As president of NHRAW, James McNeil brought a different perspective to this association, and frequently refers to a favored topic, that of "vision engineering."

Several changes are underway that threaten to send all wholesalers to "Jurassic Park," according to James McNeil, vice president and general manager of Emco Ltd. West, a billion-dollar-a-year, independent but fully integrated subsidiary of Detroit-based Masco Corp. Emco has 143 locations.

As president of NHRAW, McNeil brought a different perspective to this association, and frequently refers to a favored topic, that of "vision engineering." This industry is changing drastically, and the association must change with it, McNeil believes. To know how to change, however, you must have a grasp of what challenges members are facing, and in turn what they expect from NHRAW. Once you have this vision, he said, "you engineer a solution based on your strengths in order to satisfy those member needs."