Interclean Amsterdam Innovation Award Winners Announced

Interclean Amsterdam officially opened Tuesday morning with the announcement of the Overall Winner of the Amsterdam Innovation Award. This year, this prestigious award was presented to Diversey - A Solenis Company, for its LESSEAU NO-Touch Bar Soap dispenser and refills for a product that the Jury believes can have a very broad and truly meaningful impact in so many different applications.

The category winners are: Kärcher for its KIRA CV 50 (Smart Technologies & Digitalisation), Baudoin Wash-Systems for its Baudoin Wash Drone (Workforce & Ergonomics), Diversey - A Solenis Company, for its LESSEAU NO-Touch Bar Soap dispenser & refills (Sustainability & Environment) and Hagleitner Global Hygiene for its XIBU 2WIPE hybrid (Hygiene & Health). The Visitors’ Choice Award went to Kärcher for its KIRA CV 50. As an exciting addition to the Awards, a new prize, dubbed the Cleaners’ Choice Award, was presented to Baudoin Wash-Systems for its Baudoin Wash Drone.

Michelle Marshall, chair of the Jury says, “Huge congratulations to Diversey – A Solenis Company, this year's overall winner with the LESSEAU No-Touch Bar Soap dispenser & refills. All of us on the jury were so impressed with how a very simple idea, a return to the use of bar soap in the washroom, has been reinvented and brought right up to date thanks to the use of some really smart technology. This is a product which we believe can have a very broad and truly meaningful impact in so many different applications. And although it won the category Sustainability and Environment, the LESSEAU No-Touch Bar Soap performs so well in the other categories too in terms of its credentials in smart technology, workforce & ergonomics and hygiene and health. Diversey – A Solenis Company has completely reimagined what is a basic, everyday activity for all of us - washing our hands - and presented a truly innovative new solution. And this is a system which has the potential to be applicable to other product areas.”

Category nominees and winners

Sustainability & Environment

Category winner: LESSEAU NO-Touch Bar Soap dispenser & refills (Diversey - A Solenis Company)

The Jury Report: This is a no-touch hand hygiene dispensing system that brings back into use the traditional bar of soap – in an innovative and smart new way. Employing a grinder to dispense granules onto the hands, each small bar offers up to 300 washes, there’s no waste and the non fatty-acid soap leaves no residue. It’s energy efficient and features a rechargeable battery.

Other nominees in this category:

Switch (Werner & Mertz Professional)

Tork Carbon Neutral Certified Dispensers (Tork, an Essity brand)

Smart Technologies & Digitalization

Category winner: KIRA CV 50 (Kärcher)

The Jury Report: With this autonomous vacuum cleaner, the jury feels Kärcher is bringing innovation to the mid-sized robotics. The fact it has batteries which are exchangeable means the robot can run continuously, and the batteries can be interchanged between other Kärcher machines. All the information about the machine is visible on the unit itself, or it can be managed via the app.

Other nominees in this category:

Nexaro NR 1500 (Nexaro)

ADLATUS SR1300 Autonomous Vacuum Sweeping Robot (ADLATUS Robotics)

Workforce & Ergonomics

Category winner: Baudoin Wash Drone (Baudoin Wash-Systems)

The Jury Report: Baudoin has developed its Wash Drone using latest smart technology for use on difficult-to-access buildings. Buildings which are often almost impossible to clean, which require specialist and expensive access equipment, or demand that personnel work at height. It cleans at high pressure using pure water technology and is easily controlled from the ground.

Other nominees in this category:

UNGER VisaVersa Pro 2-in-1 window squeegee (Unger Germany)

Scrubmaster B5 430 ORB (Hako)

Hygiene & Health

Category winner: XIBU 2WIPE hybrid (Hagleitner Global Hygiene)

The Jury Report: The traditional method of dispensing disinfectant wipes – from plastic flowpacks – is not ideal because the wipes start to dry out as soon as the pack is opened, resulting in much waste. Hagleitner has tackled this by developing a smart, sensor-driven mobile dispenser featuring a patented sealing system. Each wipe remains moist, and it never needs to be empty.

Other nominees in this category:

Kimberly-Clark Professional ICON (Kimberly-Clark Professional)

i-clean handle (i-team Global)

Winner of Visitors’ Choice Award

Recently fellow professionals and industry partners were able to vote for their favorite innovation on the Interclean website. The nominee with the most public votes would win the Visitors' Choice Award. The prize this year is going to be awarded to Kärcher for its KIRA CV 50.

Winner of the Cleaners’ Choice Award

An exciting new addition to the line-up this year is the Cleaners’ Choice Award. The nominees of the prestigious Dutch “Cleaner of the Year” (“Schoonmaker van het Jaar”) election also voted for their winning innovation, as they are ultimately the ones who are required to work with the new products/innovations. They selected the Baudoin Wash Drone (Baudoin Wash-Systems) as the winner of the first Cleaners’ Choice Award. The Cleaners’ Choice jury considerations: the product is really helpful for a window cleaner, it makes the job easier and less dangerous, no tools are required (e.g. no scaffolding) and last but not least; it makes the work "fun" like playing a computer game.

House of Awards

At the Interclean show floor, the House of Awards sets the stage for the nominations and the (category) winner of the Amsterdam Innovation Award, showcasing all the nominated products. A special display provides a presentation of the nominated and winning products, providing more background information on the innovation and the company that created it.

The members of the Amsterdam Innovation Awards Jury

Antonio Borreda (director of Revista Limpiezas – Spain)

Chiara Scelsi (editorial coordinator, Dimensione Pulito)

Corinne Zudonyi (editor in chief, Sanitary Maintenance – USA)

Michelle Marshall (chief editor of European Cleaning Journal (Chair))

Pierre Deschamps (chief editor of Batiment Entretien)

Reinhard Knittler (publisher of ReinigungsMarkt)

Rob den Hertog (special advisor)

Ronald Bruins (chief editor of Servicemanagement)

RAI Amsterdam supports Amref Flying Doctors

The proceeds from Interclean’s Amsterdam Innovation Award 2024 entry fees will be donated to Amref Flying Doctors, to support their FINISH project in Tanzania.