ISSA/Interclean USA 'exceeds expectations despite lower attendance'

ISSA/Interclean North America 2009 drew the highest number of first- time attendee companies in recent years which, combined with a turnout of the industry’s leading distributors and facility service provider (FSP) companies, created a strong selling environment in a challenging year, say many exhibitors.

While the number of people dropped about 9.5% from 2008, the number of new customer companies visiting the show for the first time reached 28%. This increase was further confirmed when more than 83% of exhibitors surveyed indicated they had met new contacts at this year’s show, and more than half said they generated new business.

“Our experience was very positive and better than we thought it could be,” said first-time exhibitor Paul Offutt, general manager of Sonic Scrubbers. “Our CEO said this was the best tradeshow he’s participated at in over 40 years.”

The event, hosted by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and its alliance partner Amsterdam RAI, took place in Chicago, IL, from 6-9 October 6-9.
During the show the organisers awarded 20 ‘Best Customer Service’ awards to exhibitors, as voted on by their customers in attendance. This allows customers to acknowledge those companies that go out of their way to accommodate visitors who stop by their booths.

The 2009 Best Customer Service Award winners were: DCL Solutions, JohnsonDiversey, Spartan Chemical Co., and Urine Off in the ‘chemicals’ category; Intelligent Products, Inc., Georgia-Pacific Professional, Kimberly-Clark Corp., and KlenzCorp International in the ‘disposables’ category; Advance, Advanced Vapor Technologies, Viper North America, and Windsor Industries in the ‘power equipment’ category; Expanded Technologies Corp., Morton Salt, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, and Unger Enterprises in the ‘supplies’ category; and Activeion Cleaning Solutions, American EPAY, Cleaning for a Reason, and The Weee in the ‘other products, services & technology’ category.

“We are very pleased with this year’s results, as we exceeded our expectations in a challenging year,” said ISSA executive director, John Garfinkel. “Multiple exhibitors who participate in tradeshows in many industries told me this was the best event they’ve been at this year. They also seemed pleased with the number of quality decision- makers and the number of new prospective customers they met. While it was an appropriate management decision for our manufacturer, distributor, and contract-services members to control the number of people they brought to the show in this challenging economy, the top managers and decision-makers from the major players were present, which ensured a solid event.”

“All of our distribution partners and key end-users from different segments that are decision-makers were at the show,” said Greg Moore, national sales manager for 3M. “We’ve been able to get to the right people with the right message and develop good action items to follow up on.”

Garfinkel noted that each city ISSA/Interclean North America visits brings a unique mix of attendees, as was seen this year in Chicago. Orlando, FL, next year’s location, historically attracts a strong mix of customers from the south and east who do not travel to the show when it is in other parts of the country. “If we can apply the same innovative marketing techniques and strong business value that drew attendees this year, we are confident that we will produce a successful show next year that will once again deliver new opportunities for our exhibitors,” said Garfinkel.

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