Restoration Today

Statistics provided by the National Fire Protection Association show that fire departments responded to about 1,291,500 fires in 2019 that caused an estimated $14.8 billion in property damage. This doesn’t take into account fires where more than one home burned in a condominium complex or wildfires where hundreds of structures can be lost in one event.   Fire chasing has been a highly-debated...

The Dewald Academy of Drying is gearing up to host Microbial WarriorTM Experience in early 2022, facilitated by Jeff Jones. The first class will be Feb. 21-25 in Indianapolis. The Microbial Warrior Experience is a 4 day hands-on course focusing on strategies for performing forensic restoration related to biohazard cleanup. Jeff Jones, owner of BioSheen Services , Chuck Dewald III, owner of th...

On Tuesday, Dec. 8, news broke of Chicago restoration powerhouse J.C. Restoration merging with BluSky Restoration Contractors. J.C. Restoration is well-known in the restoration industry for dynamic leadership, impeccable culture, and purposeful growth. With this in mind, the news of the merger came as a surprise to many. In this episode, J.C. Restoration’s second-generation owner Warner Cruz gets...

For the seventh year in a row, Excel Supplies spearheaded the Restoring Christmas Toy Drive benefitting The Children's Network of SWFL. This year, the toy drive helped spread Christmas cheer and love to more than 1,100 children in foster care. As C&R looks to revive the Restoring Kindness Project in the U.S., we asked Justin Brown from Excel to share the story behind this massively successful...

Like many in the restoration industry, Liz Keefer had no intention of being here - or being coined The Mold Girl, but now that she is here, she can't imagine being anywhere else. She intended to be an architect, and foster her love of structures. But as her knowledge of the built environment grew, she entered the contents and mold remediation world in the muggy Southeast U.S. After years of learni...

Sales in restoration is unique. It takes a unique mix of consultative sales, empathy, and innovation. In this episode of the Restoration Today podcast, BluSky Chief Sales Officer Dan Flanagan and Business Development Manager Andy Holt share their tips for restoration sales success including: How has the sales process evolved since the pandemic. Technology (and old school products) to help with all...

Hiring and recruiting is unquestionably the top pain point for restoration and cleaning companies today. It is the topic of many conversations on industry trends, highlighted in workshops and breakout sessions at conferences, and even more evident by the number of job openings companies are posting every single day. While we have had many conversations on ways to get creative with hiring, the indu...

Chelsea Mihalko Trimbath is the Vice President of Mihalko's Fire & Water Restoration. She is a second-generation owner, taking over the family business from her father. In this conversation, Chelsea is authentic and open about the struggles she faced going from the "old guard" to a new one, the cultural changes that had to happen, the difficult decisions she had to make with top performers who...

Keeping up with credentialing and background checks can feel like a full time job for busy restoration companies, especially when the company works with multiple programs and TPAs.   Despite strict compliance guidelines, a lot of contractors overlook background checks for their subcontractors, and even their own employees. The labor shortage has compounded the problem. An informal survey by&n...

Current trending topics in the restoration and cleaning industry: Labor Rates Inflation Pricing Data Integration/Collaboration In this episode of the Restoration Today podcast, Xactware CEO Mike Fulton discusses each of those topics, where Xactimate stands on them, what is going on internally to even try to keep up with pricing, what contractors should do when they get pushback on pricing, Xactwar...

Eric Sprague and Larry Wilberton have owned a restoration company, sold a restoration company, built a company ( Morning Tech Meeting ) based on quick training for restoration teams, taught companies how to create healthy company cultures where people  want  to work for them, and are hosts of the popular Blue Collar Nation Podcast . Eric and Larry sat down for a casual conversation on th...

There are a lot of changes, innovations, and questions about technology in today's restoration industry. Scott Severe has seen technology and data change over the years since he joined the restoration industry - from one of the first 50 employees at Xactware, to starting his own software company, to Chief Customer Officer at Next Gear Solutions , and soon a new role within CoreLogic . In this spec...

