Industrial Network Group

What Industrial Network Group does

Industrial Network Group (ING), founded in June 2015 by Chris Simmons in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is a private, membership-based professional networking organization exclusively serving the industrial market. Members — primarily industrial sales professionals — join local chapters throughout the United States to build relationships, share sales leads, gain visibility into active industrial projects, and develop sales skills through peer learning. The organization's defining structural feature is a 'Non-Compete Advantage' policy: each chapter excludes direct competitors, so members can share leads and collaborate without competitive friction within their chapter.

The product surface is anchored by four membership tiers — Annual Single ($1,200/year), Annual Double ($1,650/year), Monthly Single ($129/month), and Monthly Double ($169/month) — each subject to a one-time $200 registration fee. Membership grants access to a recurring programming stack: Nuts & Bolts networking meetings (in-person and virtual), Fuel event sessions, Pipeline virtual sales-training events featuring external speakers, the Real Sales Talk coaching program (launched during COVID), the annual Momentum Conference (held in rotating cities such as Columbia, SC and Indianapolis, IN), a searchable member directory, and SMS/email communications. The underlying technology is the Wild Apricot association management platform, which handles the website, member directory, event registration, and messaging. ING is also a DBA under the name 'Total Industrial' and runs a Sponsored Courses / Sponsors program suggesting limited commercial partnership monetization in addition to dues.

The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven. ING has scaled organically from a single Spartanburg chapter to 25+ chapters across 11+ states — concentrated in the Carolinas, Georgia, the Midwest (Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati, Twin Cities), the Mid-Atlantic (Virginia), Kentucky, and Tennessee — with a Chattanooga TN chapter interest meeting scheduled for mid-2026 indicating continued geographic appetite. Customer acquisition leans on word-of-mouth, member referrals, social media (notably Facebook), and event-driven engagement rather than paid performance marketing. Ownership is founder-controlled; there are no disclosed funding rounds, institutional investors, or M&A activity, and no patents, trademarks, or regulatory registrations on record.

Name

Industrial Network Group

Legal name

Industrial Network Group / Total Industrial

Website

https://industrialnetworkgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Industrial Network Group operates a private, membership-based professional networking organization exclusively for industrial sales professionals in the United States, organized into 25+ local chapters that enforce a no-competitor policy and deliver recurring networking meetings, lead-sharing, and sales training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Spartanburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: ING generates revenue through annual and monthly membership fees. Members pay for access to their local chapter, networking events, lead-sharing opportunities, and educational resources. The subscription model includes single and double membership options to accommodate different professional needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Industrial Network Group (ING) is a private, membership-based networking organization that connects industrial sales, manufacturing, and engineering professionals through locally organized chapters. Founded in 2015 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the organization operates 25+ chapters across the United States, where vetted members meet regularly to exchange qualified leads, referrals, and business opportunities within trusted peer groups serving the industrial sector.

Product overview

The Industrial Network Group (ING) is a membership-based professional networking organization with a sole focus on the industrial market. The company operates a network of local chapters across the United States that provide industrial sales professionals with exclusive networking opportunities, lead sharing, and sales skills development. The core offering consists of membership programs (Annual Single, Annual Double, Monthly Single, Monthly Double tiers) that grant access to chapter-based Nuts & Bolts networking meetings, regional Momentum Conferences, virtual training sessions through the Pipeline Events program, and a members-only directory. The membership model ensures exclusivity within each chapter—no direct competitors are allowed in the same chapter. The organization also provides text messaging communications for event updates and offers sponsored courses and member discounts. ING was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Reidville, South Carolina.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nuts & Bolts: Networking meetings (both in-person and virtual) for ING members to share industrial leads, needs and business contacts.
• Fuel
• Pipeline
• Real Sales Talk
• Momentum Conference

Products and services

• Industrial Network Group Membership

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Vistage Worldwide: Vistage is the largest CEO and executive peer advisory organization, operating paid membership groups for business leaders. ING is a smaller, more niche analog targeting industrial sales professionals with similar recurring-membership, peer-group facilitation economics.
• NAED (National Association of Electrical Distributors): NAED is the trade association for electrical distributors, offering member networking, training, and industry events. It targets a sub-segment of the same industrial sales ecosystem ING serves, with comparable member-based programming and events.
• IMARK Group: IMARK is a member-owned marketing and buying group for independently owned industrial distributors, providing peer networking, group services, and exclusive programs. The membership-driven industrial community structure is comparable to ING's chapter model.
• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM): NAM is the largest US manufacturing industry trade association, providing member services, networking, and advocacy to industrial companies. While a trade association rather than a sales-focused networking group, NAM serves an overlapping industrial member base with a paid-membership model.
• Affiliated Distributors (AD): AD is a member-owned organization serving industrial and construction distributors and manufacturers, providing peer networking, best-practice sharing, and group purchasing. The member-driven industrial community model with recurring dues and peer forums parallels ING's chapter-based approach.
• Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO): EO provides paid membership peer groups for founders and business owners, with chapter-based forums and learning events. The paid-membership community model and event-driven engagement directly mirror ING's structure, though EO serves general entrepreneurs rather than industrial-vertical professionals.

Direct peers

• LeTip International: LeTip is a membership-based business networking organization with local chapters that enforce category exclusivity — a near-identical structural model to ING. Although LeTip targets general business categories rather than industrial verticals, the chapter-based, paid-membership, exclusivity-driven GTM makes it a close operational peer.
• BNI (Business Network International): BNI operates the world's largest referral-based business networking organization using a chapter model with strict one-profession-per-chapter exclusivity — directly parallel to ING's Non-Compete Advantage. While BNI is general business and ING is industrial-vertical, the operating model, weekly meeting cadence, and member economics are highly comparable.

Regional players

• Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME): AME is a membership organization for manufacturing professionals that hosts conferences, workshops, and peer learning communities. While more operations-focused than sales-focused, AME competes for the same industrial professional audience and operates on a similar paid-membership/event-driven model.

Emerging players

• Manufacturers Alliance: Manufacturers Alliance is a peer learning network for manufacturing executives and senior leaders, offering paid membership forums and events. It targets a slightly more senior industrial audience than ING but operates on a directly analogous paid-peer-community model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/industrialnetworkgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Industrial Network Group