Greetings!
 "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please." That is another quote from Mark Twain and so true of all that I hear from the press and most of our politicians. Being in marketing, I am familiar with distorted truths, from others, I would rush to say. So, hypothetically, were I to be presenting a sales program and I wanted to knock your socks off, I might say, "Just do as I say and our gross sales will reach $50 million in twenty years. Tell me that doesn't sound pretty impressive! But suppose we dissect that. $50 million is a lot of money, at least to me, but it is only $2.5 million a year for twenty years. Peanuts. And even if you bought it hook, line and sinker, suppose I was full of beans? Don't think you are going to find me to hold to account in twenty years, nope, I will be long gone. So will most of of our duly elected officials. And so it is with the politicians who are selling us tax savings. They promote a gigantic dollar amount, soft pedaling the fact that they mean it will be 2031 by the time it happens, IF it happens. If it does not, where will you find them then? Whose neck will you wring if anyone remembered to keep score? Heaven only knows that we have to stop spending our way to prosperity. It doesn't work. We need fiscal sanity now. You and I have to live in the present and, like it or not, us common folk can't spend more than we make and survive for long. What is it about life inside the Beltway that changes our elected representatives? Last November was a mandate for change but I smell compromise in the wind. "Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason." said Mark Twain, so correctly. Let's keep our eyes on them. Sincerely,
Bob Hibler, Newsletter Editor, Diaper Czar and Admirer of Mark Twain Gamka Sales Co., Inc. bob@gamka.com 888-248-1400 PS: The results of our recent On Line Survey are in! Compared with a year ago, 51.4% of the respondents said their business has improved. Looking ahead to July, 2011, 65.7% answered that they expected more improvement. I hope they are right! 
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| Training Seminar on Polishing Concrete for Fun and Profit
Okay, okay, so it won't be fun but it can be profitable! Gamka and Edco are putting on a six hour training seminar, April 28th to show how it is done. Class size is limited to just 20 to allow individual hands-on instruction. This is not about doing big box floors but any residential or small commercial concrete floor; new or old, smooth or worn, currently covered or exposed. The market is huge and virtually untapped. There are numerous high profit job opportunities to be accessed by front running, entrepreneurial contractors. Polished concrete is the start of a whole new trend in floors for the owners of smaller structures. It seems evident that many contractors are expanding their horizons in search of revenue. This could be a very good one for them.
People have been unhappy with certain characteristics of concrete floors for as long as they have been around. They often "dust", they are porous so they stain easily, the plain gray color is flat and unappealing and they can wear from heavy foot or vehicular traffic. Until recently, the only way to address these problems was to cover the concrete floor. Rugs, tile, hardwood flooring, paint, patching materials, urethanes and epoxy have all been used with varying degrees of success to cover the concrete problems. The problem with paint as a concrete covering is that it quickly peels off and requires yearly re-coating. Epoxy does better, but it is a topping that can still delaminate if moisture is coming up through the floor. It is much like plastic; it can scratch easily and/or melt away when it gets heated up.
This is where concrete polishing fits in. It gives all the benefits of good epoxy floor, but it does not have any of the problems associated with coatings. Lighting engineers say that the high shine and reflectivity of a polished concrete floor can brighten a room by as much as 35% (considerably more than an epoxy floor). There is no coating that can fail and the floor still breathes. The densifier solution that is added during the polishing process chemically makes the concrete surface much stronger and more resistant to wear. It also locks in optional colored dyes that can be used to improve the appearance of the floor. Many "Big Box" retailers and supermarkets embrace polished concrete.
Gamka Sales Co., Inc, in Edison, NJ, distributes the CONTRx Concrete Polishing System by Edco. We carry the polishing machines, edgers and vacuums with the expendable accessories. On April 28, 2011 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Edco and Gamka will offer a hands-on polishing CONTRx System training seminar for contractors wishing to expand their operation's scope. Attendees will learn the ins and outs of diamond polishing concrete floors with live demonstrations and hands-on surface preparation. Those who register will be CONTRx System certified upon completion of the course. The fee for this specialized training is $200. Lunch is included.
