ISSA/INTERCLEAN announced the winners of the 2012 Innovation Award. The nine nominees were presented the awards in a ceremony at the tradeshow in Amsterdam. The Visitors' Choice Award was also presented.

Chairman of the Amsterdam Innovation Award, Michelle Marshall says that from all the 71 entries seen this year, it was clear manufacturers are really thinking more carefully about the solutions they develop in terms of how they fulfill their customers' needs – with more ability to tailor solutions for example. It's encouraging to note the increasing use of web-based solutions, which until now the cleaning sector has been largely slow to adopt. Sustainability has been a key consideration for almost all of the new product entries seen in this year's Amsterdam Innovation Award. This reflects how deeply these values have become embedded in the industry as a whole.
 
Overall winner is the Mag System by the German VERMOP Salmon GmbH in Gilching. According to a press release, "the jury felt that the Mag system from VERMOP Salmon brings an entirely new way of attaching mop covers to the mop holder. In an industry that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, it was felt the Mag system represents what appears to be a fairly simple step forward for an everyday tool. Its ease of use, hygienic touch-free operation, flexibility, intuitiveness and ergonomy all impressed the panel. And the fact the Mag holder can be used with different mop types makes it a practical solution for today's result-oriented cleaning operations – the best mop for each job in a practical and trouble-free way."
 
The winners of the categories:
 
Category - Machines, accessories and components:
The B 80 W from Kärcher is an 80-litre walk-behind scrubber dryer designed for areas between 1500 and 3000 square meters. Simplicity and time saving are the key criteria for any user when purchasing a machine like this, and the B 80 W meets those needs. One of the features that impressed the judges most was the intelligent RFID key system. This consists of three different keys with different levels of authorization – there is one for the operator, one for the supervisor/facility manager and one for the service technician. All necessary data is stored and memorized on each user's key, so the operator is comfortable with the machine very quickly, the risk of errors minimized and training time reduced.

Other features such as automatic tank filling and rinsing, eco-efficiency operation and the tool carrying accessories make this a practical, easy-to-use machine. The judges felt Kärcher has introduced some apparently simple features which have in fact been very thoroughly thought-out and show a real understanding of how the machine operators work day to day.

Category - Equipment/tools for cleaning, care and safety:
The Mag System by Vermop Salmon
 
Category - Cleaning Management and Training Solutions:
The Alpheios Infection Prevention Monitor IPM by Alpheios International
 
For the first time, the visitors had a chance to vote for their favorite nominee for the Visitor's Choice Award. The visitors have selected category winner Alpheios with their IPM as winner of this year's competition.

The 2012 jury consists of:
Michelle Marshall, Chairman Chief Editor European Cleaning Journal - United Kingdom
Reinhard Knittler, Publisher Reinigungs Markt - Germany
Paolo Pellizzari, Chief Editor Pulizia Industriale e Sanificazione - Italy
Pierre Deschamps, Chief Editor Batiment Entretien – France
Rob Geissler, Publisher Sanitary Maintenance – USA
Cor van der Velden, Chief Expert at Skills Netherlands – The Netherlands
Dick van Zomeren, Editor Service Management - The Netherlands
Ton van der Riet, Managing Director Senzora - The Netherlands