Getting off to a very late start for a 9-10 hour drive to Pensacola! Oh well, at least we're on our way.

John Braun has invited me to do a mini encapsulation class. I have put together a presentation and hope it will go well. Mark Kling from DSC Products (Spin Vac) will also be on hand to answer questions about the technology. And we'll have some "show & tell" too. We'll have a Cimex, a Chemstractor, and a MasterBlend machine for everyone to play with.

It should be a lot of FUN.
Gotta run!!!


Rick Gelinas

Winterfest was a blast!

My wife and I arrived at the hotel on Thursday evening at around 11:00 after making the 9 hour drive from St. Petersburg. W I N T E Rfest is exactly what it was. A bank clock said it was 18 degrees when we arrived in Pensacola (THAT’S Fahrenheit). There was ice in the parking lot. This is Florida??? But when we went into the hotel we received a warm greeting in the lobby by a handful of cleaners. The good times begin.

Friday morning we went over to the Cleaning Supply Network in Pensacola. Brian and Tony of CSN gave us the tour. Then Bob Savage hooked up his “electric” truckmount. If you haven’t seen Bob’s machine you are missing a sweet machine. Plenty of power and live steam. That puppy is hot!

Friday evening we were treated to an evening on the Chemspec expense account. Thanks to RPM corporation for buying us all a seafood dinner. Rumor has it that they spent between $2K-$3K for the whole affair.

Saturday morning got started with Scott Warrington doing an odor control class. Scott’s class was intimidating to me because it was so darn polished and well presented – and I had to follow after him with an encapsulation class. Thanks for inviting me to do the class John, I enjoyed doing it. Mark Kling from DSC followed up answering questions about the technology of crystallization and encapsulation.

Next we went out and did some cleaning demos. First we went to a gym. The gym was open. There were people working out while 20 – 30 carpet cleaners are walking around cleaning the carpet. Chemspec fired up their “High Heat” truckmount, and Bob Savage had his electric unit going. That electric unit sure was impressive. We cleaned the “daycare” area of the gym with the Cimex. Mark Kling suggested using pocket microscopes to compare the dirty carpet with the carpet that had been cleaned with encapsulation. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing the results.

Next we went to a school and did more cleaning demos in classrooms. There was a classroom that was being cleaned with John Guerkink’s stout looking new Conqueror machine. It looks like a workhorse. There were also classrooms with truckmount cleaner’s and there was an encapsulation room too.

We finished up at the school with a class by Gary Heacock on silk and upholstery cleaning. There was also a special doo-doo and pee-pee presentation by Gary. Gary has a great hands-on approach (or "hands in" approach) to teaching. His class was as much fun as it was informative.

Then we rushed back to the beach for our fine dining evening. John Braun hooked us up with a very nice restaurant. A real class act!

Sunday morning was informal. Several of the cleaner’s had to catch early flights. But several of us were still hanging around the hotel. So we got together and had a lively discussion where we talked about everything from commercial marketing, to urine treatment, to the trends in the industry.

Sunday afternoon was the first time that we had any non-carpet cleaning time. So my wife and I drove up the beach and relaxed. The beaches there are beautiful! Then we headed toward town and ran across this giant seafood store and gourmet market. We went in and bought enough Sushi for the Superbowl and a very nice bottle of Cabernet.

Sunday evening: My wife and I went back to the hotel for our own Superbowl party. We uncorked the bottle of wine and ate some of the tastiest Sushi I’ve ever had. Then we sat back and watched the Bucs dominate Superbowl XXXVII. I’m a native from St. Petersburg. And the Bucs have been losing since the team was formed when I was in High School. So it was worth celebrating with a $25 dollar bottle of wine. What a way to finish off a great weekend!

We got up this morning and went to breakfast with the only carpet cleaners left in the hotel. Jaime Coehlo and his wife. We talked for a couple of hours and then headed off for a late start to make the LONG drive home.

I just had to type this while the experience was fresh in mind. (Sorry it was so long Marty) BTW one of the highlights in this trip was meeting Porkfabbio. I’m here to tell you “it’s all just an act”! Marty is actually a decent looking intelligent businessman with not even the slightest aroma of hog dung. You should see the inside of his van. It’s meticulous and well organized. Marty has you all fooled. Sorry to let the cat out of the bag Marty.

And finally a HUGE thanks to John Braun and the group of cleaners from Pensacola for arranging such a well planned event. It was terrific from start to finish. The event was easy going, informative, and a lot of fun. On a side point… As these guys worked together on this project they ended up forming a local Pensacola carpet cleaners association. The end result is a group of professionals that will propel the market in their area. Hats off to you guys! And finally thanks to all the companies and individuals who gave products and their time to put this together. I can’t wait for next year!!!

Rick Gelinas