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How Does Your Growth Stack Up? SAMA lab apparatus members find thaï their average sales growth closely parallels GNP

JUL OW DOES A PARTICULAR SEGMENT of industry determine whether its growth parallels the over-all industrial growth of the U. S.? The Scientific Apparatus Makers Association (SAMA) asked it­self this pertinent question a couple of years ago. Now it has corne up with what seems to be a very practical approach.

In recent years, figures on Gross National Product have been accepted as one of the best indexes of industrial growth. The GNP indicator, as it is widely known, is the total annual value of all U. S. goods and services produced and rendered. SAMA took its problem to an economist and statistician, with the following results.

It was found quickly that total sales of the laboratory apparatus section of SAMA, as reported by the SAMA office, could not be used as a historical back­ground for experience with other in­dexes. The SAMA totals are distorted by the addition from time to time of new companies to the association. Therefore later figures are out of line with earlier totals.

As a remedy for this it was decided

to use only the sales of the companies which were members of SAMA a s far back as 1937 and are still reporting their current sales. There are 52 sucb companies. Their sales are now being reported on a monthly basis by the SAMA office. This report is in the form of an index using the monthly average of the years 1947-1949 as its standard. The average index for the first eight months of 1956 is 181.8. This means that the 1956 sales of the 52 reporting companies is 81.8 percentage points higher than the average monthly sales for the same group of companies in the years 1947-1949.

Guy H. Burrell, chairman of labora­tory apparatus section and president o f Burrell Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., states, "Taking the GNP forecast for amy period the SAMA index can be found by use of the following formula:

(GNP X 0.422) — 7.1 = SAMA Index"

The accompanying chart points out how very close SAMA sales have been following the upward curve of the Gross National Product between the

years 1937-1955 and extrapolates through 19o6. Taken collectively, the 52 companies in the laboratory ap­paratus section can feel justifiably proud of their record t o date. The point where GNP exceeds SAMA sales by a rather/ wide margin is during the World Wax II years when obviously distortions from normal conditions could be expected t o occur.

SAMA members made i t plain at their midwinter meeting at The Home­stead, Hot Springs, Va., that, despite an over-all excellent showing in relation to the general upward surge of business activity in this country, they are not content with any negative approach regarding the future.

Higher enrollment in both high schools and colleges will require an expansion of facilities and equipment for a number of years to come. SAMA is taking a very active role in promoting science instruction in secondary schools. One of the projects under way in this connection is the promotion of a "Sci­ence Weelc." More about this will be revealed i n the very near future.

A second activity has been recently undertaken-a SAMA-sponsored univer­sity "How-To-Do-It" Conference on Quality Control and Research for the smaller manufacturer.

According to P. M. Reynolds,'Com­i n g Glass Works, chairman of the sec­tion's public information committee, triis project may soon develop into a nationwide SAMA activity benefiting both the American consumer and the country's smaller manufacturers as well.

"Consumers benefit through being able to obtain better quality, less ex­pensive and newer products," Reynolds stated in his report to t* ~ manufac­turers of scientific apparats and opti­cal equipment. "The smaller manu­facturer benefits through utilizing his initial £3000-$5000 investment as ^business insurance.' "

The public information committee bas enlisted the services of professors o n tbe staff of Michigan State's Con­tinuing Education Service. The pro­fessors will spend the two days of the first pilot plant meeting outlining the many possibilities available to smaller manufacturers in hundreds of product lines that have never even considered the installation of a laboratory as a part of their operation.

SAMA» officials and the heads of im­portant SAMA committees realize that the expected large upsurge in popula­tion over the next 2 5 years should mean a substantial growth in the sales of laboratory supplies, equipment. H o w ­ever, these same officials who are policy­makers are determined to create in a number of practical ways a strong de­mand for their products by adopting aggressive sales approaches. •

5 8 1 0 C & E N N O V . 2 6, 1 9 5 6