Each franchise system brings unique value to its operators. All boast excellent marketing and branding teams, lead generation, training, and more for their franchisees. And each delivers those in different ways, at different levels. Restoration 1 has been named among the fastest growing franchises by  Entrepreneur  multiple years in a row. What is something that sets them apart? No progr...

If you are involved in estimating or reviewing insurance estimates, you just want to get it right.  You are the estimating professional in the process and establishing a fair price for good work is all that you’re looking for. You’re not caught up in the politics or larger strategies that lead to accusations that somebody is taking advantage of someone else.   Estimators and reviewers fa...

Alex Duta took needs he saw within his own family's restoration company, and got to work designing and creating a software built for restorers, by a restorer, to address those needs.   In this bonus episode of the Restoration Today Podcast, recorded in lovely Captiva, Fla., during Violand's Business Planning Retreat, Alex shares his story, his insights on today's restoration industry, and wha...

On this Veterans Day, C&R is honored to recognize, salute, and celebrate veterans who are part of the restoration industry.    Jim Scalf is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army, and now the owner of PuroClean of Murfreesboro, Tenn.  His first tour of duty was as an infantry officer. Jim also was in the Reserves and National Guard, has worked at the Pentagon, NORAD, and w...

Patti Harman spent years at the helm of  C&R  Magazine and working within the Restoration Industry Association. Her impact on the restoration industry and leadership of  C&R  led to the creation of an award in her honor, the Patricia L. Harman Golden Quill Award. It is awarded to one person each year for an outstanding editorial contribution to  C&R. After leav...

Chrissy VanderWyde has been part of the PuroClean team since 1988, working in nearly every department until reaching her current role as Vice President of Franchise Relations. This year, Chrissy's hard work and dedication to the business, industry, and community, were recognized on a major scale when she received a prestigious Gold “Stevie” Lifetime Achievement Award. In this Restoration Today pod...

In the finale of our Seller Stories Series on the Restoration Today podcast, broker Gokul Padmanabhan breaks down why the restoration industry is so appealing to buyer's today, what makes a restoration company sellable, and shares a number of other valuable tidbits and statistics on the past, current, and future outlook of M&A in the restoration industry. Catch up on past episodes of the serie...

There were some exciting announcements from the show floor at The Experience Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas in September, including the unveiling of Encircle’s Hydro technology. Encircle VP Kris Rzesnoski talks a bit about the new technology, and about more up-and-coming integrations and collaboration in the industry.

In the penultimate episode of our Seller Stories, Craig Moody shares his still fresh journey of selling his business, Mammoth Restoration of Arizona. Craig talks about steps he took to prepare his business for sale, interviewing prospective purchasers, and what things look like after the papers are signed and the deal is done. Curious about other episodes in this series? Find Episode 1 here. Find...

Woodard's story is best told by those closest to it. In conjunction with Woodard Cleaning & Restoration celebrating 75 years of serving the St. Louis area, C&R sat down with third generation owner, Justin Woodard. He shares a story unlike any other - of a war hero shot down over France, a harrowing mountain escape, and a journey to America.   Earl Woodard and his wife, Nancy, started...

In this episode of the Restoration Today Podcast, Michelle sits down with Paul Davis COO Mike Hopkins. He has been in the franchise world for some time, and part of Paul Davis since 2015. Michelle and Mike talk about the landscape of today's restoration industry, what it takes to stay competitive as the industry continues to consolidate, the importance of pricing feedback to influence Xactimate pr...

In the second episode of our Seller Stories series, we are turning the tables - talking to the leaders of a company that is not for sale, but is instead positioning itself in the buyer's seat and looking to grow through mergers and acquisitions. ATI is the largest family-owned restoration company in the U.S, and well into its second-generation of leadership.  In this episode of the Restoratio...

Welcome to a brand new special series on the Restoration Today Podcast called Seller Stories.   In this episode, meet Scott Miller and hear his selling story, and journey since then to transition out of being a restoration company owner.