By John Rhea
ARLINGTON, Va. - Leaders of the recently renamed Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) have elevated their government division to the status of a trade association within the alliance, known as the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA).
Dan Heinemeier, president of the former division, becomes president of GEIA. Chairman is Ronald Turner, executive vice president of Ceridian Corp. in Bloomington, Minn.
EIA officials, whose organization used to be the Electronic Industries Association, created in March what their president, Peter McCloskey, calls "a roof under which colleagues, competitors, and customers can come together."
The EIA is essentially a federation of electronics-oriented associations. In addition to GEIA, these include the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), and the Electronic Components, Assemblies, Equipment, and Supplies Association (ECA).
The EIA began in 1924 as the Radio Manufacturers Association with 17 members. Today it has 2,100 member companies, which account for most of the $500 billion annual volume of the U.S. electronics industry.
One of EIA`s major current activities is establishing industry standards to promote international competitiveness. As a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), EIA members have produced more than 2,000 industry standards.
The organization maintains a page on the World Wide Web at http:/ /www.eia.org.
