2011 ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America RECAP In 1,000 words or less, here is what you missed. W By: Aaron Baunee, managing editor With 645 exhibitors, 16,000 attendees and doz-ens of educational seminars, it was virtually impossible to see and experience all that the one show for the cleaning industry had to offer. So, to make sure nobody missed anything of merit, this article serves to debrief readers about the three days that were the 2011 ISSA/ INTERCLEAN North America trade show. From Green To Chemical-free At the trade shows, conventions and exhibitions of recent years, nearly everyone was pushing something green, environmentally friendly or any variation of the idea of being less taxing on the built and natural environments and those who habitate them — ad nauseum. ISSA/INTERCLEAN, in particular, was a green beacon: Companies with verifiable green products, those with greenwashed claims and even those with products that were actually green in color. This year, however, the green message was far less visible. I attribute this to the notion that green is simply the way things are done today; it is commonplace. The new kick that I noticed is chemical-free this, that and the other thing. Various companies now offer chemical-free cleaning apparatuses, chemical-free stripping and finishing machines and chemical-free disin-fecting devices. “The driving force behind this is the increas-ing demand for using environmentally preferred solutions, third-party rating systems and certifi-cations,” states Neil Eibeler, global president of Rubbermaid Commercial Products LLC. A logical progression from green, chemical-free is the new buzzword du jour. Aaron Baunee is the managing editor of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine. He can be reached at ABaunee@NTPMedia. com. In his years with the pub-lication, Baunee has amassed numerous articles, columns and commentaries pertaining to commercial cleaning and mainte-nance. Baunee encourages readers to communicate editorial ideas to him and welcomes discussions on pertinent industry happenings. Connect through social media: LinkedIn.com/in/AaronBaunee, Facebook.com/CMMOnline and Twitter.com/CMeNewsDaily. the custodial closet at the end of the hallway by developing and making available thorough prod-uct lines. “We focus on offering high-level business solu-tions that create a healthier work environment, which leads to better productivity, worker safety support and helping customers meet their sus-tainability goals,” claims Chris Brickman, global president of Kimberly-Clark Professional. Fewer piecemeal offerings means that custom-ers can purchase most of what — if not all — they need from one company. This not only simplifies things for end users, but it also ensures compatibility with things such as general purpose cleaners, floor finishes and other formulations that JanSan professionals use daily. “Leading companies today and in the future will focus new product development and innovation around solutions-based offerings,” notes Eibeler. “The benefits vary widely when offering complete solutions and include improvements in productiv-ity, operational efficiencies, lower costs and, ulti-mately, a reasonable return on investment.” This was not only evident on the chemical side of the industry; equipment manufacturers also got the message and are filling the gaps in their product lines. Autoscrubbers, for example, are now available is various sizes and with hard floor and carpet cleaning capabilities — a grey area once only ful-filled by purchasing multiple machines. Building A Community Aside from developments noticed from walking the aisles of ISSA/INTERCLEAN, scores more happened between the opening and closing of “the start of something big.” Particularly interesting was the co-location of several industry events. The Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) Convention, the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) Convention and the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARSCI) Convention all shared the same building this year. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search key-word: ISSA/INTERCLEAN . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Cleaning . Complete Solutions Another development witnessed on this year’s show floor was packaged solutions from manu-facturers. Complete solutions have been available from companies for many years, but now it seems as though everyone is seeing the proverbial light in 26 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • December 2011
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