Editor's Focus--Signs of Spring

Fortunately for secure shredders and their suppliers, the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) provides an additional spring boost by hosting its annual conference this time of year. The 2006 NAID Conference takes place May 14-16 in Phoenix, the home city of the trade association.

(The NAID Conference does not stand alone as an educational opportunity, as our Calendar of Events on page 14 attests. Among the upcoming events of interest is the annual Paper Recycling Conference in Chicago June 25-27, organized by GIE Media Inc., the publisher of Secure Destruction Business.)

As it has in the past, this year’s NAID event will feature an exhibit hall and equipment display area, association governance meetings and educational sessions where secure shredding company managers can learn more about trends and regulations affecting the industry.

In addition to these features, the conference also offers the chance for industry participants from throughout the nation (and from other nations as well) to assemble in one place to make friends and renew acquaintances and speak informally about the state of the industry.

Whether in hallways, in the aisles of the exhibit hall or over dinner and drinks, the annual get-together provides opportunities for the type of networking and brainstorming that often is not possible or gets overlooked during the day-to-day need to serve customers and prospect for new ones.

There is no lack of topics for discussion, as this magazine’s table of contents can attest. Issues facing secure destruction professionals covered just in this one edition of SDB include how to (or whether to) approach the handling of electronically archived information; the attention of governments around the world as to how confidential information is handled; considerations involved when offering shredded documents to the paper mill market; and addressing the potential problem of fires inside mobile shredding trucks.

This edition of SDB magazine also features (as does every issue of SDB) the story of a document destruction company and its leaders, including thoughts on their operating philosophy and what it takes to succeed in this competitive industry.

Spring is here, and the renewed energy it brings will tempt some to hit the golf course or the vacation trail. Additionally, forums like the NAID Conference offer secure destruction professionals an opportunity to channel that energy into new ideas they may discover from fellow industry professionals.