Millersville, MD, October 12 -- More than 250 restoration contractors convened in Philadelphia September 9-11 for the ASCR All Kinds of Contents, Damage, and Solutions meeting.
They were drawn by a cutting edge agenda that struck a balance between functional matters, such as garment restoration and cleaning mold contaminated fabrics, and business management topics, such as strategic cash flow management and options for dealing with profit and overhead, an issue significantly affecting the bottom lines of restoration businesses.
"Our challenge for this meeting was to develop an agenda that raised the bar in terms of topics and presenters – offering new and different perspectives on diverse subjects that affect individual restoration businesses and their owners and managers," said ASCR president Ken Adams. "Given the outstanding turnout in Philadelphia, we obviously hit the mark and our goal is to put together an even better agenda for our Palm Springs convention."
Several speakers in Philadelphia were from outside the restoration industry. They included Washington, D.C. attorney and antitrust expert Arthur Herold and University of Michigan Business School professor Paul Clyde, who discussed profit and overhead; DuPont corporate economist Robert Shrouds; Bank of America senior vice president and Wharton Business School professor Bill Fink; and Greg Landrey, director of conservation at Winterthur Museum.
The profit and overhead discussion was a centerpiece of the meeting. Herold and Clyde outlined several options available to restoration contractors in addressing the issue. The ASCR board will consider them and develop a plan, which will be reviewed with Restoration Council members at the ASCR annual meeting March 16 to 19 in Palm Springs, California.
The Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration, located in Millersville, Maryland, is the only international trade association in the cleaning and restoration industry. It has more than 1,300 national and international members firms specializing in cleaning, treating, and repairing damaged buildings and their contents. It is comprised of three Councils: ASCR Environmental Council, ASCR Restoration Council, and ASCR Textile Council. More information is available on the ASCR website: www.ascr.org