More details, a downloadable flier and application may be found at www.gamka.com or call toll free 888-248-1400. Completed applications and the $200 application fee must be received at Gamka (by check or credit card) no later than April 21, 2011.
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About Gamka Sales Co., Inc.
We are a distributor of a wide variety of construction products. Gamka's business is in equipment sales and rentals, construction chemicals, thermal and moisture protection, diamond cutting, hardware, concrete accessories and safety equipment. We are family run and our World Headquarters is located in Edison, NJ. Gamka's truck fleet delivers all over New Jersey, Metropolitan New York and Philadelphia. To serve our outside customers, we have field account managers who call on contractors on jobs and in their offices. Inside our 60,000 square foot building we have a 2,000 sq. ft. show room where our sales counter handles walk-in customers and telephone calls. Under roof are more than 30,000 line items. We rent over 1,400 pieces of machinery. There are 9,000 parts in stock and our service department repairs our customers' equipment and what we sell and rent. Information on all of this and much more can be found on our website, www.gamka.com . We offer our customers application-engineered solutions to their problems. We have established ourselves in the concrete market niche and are known by our customers as the concrete experts. If you have anything to do with concrete, from placing it to restoring it and every stage in between, Gamka can help. We have the answers.
As the construction industry and our customers evolve, so do we.
Gamka Sales Co., Inc.  983 New Durham Road Edison, New Jersey 08817 888-248-1400 
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Toxic Talk: Employee Health and Employer Wallet
I am sure you already know that your favorite relative and mine, Uncle Sam, has a whole series of rules to protect your workers from hazardous materials. First, all toxic and hazardous substances need to be checked out for the dangers workers might get into if they are exposed to them and, second, that information must be communicated. The document for that is called a Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS. The manufacturers, importers or suppliers of harmful substances are the ones who prepare and distribute them with every shipment to the buyer. The buyer, YOU, is responsible for keeping them on file and accessible to the employees who might be exposed to them.
Since all employers are supposed to know about these things, here is a pop quiz, no cheating!
Safety Director Matt Hazard keeps a list of all hazardous substances that the company uses in the workplace, just like you do. He also makes sure that there's a complete, up-to-date MSDS for each one. All of the MSDSs go into a loose leaf binder and he keeps it in his office. Although Matt keeps the office locked, he goes out of his way to remind workers that he'll gladly give the binder to anybody who asks to see it.
HERE IS THE TEST QUESTION
Which one of Matt's acts or omissions violates OSHA- HazCom rules?
A) Not independently verifying the accuracy of the information in the MSDS
B) Not preparing a company version of the MSDS
C) Keeping the MSDS binder in his locked office
D) Keeping MSDSs in a paper binder rather than a computer system
All of you who answered C win. Keeping the MSDS in his locked office!
Here is why C is correct:
OSHA standards require employers to make the MSDS readily accessible to any worker who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals and substances. OSHA authorities interpret "readily accessible" to mean that workers should have access to the MSDS when and where they are working. Workers should have access to that information themselves and not through somebody else. Keeping MSDSs in the office of a safety director or any other individual is problematic because:
- The safety director's office may be far from the work area;
- The office is likely to be kept locked at times; and
- Workers shouldn't have to ask the safety director or anybody else for permission or make an appointment to see the MSDS.
WHY WRONG ANSWERS ARE WRONG
A --- Not independently verifying the accuracy of the MSDS --- is wrong because employers may rely on MSDS information they get from their suppliers without having to analyze or evaluate a hazardous substance independently.
B --- Not preparing a company version of the MSDS --- is wrong because companies can use the MSDS they get from a supplier unless they produce the chemical themselves.
D --- Keeping MSDSs in a paper binder rather than a computer system--- is wrong because while making MSDS sheets available to workers via a computer terminal is an option (provided that the employer takes certain steps like making sure the equipment constantly works), it isn't mandatory.
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Did this newsletter measure up? Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Send them to: bob@gamka.com
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