection

Reps and manufacturers received a good update on working with POS data from several industry executives who have lived the digital life for years. In the “POS Unplugged - Real Talk from the Field” seminar, Terri Dumas, RAB Lighting; Curtis Seares, FLOW; and IDEA’s Patrick Knight talked about the importance of having someone at each company responsible for ensuring POS (Point of Sale) is flowing freely between their companies and distributors. Dumas told attendees that it’s important for all business partners to establish trust by insisting that any shared POS data is zip code- or location-specific, is not customer specific.

FutureView

David Gordon, president of Channel Marketing Group and one of the developers of NEMRA’s “Rep of the Future Report, Vision 2030” report, presented a lively session on Tuesday afternoon, “Future Proof - Shaping the Next Era of Reps & Manufacturers,” that covered short-term and long-term electrical market trends affecting independent manufacturers’ reps and their manufacturers.

Along with the well-documented wave of electrical distributor acquisitions, Gordon said the rep world is in the middle of consolidation and that he expects there to be 25% fewer reps in five years because of mergers and acquisitions and that in a few years we will see four-to-six national rep firms and an estimated 30 to 40 regional rep firms.

This consolidation, the loss of institutional industry knowledge because of the ongoing wave of Baby Boomer retirements; and the technological advantages and challenges from AI (artificial intelligence) and other digital technologies will challenge reps to double-down on their inherent strengths: local market knowledge and their ability to drive brand preference.

NEMRA Lighting Division

In other news at NEMRA, the association’s new Lighting Division continues to grow quickly, and has been adding 15 to 20 new members each month on average and the division’s Title Dave Bristol, the division’s VP, hopes to double membership to 300 by 3Q 2026. The Lighting Division will hold its first stand-alone conference in Dallas on Oct. 15-17.

NEMRA’s NEMMY Awards

NEMRA’s Jim Johnson said the NEMMY Awards drew a big number of entries for consideration this year. In the winners’ circle were the following rep firms and electrical manufacturers:

Rep's Choice - Champion Fiberglass
Manufacturer's Choice - Joseph E. Biben Sales
Manufacturer's Choice (15 Employees or Less) - Lachut Electrical Sales
Demand Generation - Brazill Brothers & Associates 
Demand Generation (15 Employees or Less) - FISCHO Group
Partnership of the Year - McAuliffe & nVent Hoffman