Columbia, Maryland - RIA International, the restoration industry association, has announced it will expand its annual fall conference to incorporate all industry segments: disaster restoration, environmental remediation, as well as the carpet, rug and textile industry. Scheduled for October 23-27, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove, Calif., the event has been recognized as one of the premier technical conferences in the industry, incorporating practical, hands-on information and management issues with tours of local facilities in the area.

“The fall conference has been a popular service for the disaster restoration industry for a number of years,” said Don Manger, executive director of RIA. “In 2006 the conference was expanded with the addition of environmental programming. Based on the enthusiastic response of the audience, it was a logical extension to our rug cleaning division.”

RIA, which recently adopted a new mission statement mandating that the organization provide leadership, support science, and promote best practices for the cleaning and restoration industry, has undergone a transformation in the past 12 months.

The Association has retooled its council structure, taken an active lead on serious industry issues such as consumer freedom of choice for insurance related repairs, and is expanding its services and education offerings for members.

At its 2006 fall conference, RIA introduced the “Donnybrook” format, which enables the industry to examine serious topics in-depth, providing a variety of viewpoints on the same issue. The current donnybrooks on performance-based drying vs. running rate pricing and best applications for drying will be continued at the RIA convention in Orlando, Fla., March 13-16.