10 minute read
2025 ABMA Convention: Looking Forward
By Marion Keller
The 2025 ABMA Convention at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas delivered both serious discussion of the industry and opportunities for fun and relaxation. Business insights, networking discussions and updates on upcoming events were interspersed with golfing, mixers and a team-building battle as participants looked to the future amid an unpredictable economic context.
Safety, Standards, Stats and More
The convention kicked off on Tuesday, March 25 with a slate of committee meetings. The Convention Committee revealed important news – the location of next year’s event. The 109th ABMA Convention will take place March 24-27, 2026 in Puerto Rico, at the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve in Rio Grande.
Committee head R. J. Lindstrom also previewed the 2027 convention, set for Bonita Springs, Florida at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort and Spa. Meeting attendees discussed possibly opening up the convention to members of the European Brushware Federation (FEIBP), given that the FEIBP Congress is open to ABMA members.
Imre Karetka of the Safety & Standards Committee discussed updates to the Safety Slip program, including revisions to graphics to include improved translations and a pricing increase effective January 1. Slips are also being updated to incorporate new requirements related to California’s Proposition 65, which requires businesses to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning before exposing consumers to chemicals that may cause harm.
Karetka mentioned Advancing Standards Transforming Markets (ASTM) affecting the brushware industry and were recently renewed including F2367, labeling for upright brooms for consumer and institutional use, and F2368, labeling for wet mops for consumer and institutional use. He reminded members that the ABMA has an Expert Witness Program that can be a resource if companies are facing legal issues. “You can come to the ABMA and request expert witnesses,” Karetka mentioned.
The Statistical Committee discussed whether to conduct a new wage rate survey, last done in 2021. Chair Gary Enchelmaier said the committee is also conducting an exposure survey to determine how different companies are obtaining effective exposure. “I wouldn’t say that our industry is necessarily going to go viral on Instagram … but I know when I look at social media, anything that shows up in terms of manufacturing, I’ll sit and watch it,” he said.
S’More to Do
The kick-off meeting on Tuesday afternoon recapped the committee discussions, provided a treasurer’s report and previewed activities to come. Attendees got to hear overviews of the two nominees for the Innovation Award, including a video from Wooster Brush Co. about its nominee, a line of Flex and FitTM Brush Series paintbrushes with flexible, ergonomic handles that make it easier for users to fit brushes to their specific projects.
Miguel Medrano of Borghi provided a detailed explanation of the company’s candidate for the award — the ECO-FILL Concept, which uses a polymer anchor to set tufts into a plastic brush, allowing for the possibility of a fully recyclable product that won’t leave behind metallic debris. “ECO-FILL is more hygienic and more durable for longlasting performance,” Medrano said. “It is a catalyst for sustainable production in the industry.”
Instead of educational sessions, this year’s convention featured an ice-breaker activity organized by Lost Pines including multiple games that challenged participants’ coordination, balance and ability to think quickly. Some of the “Minute to Win It” activities included; Hook It, in which contestants tried to get a ring onto a hook by swinging it in the air; Dice Stack, in which participants held a popsicle stick in their mouths and tried to stack as many dice on top of it as possible; and Water Bottle Flip, in which the goal was to flip a water bottle to land upright. The winning team, Top Gun, kept their cool and their water bottles straight enough to conquer their competitors.
The day concluded with a welcome reception at the Lost Pines’ LBJ Pavilion with drinks and a lavish buffet. Attendees enjoyed pasta, a carving board and multiple s’mores-based desserts, among many other appealing options.
Tariffs, Soccer and Chocolate
Wednesday focused on political and economic policies affecting the brushware industry – especially tariffs. “None of us knows where everything is going, but our association is committed to all of our friends and partners in North America, and we will get through this together,” Monahan said during the morning’s opening business session.
Membership Committee Chair Terry Hogan (Perlon) discussed membership trends in the organization, including a loss of about 3 percent of membership year over year largely due to industry consolidation. “Membership is a lifeblood of any organization, so I just want to continue to encourage people to reach out to anyone they may know who’s not a member. We can always continue growing,” Monahan added.
Wooster Brush was named the winner of the 2025 Innovation Award for the Flex and FitTM Brush Series. Recipients of the Kathy K. Parr Memorial Scholarship were announced and are: Joey Ciullo, a freshman studying business and data science at the University of
Illinois, the son of Rachel Ciullo from Composite Cutter Technology, and Bryce Pence, a sophomore finance major at Howard Payne University, the son of an employee at Zephyr Mfg.
The new 2025-26 ABMA Board of Directors was announced, with R.J. Lindstrom stepping in as the new President. During the presentation, Lindstrom paid tribute to outgoing President Chris Monahan for his leadership and contributions. “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Chris Monahan,” Lindstrom told the audience. “It’s been an honor to serve on the board with you.”
