Clean 2022 starts and ends on a high note

21 September 2022



Good vibes and plenty of business opportunities as the industry converged on Atlanta for the big US show


The Clean Show closed on 2 August after a busy four-day run at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The event followed a year-long postponement due to Covid-19, and the excitement to meet, in-person, with industry peers and experience the latest technology and innovations was palpable in Downtown Atlanta.

“These industries have been through a lot these last two years,” said Greg Jira, show director, The Clean Show, “and Clean’s goal is to serve as a global platform for knowledge and idea sharing so that companies may walk away with the tools they need to recover and ultimately, thrive. With the feedback from this year’s event, it is clear that we were able to accomplish that and so much more.”

Exhibitors and products

This year, the 216,400 sq ft exhibition hall brought together 347 exhibiting companies from across the industry spectrum, showing the latest technology, machinery, equipment and other products and services for the commercial laundering, drycleaning, and textile care services industry.

Exhibitors were pleased with the number and overall quality of attendees. “TWe are so delighted with the outcome of the show which was one that everybody had been anxiously waiting for,” said long-time Clean exhibitor Jensen-Group via LinkedIn. “We are very satisfied with the contacts and leads from this year’s Clean Show. Our sales team has had many promising meetings with decision makers, and look forward to continuing the discussions in the near future.”

This year saw 51 first-time exhibitors, the record for any edition of Clean Show to date, who had nothing but great things to say about their first experience:

“To say that the show has exceeded all expectations would be an understatement,” said Jonathan Katz, Principal at Jupiter Coverage Corp., a first-time exhibitor at Clean. “Having the ability to be forward facing and meet so many great people in the span of four days was incredible. The Clean show gave my company the ability to showcase who we are, what we do, and how we can help to so many, in such a condensed time. It would take years to meet the amount of people we met in just four days! We already cannot wait for the next show in 2025.”

“We found the Clean Show 2022 to our utmost satisfaction,” said Faheem Adam, CEO of first-time exhibitor Marina Textiles. “The duration of the exhibition, the location and the ambience were all to our liking.

“We are already looking forward to the next Clean Show in Orlando 2025.”

Show highlights

Clean Show’s exhibit hall remained the main attraction for this year’s event, and brought nearly 10,000 industry professionals from North America and beyond ready to do in-person business. The floor saw a constant flow of activity – with attendees meeting new business partners and experiencing demonstrations of industry-leading machinery, equipment and technology live and in-action.

“We have had an amazing experience attending The Clean Show 2022, said Jason Mitchell, CEO of Premier Linen Services. “It was exciting seeing all of the new equipment on display from the various manufacturers, and checking out the advancements that are happening in our industry.”

In addition to the exhibition hall, visitors and exhibitors alike attended sessions addressing today’s most pressing topics, with access to over 30 hours of complimentary education.

“So far, I’ve learned some great information about being a business owner in this industry,” said Ajani Cargle, attending Clean with his father representing the family business, Neighborhood Laundries in Chicago, Illinois. “I’m learning a lot about the daily operations and how to survive, scale and grow. This is probably the most advantageous aspect of an event I have experienced so far.”

Highlights on the floor included Lavatec’s LAVACascade drying system launched last year (see report https:// www.laundryandcleaningnews.com/news/newsrevolutionary-new-drying-system-from- lavatec-gives-energy-savings-of- up-to-50-8484803/) was featured alongside the LAVAPress ULTRA 597S 60- bar extraction press, a system “so massive there is nothing else in the marketplace that rivals it”, says the company.

Pony’s new ANGEL 3.0 shirt finisher, representing the latest evolution of a highly successful and reliable machine now with a contoured Teflo-coated press plate which, with its special shape and improved vacuum function, allows more precise and faster dressing and will dry items without marks and prevent the sides of the shirt from wrinkling.

In its 75th year, Milnor introduced the E-P Plus®Control on its 80lb (36 kg), 100lb (45 kg), and 140lb (63 kg) rigid-mount washer-extractors.

“This expansion allows laundries a wider variety of options. E-P Plus control is a robust yet value-priced control equipped with 30 pre-programmed formulas, including 10 options for eight different industries.


TRSA ANNOUNCES IN-DEPTH CONSUMER AND B2B RESEARCH REPORT

Clean was an opportunity for TRSA to announce it will offer to the public the ‘TRSA Market Recovery & Research Report’..The research, collected in the Autumn of 2021, utilises focus groups and an online survey to collect data from 1,000 consumers across the US that had recent experience with four key target industries: hospitality, F&B, healthcare and industrial/ uniforms. The business-to-business (B2B) quantitative online survey reached 200 decision makers in the four key targeted industries.

“The goal of the research was to explore and understand the value that professionally cleaned linens and uniforms add to industries,” stated Joe Ricci, TRSA, CEO and president. “By understanding the context of what decision-makers are facing helps frame the added value that textile services can provide relative to what they need most: ways to reduce costs, enhance cleanliness, simplify operations, and improve the customer experience.”

The consumer research discloses what end users of textile and linens feel are essential for their experience; What do they value and what are their preferences when it comes to cloth verses disposables or cleanliness and sanitation when visiting F&B, hospitality or healthcare establishments. Demographic and psychographic data is included as well.

The comprehensive B2B research dives into what matters to each target industry. What are the perceptions of professional laundered and supplier linens and uniforms? What are the barriers to adopting the service for businesses? What industry targets are most likely to convert to professionally laundering.

The 100- plus page research report will be available for TRSA members for $495 and $1995 for non-members.

To pre-order the report please email sjackson@trsa.org.

TRSA INTERROGATES GLOBAL CEOS

The TRSA, the North America linen rental trade body, in one of its many semninars at the show, brought together a panel of CEOs from worldwide leaders in the linen, uniform and facility services industry. The panel discussed and answered questions on the state of the industry as we go forward from Covid.

Panelists included the Peter Egan, CEO, Johnson Service Group; Ray Hayes, executive director, SPL Holdings, Australia; Andreas Holzer, managing director, Bardusch; Jim Kearns, executive vice president and CFO, Alsco; and Juha Laurio, president and CEO, Lindstrom. The panel discussion was moderated by TRSA president and CEO Joseph Ricci.

Topics discussed included:

  • Big data and its use in the laundry, and to improve communications and service with customers.
  • Visiting plants and employees, and making sure they are working as a team to achieve company goals.
  • Ways that independent operators can work with larger companies
  • Tools and/or resources available to leaders to create a consistent, healthy culture across plant operations.
  • Boosting employee engagement through recognition of staff members.
  • Supply chain issues impacting operations.
  • Communicating the value of the business in a time of high inflation.
  • Rising private equity vs family business operations, and its impact on the industry worldwide.

In a preceding session the European Textile Services Association (ETSA) CEO Elena Lai and representatives from the individual trade associations in Europe reported on global challenges, the importance of ‘circularity’, Association achievements and ongoing projects.
(See https://www. laundryandcleaningnews.com/news/ newsetsa-congress-sees-circularity-as-the- way-forward-9770403/)

  • The next edition of The Clean Show will take place in Orlando, Florida. The event is slated for mid-August, 2025. For more information, please visit: www.thecleanshow.com
  • LCNi will be reviewing Clean Show innovations in our special equipment features in forthcoming issues.



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