People and technology are the key to business growth
January 1st 2006 2005 brought Chem-Dry in the UK both a new owner and its 700th licensed operator, two highlights of an great year with much more to come in 2006 promises Andrew Watts of Chem-Dry
Chem-Dry, which delivers a carpet & upholstery cleaning service to domestic and commercial premises, also provides a fire, flood and accidental damage restoration service to the UK's major insurance companies.
Since Chem-Dry arrived in the UK in 1987 the business has grown year on year, increasing both its network and range of services and has always been at the forefront in terms of innovation and enterprise, introducing at least one market leading innovation into the industry for every year in business. The range of Chem-Dry 'firsts'grows ranging from being first with a National Call Centre to Web accessible claims report system for all claims and clients, however 2005 has seen unprecedented development, this potential and strength in more than one market was recognised by new owner Homeserve plc; realising that Chem-Dry could contribute significantly to Homeserve's plans to become the leading emergency and maintenance service to homes across the UK.
The year 2005 saw Chem-Dry enhance it's offering in two key areas: People and Technology.
Chem-Dry already has the largest network of its kind, but can now boast 700 operating licences in the UK, covering 28 million homes, with this expansion comes the need to strengthen the infrastructure and as a result have strengthened the Chem-Dry team with Simon Ford joining as external operations director and Charlie Scott as sales & marketing director, both recognised as two of the industry's leading lights from their time with Munters. Charlie commented:
"The enthusiasm and energy to get things done within Homeserve and Chem-Dry is infectious. There are great opportunities for the group to grow our business and provide innovative new solutions, but my primary concern is to educate the industry of Chem-Dry's technical competency in the restoration industry, which after being here a short time, I believe is second to none."
Training its people is seen as a core element to its 'Excellence' programme led by Bill Lakin, technical director and ASCR President, based at the recently opened Chem-Dry Centre of Excellence, which will train on over 1000 courses this year and will expand this offering next year as well as introducing a bespoke E-Learning package for all staff and Technicians. Bill Lakin commented:
"We are raising the bar even further next year, the 'Excellence' programme is just that, not good, not great, but excellent - this will be our standard operating level."
The people and technological developments go hand in hand, 2005 saw developments in detection, communication and restoration, ranging from infra-red leak detection for longterm drying claims, Epen on-site real-time reporting with fully auditable and verifiable paper trail to the ADS 3000, a portable building drier designed exclusively for Chem- Dry. It is a high capacity portable drying system, which can be situated within an affected property reducing drying times significantly.
So all in all it has been a great year at Chem-Dry, Chairman Phillip Smith, who has seen the company grow over the last 15 years, commented:
"Achieving our 700th licence is fantastic. The stronger the Chem-Dry network, the stronger the brand and the higher the service offered to customers and insurance policyholders. With Homeserve's encouragement Chem-Dry is investing in new products and services, new business systems, and new approaches to delivering technical and business training.
These will all be rolled out over the next 12 months, so we will be able to enter our 20th Chem-Dry year more confident than ever about the quality of our offering to all markets. These are exciting times." | 
