Emerging Trends from ISSA/National Cleaning Show 2014

Information and sources are attributed to the article in Cleaning & Maintenance Management; January 2014 edition. Written by William R. Griffin.

The ISSA/INTERCLEAN show just keeps getting better and better each year. It’s one of, if not the most, important show and educational opportunities that a cleaning business owner or industry professional can attend each year.

With over 690 exhibit booths, upwards of 16,000 people in attendance and multiple cleaning-related trade associations participating provided non-stop networking and learning opportunities during the entire four day event.

Here are some emerging industry trends from the 2013 show:

An increasing number of facility and cleaning department managers as well as contractors are attending the show
Education is on people’s mind. Managers and owners of successful companies realize that if they want things to run as smoothly as possible, they must provide ongoing training for cleaners, supervisors and managers.
There are many new and innovative products entering the marketplace that can improve the quality of cleaning while reducing costs by increasing production and efficiency.
Sustainable green cleaning is becoming more mainstream as an expectation and way of doing business for major corporations, government, education, hospitality and healthcare markets.
Chemicals are in trouble. Yes, we need them, but at the same time, companies are cutting back on their use and in some cases doing away with them altogether. Hybrid water is taking the industry by storm.
Cleaning-related software programs that operate on smartphones and wirelessly are edging out programs that require a desktop, notebook, and table computer.
Auto-scrubbers are getting smaller, more sophisticated and electronically controlled.
Bucket-less mopping and micro-auto scrubbers are newer technology that have the potential to replace the trusted mop pail and wringer over the next five to seven years.