ARLINGTON, Va. — The 2003 Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Conference broke records as more contractors registered to attend than have in at least a decade, and the number of educational workshops offered to contractors nearly doubled, announced the association.

Over 1,200 HVACR professionals gathered in Palm Springs, Calif., last week for the 35th annual conference, ACCA noted. Contractors took advantage of nearly 50 workshops in four educational tracks: Commercial Contracting, Residential Contracting, Marketing/Management, and Mold & Moisture.

This year's conference also featured the Indoor Air Expo, a revamped trade show featuring over 110 exhibits from HVACR manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers.

During the conference, John Saucier, president of Temperature Inc., Memphis, Tenn., assumed the chairmanship of the association, laying out a challenge for contractors to address the "big issues" of technician recruitment, small contractor competitiveness, and manufacturer relations.

Publication date: 03/17/2003