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FL Contractors Form Association

Monday, March 2, 2009

A group of Florida-based professionals has formed the Florida Painting Contractors Association Inc., a nonprofit organization for licensed painting, coating and wallcovering contractors and vendors in the state. The group aims to provide members with “education, advocacy, and resources designed to improve the quality of work, the quality of performance, and the maximization of profitability.” 

“Working as a licensed specialty contractor in the state of Florida can present many difficult circumstances,” the group said in a statement.

FPCA’s educational goals include:

• Estimating office tasks (blueprint and specification reading, quantity measurements, production capabilities, and estimate tabulation)

• Front office tasks (communication skills, due diligence, insurance, legal liability, employee/employer relationships)

• Field office tasks (employee management, production management, customer relations)

• Profitability

Advocacy goals include:

• Pushing for statewide examinations and licensure for industry professionals, “thereby removing the conflicting and inequitable county licensing systems now in place.”

• Monitoring worker’s compensation insurance rates, “to ensure they realistically reflect the losses and risks inherent to our industry, and are not overstated and overcharged.”

• Training opportunities for workers

“For years, painting contractors have suffered from a lack of education about the business of painting contracting,” says FPCA president Don Lyle, a painting contractor for over 45 years who is now retired. “In our industry, many painting contractors were themselves once field painters. One of our goals is to establish a mentoring program to help less experienced contractors avoid making costly mistakes that hurt their business and profitability.”

The organization now meets quarterly, with plans to hold sessions in different areas of the state.

“Most paint shops fail not because they aren’t working hard enough; they fail because they have not been taught how to succeed,” says Lyle. “We hope to change that result.”

For more information, contact Don Lyle at 863-439-6778 or email wypaint2@aol.com.