SSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam once again proved itself to be an essential event by offering a platform for the global cleaning industry, and creating a positive buzz in the cleaning community. This 24th edition of the world’s leading trade fair for cleaning professionals showed an increase in attendees, an impressive display of newly developed products and some 25% first time exhibitors.
Visitors from 130 countries
The visitors to ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam 2012 came from an impressive 130 countries. After four days, a grand total of 28,001 visits were registered, up from 23,415 last edition. Rob den Hertog, Manager ISSA/INTERCLEAN, “The Amsterdam show is a truly international show with 72% international attendance, countries representing the highest visitor numbers are Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Scandinavian countries, Spain, Russia and United States. In our efforts to attract new visitors from the growing economies, we are happy to see that the biggest growth in attendance numbers are from Eastern Europe (Russia, Latvia, Estonia), South Africa, Asia (India, UAE, Japan) and Turkey.”
The most complete ever
Some 670 manufacturers from 42 countries presented their latest products and solutions to an international audience of industry professionals. The numerous product demonstrations gave potential users the opportunity to experience the products. The ISSA Educational Conference, Minicongres, High Pressure demonstration area and the Miniskills were all well visited and received good feedback. Den Hertog says: ‘There was a great vibe throughout the event , and we are proud to host the global cleaning world under one roof here in Amsterdam, offering a complete range and overview of the industry.”
What the exhibitors said
Exhibitors were excited about their business opportunities at ISSA/INTERCLEAN. Jared Brading, Managing Director of Gumpack comments “We have established exclusive distribution with 20 new countries and 19 more to follow up. The show has proven to be essential to our business.”
According to Nick Brenthall, Director of MIF Filtersystems, “it seemed that growth markets like Russia and Australia have a much stronger presence which is good for the cleaning trade as a whole.”
Yann Malin, Marketing Manager at MP hygiene adds “This edition was great, we had good traffic volume, and lots of quality contacts. This show remains the number one hygiene event worldwide.”
Agnese Valcarenghi, director Maer Idropulitrici:
“A showcase of importance in the cleaning industry. Thanks to visitors from all over the world, the contacts and exchange of ideas have been numerous, and already a few days after the exhibition we already had results.”
Amsterdam Innovation Award
VERMOP Salmon was named the Overall Winner of the ninth Amsterdam Innovation Award for its Mag system. The Amsterdam Innovation Award puts the most innovative products presented at the exhibition in the spotlight. The jury felt that the Mag system from VERMOP Salmon brings an entirely new way of attaching mop covers to the mop holder. Its ease of use, hygienic touch-free operation, flexibility, intuitiveness and ergonomy all impressed the panel.
The winner in the ‘Machines, Accessories and Components’ category was Kärcher with its B 80 W, while Alpheios’s Infection Prefention Monitor was identified as the most innovative product in the ‘Cleaning Management and Training Solutions’ category. The first year’s ‘Visitor’s Choice’ Award went to Alpheios with its IPM.
“We appreciated the motivation of the jury to award the prize to a product that will make everyday cleaning easier for thousands of cleaning staff through easier, intuitive handling. Winning the award brought many curious visitors to our stand and gave us a great platform to present the Mag system”, says Claudia Berthel, Head of Marketing VERMOP Salmon.