ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has announced that the 38th Annual Indoor Air Expo & ACCA Conference, to be held March 28-30 at the San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, Calif., is already the largest event in the organization's history. Pre-registration for the conference is over 300 percent higher than at the same time in 2005, which was itself the second record-breaking conference in a row. The Indoor Air Expo, which has more exhibit space than ever before, is almost sold out, with less than 1 percent of space remaining.

"Get a group of contractors together in a room and the result is powerful," said Paul T. Stalknecht, president and CEO of ACCA. "This year, we're getting a lot of contractors together in a lot of rooms. The overwhelming success we're seeing is the result, not of ACCA, but of the proven performance improvements seen by the contractors who attend and learn from each other."

This year's ACCA Conference includes over 60 speakers over three days of workshops, and during the opening session will feature Marcus Buckingham, one of the leading thinkers in innovative management and bestselling author of First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths.

In fact, says the association, "Break the Rules" is the theme of this year's ACCA Conference, with a focus on innovative programming geared toward helping contractors "break the rules" in all the right places.

"Don't believe it when people say, 'It can't be done,'" Stalknecht said, "or, 'We've always done it that way,' or 'Customers won't pay for it.' It's a new day and the conventional wisdom is wrong - the most successful contractors are the ones who move beyond the old ways of doing things and think differently about their businesses."

In addition, the event is receiving substantial supplier support, as 12 manufacturers have signed on for the top-level Platinum Elite sponsorship, another record-breaking number. Platinum sponsors include Rheem, Lennox, York, Trane, Carrier, American Standard, ICP, Armstrong Air, Ruud, Bryant, AirEase, and Nordyne.

While the Indoor Air Expo & ACCA Conference is produced by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, it is open to all contractors (though ACCA members do receive a registration discount). The full schedule and online registration are available at www.indoorairexpo.com.

Publication date: 02/06/2006