Local Painting Contractor Sweeps National Residential Awards

Painting in Partnership, Inc., a Palatine-based painting contractor, has just been awarded both of the 2007 National Residential Interior and Exterior Awards by the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA). The awards were just handed out at its upcoming national conference in Dallas, TX.

PDCA is the leading association and voice of the painting industry with 2,500 members nationwide. The "Picture it Painted Professionally Contest" was created to showcase the craftsmanship of their member companies.

" The field of painting is often viewed as a commodity and rarely receives the respect it deserves," says Painting in Partnership's President, Mario Guertin. "I've built my company professionally and it is made up of a team of craftsmen committed to delivering a painting experience that far exceeds the norm in the painting industry today. We are dedicated to the creation of living environments that inspire not just the owners, but our team of craftsmen as well. In the end, our mission is to elevate the consumer's view of painting," Guertin emphasized.

In 1989, Guertin left the corporate world to start his painting company. He understood that in order to prosper as a painting contractor and achieve his vision of developing a premier company in its field, he needed to surround himself with the best contractors and learn as much as possible about the industry and painting in general. He joined PDCA, the national association for painting contractors, and found it provided the perfect environment for learning what he needed to grow and develop his company. In 2006, Painting in Partnership became the first company in the United States to complete all the requirements for the newly created PDCA National Contractor Accreditation program.

Over time, Guertin realized that the lack of professional work standards for painters was hurting not just the painting industry, but the reputation of other contracting companies as well. Consequently, in 2000, Guertin founded the PDCA Craftsmanship Forum whose mission is to develop a set of standard "Craftsman Operating Procedures" (COPs) for the residential painting industry in the United States. The COPs describe the technical procedures a craftsman uses to perform quality work in a variety of painting tasks. A painting company can adopt the COPs and customize them to improve technical performance and strengthen its brand image in the market place. The first series of 20 COPs for Residential Interior work was just released in Dallas at the PACE Convention.

Guertin continues to be a leader within the national association and finds ways to share his knowledge with others. As founding President for both the PDC A Schaumburg Chapter and the PDCA Lincoln State Council, he seeks to attract painting contractors from the Chicago area who want to grow and develop professional businesses. As President of the PDCA Craftsmanship Forum, he has written over 15 articles on different aspects of craftsmanship, company management and leadership. Other accomplishments include being chosen as the 2007 Top Honoree for Residential Small Business in the first ever published Who's Who in the Painting Industry.