Expanding Borders

As most of you may know, I currently am the president of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). You may have heard me say, "That title and $4 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks!"

Although the pay isn't good as NAID president (a volunteer position), it is a very rewarding experience. It is a career highlight of mine to work with all of the board members I have served with during the last six years. It's also fun to work closely with Bob Johnson (one of the true "godfathers" of the industry). I can safely say that no one works harder than Bob on behalf of all NAID members. Another major career highlight of serving in this role is what I experienced in September with Bob and my good friend Jim Beran of Shred Right, past NAID president.

NAID has successful regional chapters in Canada, Europe and Australasia. The destruction industry in Asia is a bit different, though. Currently, there is no "true" association for companies in this region. There are smaller consortiums in some countries but no one organization that can offer support.

One of my responsibilities as NAID president is to help grow this industry and association globally. To that end, the NAID board approved an initiative to visit five major cities in Asia to see if the association should launch a NAID Asia regional chapter.

Our Asian counterparts face the same challenges we do. It all comes back to being able to sell security, not price. However, one major difference in Asia is the degree of legislation and enforcement. The United States, Canada, Europe and Australia all have regulations in place to help protect personal and sensitive information.

The biggest obstacle for Asian secure destruction professionals is sensitizing their market and prospects to the potential dangers of mismanaged information. Many potential clients don't see the need to pay for a shredding service when recycling companies already pay them for their paper. However, less consumer awareness in Asia provides a great opportunity for companies there.

I look forward to the growth of NAID – Asia and to the progress of the secure destruction industry in the region.
 

Ray Barry is vice president of Total Product Destruction and president of Total Training Services, which operates The Shred School in Spartanburg, S.C. He has helped and trained more than 220 companies in the document destruction industry to grow their businesses. Previously, he was part of a shredding company that was named twice in Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America. Barry can be contacted at raybarry@totaltrainingservices.com or at 864-699-8417.