The Building Service Contractors Association International was officially formed in March, 1965, when over 60 charter members came to Washington, D.C., for the first Annual Meeting. The groundwork for this meeting had been laid over the preceding six months by the seven founders who had held local meetings and distributed a newsletter.

Because building service contracting had also been an expanding field outside of the United States, firms from other countries joined the Association as its programs expanded. The international membership now represents over 7% of the Association’s professional membership.

Since this time, the industry has grown rapidly. An increasing number of buildings began utilizing the wide range of services offered by building service contractors. The Association has also grown steadily and now has a strong membership base. Since the growth potential of individual firms is nearly unlimited, the Association has come to include a wide cross-section: from small, closely held family firms to large corporations with numerous branches.

BSCAI has become the trade association of the building service industry, representing a worldwide network of more than 2,000 member companies from across the U.S. and 30 other countries, who provide cleaning, facility maintenance, and other related services to building owners and managers. The association provides educational programs, publications, video training programs, seminars, and networking opportunities, all developed specifically for the building service contracting industry.

BSCAI represents one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. The most significant growth in the U.S. economy will be in the service industries, according to government studies, and janitorial service is expected to grow faster than almost any other service category.

According to Marketdata Enterprises, a market research publisher of “off-the-shelf” studies about the service industry, national receipts grew at an estimated 5.9% in 2003 to $94.5 billion and 2004 growth is projected at 6.3%. However while this represents slower growth from the double-digit increases that occurred in 1996 through 2000, the size and growth rate of the industry continue to trend upward, despite the bumpy economy. Taking both employer and non-employer establishments into account, the size of the industry was estimate to be %59.5 billion in 2002. Non-employer establishments – small sole proprietorships without payroll or employees – according the US Census Bureau and the IRS, number approximately 427,553 and represent receipts of over $5.9 billion.

In terms of yearly percentage growth, the cleaning industry has shown double-digit increases in nine of the past eighteen years (1984-2002). The government publication, Service Annual Survey states the cleaning industry’s receipts grew 21.7% from 1999 through 2002 and an estimated $89 billion potential value of the industry by 2002.

And Marketdata predicts the growth will continue. The study states 2004 will mark the first time the industry has passed the $100 billion level and by 2008 with an average annual growth rate of 7%, the industry will be worth approximately $128 billion.

Issues the industry faxed are high vacancy rates, continuation of high turnover – averaging 30-40% per month, more security required by clients, a shift to environmental or green cleaning, and a move to total service packages. The study also points out that while there will be still be some consolidation, the big mergers of the past have stopped, for the most part, for the time being.

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