The ICAA Annual Convention and Trade Show has always been the ideal setting for him to maintain a competitive edge.
In the insulation industry of the 1950s, competitors were few and the choice of vendors was limited through national distributors. Rock wool batts came in only three sizes — economy, medium and thick — all kraft. Fiberglass was only available in rolls. Energy was cheap, codes were nearly non-existent, and no one paid attention to how materials were installed or, for that matter, what was installed. Labels were placed on outside wrappers, making “substitutions” virtually impossible to detect. Materials were heavy, dirty and dusty, yet no one had ever heard of protective equipment. Blowing wool was a combination of floor sweepings, board, an occasional glove and large hunks of glass. There were some trade organizations around, but no one wanted to include those they called “blowers and throwers.” They stood alone, until a group of contractors envisioned the benefits of being unified. In the midst of an energy crisis in the late 1970s, the Insulation Contractors Association of America (ICAA) was formed, and almost immediately, contractors gained the respect they had been denied for so many years.
These are the things my father likes to reminisce about, but he is forward-thinking enough to thrive on the future. The ICAA Annual Convention and Trade Show has always been the ideal setting for him to maintain a competitive edge. Through the years, my father developed his skills by taking advantage of ICAA’s educational opportunities and networking with others in the industry. He looks for practical methods of business practices: compensation plans, equipment purchasing, insurance and — his favorite — negotiations. He loves to analyze business trends and discover how we stack up against industry numbers. Mostly, like many of us, my father enjoys the people mix of generations, the partnerships, the history, the stories, the jokes — the experiences of an annual reunion at the ICAA convention. Insulation contractors attend this comprehensive exposition every year to get up to speed on important industry issues and to go one-on-one with a diversity of suppliers.