FEIBP President Alessandro Acquaderni presented Monahan with an official Bologna FC 1909 football jersey – personalized with “ABMA” and “108,” denoting the 108th year of the ABMA Convention and celebrating the success of the 2024 World Brush Expo in Bologna, Italy. He also offered a box of Belgian chocolates to mark the 2028 World Brush Expo’s setting in Belgium. “From Bologna to Belgium, this is the taste of the partnership between FEIBP and ABMA, and it’s delicious,” Acquaderni told the audience.
He went on to discuss the importance of collaboration. “We’ve increased the tensions, not only on the soccer fields but also in the real world,” Acquaderni said. “The most recent studies show that the tariffs estimated today will impact $9.5 trillion of exchange of goods between Europe and the U.S. This will influence automotive, agriculture, metal and eventually, also brushes.”
FEIBP Congress and WBE 2028
Acquaderni also spoke about the role that meetings such as the World Brush Expo and the 2025 FEIBP Congress (scheduled for October 8-11 in Ischia, Italy) can play in keeping the brushware world connected and integrated. He also revealed that the 2028 World Brush Expo will take place in Ghent, Belgium, May 16-18, 2028, offering attendees the chance to enjoy medieval architecture and beautiful flowers amid new insights into the industry.
“We should not just trade in brushes, but in trust. We should not just trade in elements, but in friendship,” Acquaderni concluded.
A key moment came when Heinrich Sielemann, the new Managing Director of Zahoransky, took the stage to announce that the company will exhibit at the 2028 World Brush Expo — news that was met with enthusiastic applause from attendees.
Forward Thinking
Keynote speaker Gene Marks finished off Wednesday’s talks with an address focusing on strategic moves for growth and sustainability for manufacturers and distributors. Marks, a business columnist and consultant, advised the audience on how to navigate labor shortages, tariff expansion and economic uncertainties for manufacturing.
“I meet companies that have been doing what they’re doing for 20 years. How can they be there so long?” Marks asked. “I have found they have one thing in common across the board, they are always, always, always looking ahead.”
Marks focused his discussion on topics including: interest and inflation, tariffs, immigration, taxes and workplace and labor concerns. He said that interest and inflation are currently the issues worrying him the most. “The government is running a $2 trillion a year deficit,” he said. “We can’t afford to do it all, so the government is taking steps to do something about it.”
Marks offered some specific advice for the audience, including seeking government work via Apex Accelerators, obtaining
government-backed or private loans through Lendio, maximizing interest income through investments such as Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) or money market vehicles and getting immigration paperwork in order for the workforce using E-Verify and other methods. Regarding tariffs, he suggested contacting the World Trade Centers Association to seek tariff-friendly sources for materials and using free trade zones or bonded warehouses.
“You order any international supplies that you want. It comes into the warehouse [with] no tariffs at all,” he mentioned. Tariffs are charged only when goods are removed from the warehouse for manufacturing. “Why pay large tariffs now when you could buy products, have them stored in a free trade warehouse or a bonded warehouse, and then pull it out three or four months from now when those tariffs may have actually come down?”
Other suggestions Marks made included investigating trusts and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) as part of succession planning, considering level-funded plans for health insurance that can protect employers against higher-than-expected claims, moving to unlimited PTO for vested employees and hiring a Professional Employer Organization that provides comprehensive HR, payroll and benefits oversight. He also recommended that employers think about hiring the formerly incarcerated to leverage tax credits and state programs and lean into technology such as artificial intelligence and automation.
“I’ll come back here five years from now, and there will be a lot of different things to talk about,” he predicted. “You guys are going to be doing different stuff on your manufacturing and warehouse floors.”
Final Day
Wednesday concluded with a spirited Golf Scramble Tournament and a short reception, prior to groups splitting off for networking dinners at various restaurants on site. Thursday featured ABMA’s signature Face-to-Face meetings, fast-paced 15-minute sessions connecting manufacturers directly with suppliers to facilitate relationship-building and deal-making. This structured matchmaking format, consistently ranked as one of the most valuable elements of the convention, had 27 supplier tables available for meetings with manufacturers.
“Most of those meetings were with people we have existing business with, where we can maintain the relationship and build on it. In a few cases, it was with people we do not have a relationship with,” said Bart Pelton, president of PelRay International Co. “Those were all very productive.”
After a free afternoon for networking, recreation or exploring the resort’s amenities such as horseback riding and Utility Task Vehicle tours, the event wrapped up with the “Trail’s End” closing reception, a festive finale that gave attendees one last chance to connect and celebrate.
“The ABMA is a very valuable meeting for us because we do business with a lot of the people there,” Pelton said. “It’s well worth it and always enjoyable.”
