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It’s with the greatest of pleasures that I am able to salute ICS and its thousands of readers on its 50th anniversary. As a life-long close friend, fellow student and later, business partner for over 34 years with the late, wonderful Howard Olansky, I had the privilege of being there at the
beginning of a big, new service industry and helped create a new magazine, ICS, to serve its needs from the start.

The old adage, “find a need and fill it” certainly fits ICS. After World War II, millions of men and women back from serving their country were getting married, buying homes and starting families. Back in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the floor service industries were called on to fill new servicing needs. Tufted broadloom carpet from man-made fibers was in its infancy. New designs, uses and improvements in resilient floor covering, laminates, ceramic tile and other floor, wall and countertop products and other innovations meant that someone had to service, install, repair, clean and care for millions upon millions of square yards of these products. New, huge shopping centers, office buildings, schools and other public buildings were eager customers of these new products. New products and innovations kept coming on stream and when Washington OK’ed the inclusion of broadloom carpet as part of an FHA guaranteed mortgage, the service industry really skyrocketed.

These were exciting days. This rapidly expanding industry attracted enterprising men and women who were eager to provide this fast growing industry with the equipment, tools, skills, products, training and knowledge that was needed.

ICS stepped in as the pioneer publication in this newly expanding industry and has remained so to the present time. It gives me great pleasure to thank Evan Kessler for carrying on in the best traditions that were fostered by Howard Olansky and our staff of industry experts in those early days. In the early days, before ICS was on the scene, they called service people in the field “mechanics.” We wanted to recognize our thousands of readers as the professional men and women that they were, so “specialist” became part of the magazine’s name from the beginning and has remained that way through all these years.

May ICS serve this important industry for many, many more years to come!