To what extent can you share your own economic forecasts for 2010? More of the same? Light at the end of the tunnel? Significant recovery?

We see a lot of the same for the early part of 2010.

Dave Ditty and Bob Doyle
National Account Managers for Advance and Clarke brands.
Nilfisk-Advance
Plymouth, Minn.

Tom Morrison
Vice President of Marketing
Kaivac Inc.
Hamilton, Ohio

No one has a crystal ball, obviously, so my thoughts are based on what we see happening now (here at Kaivac, with our distributors and suppliers, and contacts in the industry) and using that information as an indicator for what we might expect in the months ahead.

During the last quarter of 2008, Kaivac, like most manufacturers in the industry, was dealing with sluggish sales. At that time, the stock market was crashing, unemployment was rising dramatically, and no one knew for sure what was happening and how bad things might become. In early 2009, things began to stabilize and, by the summer months, we did see a significant improvement in sales.

Likely, other major manufacturers and distributors in the industry have shared this experience. What we see now evolving is a better year in 2010; however, few in the industry predict sales will return to the "high flying" numbers experienced a few years ago for some time to come.

Frank Trevisani
Manager - Building Service Contractors
Spartan Chemical Co., Inc.
Maumee, Ohio

I have stated in the past this is not a slowdown but a correction. For those building service contractors that have taken this as an opportunity to get into other services outside of their core service and provide additional value to their existing customers, I think they will grow. The days of 'Trash and Dash' as the bread and butter for BSCs is over.

For those who do not expand into other services, it will be a long hard 2010 and beyond. Some may not even survive at all. Those who will survive will be those who think outside the box, look for newer and better ways to service their customer base and those who are continuing to verify and validate the way they do business.

On the whole, xpedx is cautiously optimistic about 2010. Our forecasts take general economic conditions into consideration, as well as influencing factors like employment, occupancy rates, and the anticipated results of strategic investments we are currently implementing. In 2010, xpedx will dedicate significantly more resources to helping customers manage their site spends while growing their businesses via established and emerging sales channels. xpedx is also investing in new employees and training programs, expanding our product portfolio, and enhancing our eCommerce platform, all of which will combine to give xpedx a competitive advantage.

Ultimately our results - and those of the industry - will be driven by our desire to improve cleaning effectiveness. The industry is in a unique position to influence cleaning in the future. By embracing true environmental solutions and providing clients with the data they need to evaluate results, we can raise the collective understanding of "clean." In the long run the increased demand for cleanliness is what makes us all proud to be a part of the cleaning profession. That's good for growth and the overall performance of the jan/san industry.

Michael Feenan
Vice President of Marketing
xpedx
Loveland, Ohio

We do expect the economy to continue to recover at a modest rate in 2010.

David Parkes
General Manager - Commercial Division
Sanitaire/Electrolux
Bloomington, Ill.