ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America 2011 lived up to its theme, The Start of Something Big, posting a 13 percent increase in nonexhibiting attendees over last year's show. That increase contributed to a total attendance of nearly 16,000. In addition, ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association that hosts the show, added to the excitement of the event by launching its new promise to help members by changing the way the world views cleaning.
 
The event, co-produced with ISSA's trade show partner, Amsterdam RAI, took place in Las Vegas, NV, October 18-21, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
 
"Now is a very dynamic time for our industry," said ISSA Executive Director John Garfinkel. "Shifting trends, budget constraints, and environmental and regulatory changes demand that the industry adapts how it conducts business, and ISSA is adapting as well to help our members succeed.
 
"This successful show is just one example of how ISSA continues to bring together the leaders in the commercial cleaning profession to do business and exchange ideas so they can better protect public health and grow business. It is very rewarding to hear so many exhibitors and attendees tell us that this was their best show in recent years."
 
Show Highlights:
• The event sold out of exhibit space by early fall, with a 15 percent increase over the last time the show was held in Las Vegas in 2008.
• Of the 645 exhibitors, 107 were new to ISSA/INTERCLEAN.  
• More than 13 percent of visitors hailed from 69 countries outside of the United States and Canada.
• The exhibition featured leading suppliers from 27 different countries.  
• The addition of 150 new ISSA Certification Experts during the week brought the total number of individuals trained in helping cleaning organizations achieve management and service delivery excellence to more than 1,000.
• The new Advanced Distributor Program brought together the top distribution experts in America to provide executive-level insights on profit generation, inventory management, and sales strategies.
 
In addition to the high energy on the show floor and in ISSA's popular seminars and networking events, the association was turning heads with exclusive new tools launched for its members. The association unveiled a new Power of Clean video, Value of Clean calculator, and Value of Clean cards. The tools, available at www.issa.com/value, were developed for ISSA members to help in-house decision makers gain a greater appreciation for the investment cleaning truly is in protecting people, the environment and, ultimately in growing facilities' bottom lines.

Many of the ISSA Convention education sessions hosted during the week also provided insights for members into how they could better protect public health and educate customers regarding the value they bring to the table.  Featured speaker Robert Stephens, founder of the Geek Squad, discussed his impressions of how the commercial cleaning industry was an unsung source of innovation and gave advice on how attendees could better brand their companies to make stronger impressions on their customers. A crowd of 3,800 attendees also gained valuable insights from business guru Tom Peters during his keynote address regarding how to leverage the "little BIG things" in their companies to excel during tough times and constantly innovate.

Bringing the Industry Together
The week of ISSA/INTERCLEAN once again hosted the co-located conventions of the International Executive Housekeepers Association (I.E.H.A.), Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) and Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI) as well as a variety of distributor marketing group meetings.  The result was a busy convention center full of educational sessions, meetings, and networking events drawing the top decision-makers from across the cleaning industry.
 
Trade associations from around the globe also were represented, including: the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICS, the Cleaning & Support Services Association (CSSA) from the United Kingdom, the National Contract South Africa-based Cleaners Association (NCCA), the Polish Cleaning Chamber of Commerce (PIGC), and the World Federation of Building Service Contractors (WFBSC).