Pest Management Professional, November 2009

the state of your industry Focus on 2010 The Kansas industry as a whole has survived fairly well and most pest management companies are doing extremely well says Sachdeva who just completed his term as president of the Kansas Pest Control Association with the personalization of the service it provides The company encourages its employees to be involved in different city organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce volunteer work and other activities That allows people to recognize the company as not simply living off the community but as a part of the community Sachdeva also credits the areas two major employers with helping keep business steady in the midst of a deep recession Manhattan is home to Kansas State University and Fort Riley home of the 1st Infantry Division The stability of those two employers as compared with other areas of the country staved off the recession at bay in his area Our economy doesnt have the wild fluctuations youd find in cities that are dependent on manufacturing and other industries Sachdeva says The stability of our economy is good Fort Riley in particular has been good for business The 1st Infantry Division is in the process of returning to Manhattan from Germany after a five year absence In preparation the base has been building new housing for the returning troops American Pest Management has the contract to service that new housing That has been a lucrative part of our business for the past three years Sachdeva says American Pest Managements employees are elated to not have participated in the downturn Sacheva says The sales people are collecting higher commissions than they expected and the rest of the team feels secure in its jobs Sachdeva admits he has had to cut back on a few extraneous employee perks like going to a ball game together as a team Overall 2009 meant business as usual The Kansas industry as a whole has survived fairly well and most companies are doing extremely well says Sachdeva who just completed his term as the president of the Kansas Pest Control Association Most of the companies even in the rural areas of the state had shown growth through the first three quarters of the year Sachdeva remains hopeful his company will experience another above average fourth quarter which would help him meet the 20 percent goals he set at the beginning of the year but he says he would not be disappointed if they stayed at 14 percent For 2010 hes predicting better economic conditions that will allow them to again hit 20 percent Im hoping the construction business will return Sachdeva says In a typical year well add 300 new houses There are 1000 houses in our area currently for sale Were hoping that number will drop and encourage builders to start building again That would help us in a large way Sachdeva says his goal is always to help his customers to understand the importance of pest management a service that protects their health and property Hes found that once you do that people are willing to keep using the service even when theyre cutting back in other areas of their budgets Pest management is something people need Sachdeva says Its our job to establish that need in their minds so that when tough economic times come ours is not one of the services they decide to cut PMP You can reach Andoraka at 216 706 3735 or fandorka@ questex com www mypmp net NOVEMBER 2009 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL S11