NATM Decals: The Mark of Safety
NATM Decals: The Mark of Safety
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By Kendra Ansley, NATM Executive Director While compliance with federal regulations is the law, the commitment to having a third party verify compliance is no small undertaking. NATM members must regularly undergo compliance consultations and when nonThe current NATM Decal. compliances are found, members are given 60 days to make and provide proof of necessary corrections. When companies fail consultations and do not make the necessary corrections as required by program policies or refuse a consultation, their membership is terminated. In 2018 alone, 13 companies made the decision not to proceed with passing the NATM Compliance Verification Program. A trailer manufacturer’s choice to join NATM and expend resources to verify compliance deserves recognition and communicating that level of commitment to dealers and endusers can be one tool for increasing the marketability of trailers. An easy way to communicate this dedication is through the purchase and application of the NATM Compliance Decal. The NATM Decal’s history spans decades. Before the NATM Compliance Verification Program became mandatory, NATM looked for opportunities for NATM member companies to distinguish themselves and their commitment to trailer safety and the industry. As a result, in 1990 the first “Mark of Excellence” gold decals were sold to members for one dollar per decal to be placed on members’ trailers. The purpose of the decal was to promote pride in membership and to raise revenue for the Association. With the establishment of the Compliance Verification Program in 2002, NATM created a new red, white and blue circular decal to draw attention to members who had voluntarily participated in and passed a compliance consultation. The sales of these serialized compliance decals were also used to underwrite the cost of the program. www.NATM.com
As participation in the Compliance Verification Program grew, the NATM Board of Directors decided to do away with the original gold decal, focusing Association efforts on marketing the value in the red, white, and blue decal. The current decal was last updated in 2012 and in June of 2017, the Association celebrated selling its 8 millionth decal since the inception of the program. As NATM continues to market the decal at trade shows, through dealer education with marketing pieces available for point of sale locations and other mechanisms, NATM members should continue to place a decal on every verified trailer leaving their lot. The NATM Compliance Decal is an outward symbol of safety and its recognition continues to grow. With the launch of the new Dealer Affiliation program, trailer safety education will continue to expand and with it so should knowledge of the importance of the red, white, and blue NATM Compliance Decal. That small circle provides dealers and consumers the peace of mind of not needing to be experts on the compliant status of the trailer, but instead allowing them to simply focus on selecting the right trailer for their needs and hitting the road. The NATM Compliance Decal also holds value beyond its symbolism for dealers and end-users. NATM regularly works with law enforcement on stolen trailer issues. As thieves tend to scratch off labeling and VIN numbers that would identify a trailer, they often leave the NATM decal. NATM has been able to connect law enforcement agencies all across North America with the manufacturer of the trailer to resolve these crimes because of the serialized decal. Further, the decal allows small businesses and large businesses alike to access the resources made available through NATM. While comparable organizations have dues structures that would prohibit many of NATM’s small business members from joining, through decal sales NATM is able to easily tier revenue streams and maintain accessibility for trailer manufacturers of all sizes and profit margins. Decal sales and usage is an incredible tool for improving trailer safety and the continued purchase and use of decals by NATM compliant members will continue to pay dividends. If you would like to purchase decals or marketing materials about the importance of the NATM Compliance Decal, contact NATM at (785) 272-4433 or at NATMHQ@natm.com.
September/October 2021
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