golden star with light bulbs on red velvet curtain on stage

The first day of Interclean Amsterdam online, the Innovation Day, revealed the category winners of the Amsterdam Innovation Award 2020. As the current pandemic is impacting the world and as the people become more focused on hygiene and cleaning, it has become even more crucial to highlight all the great developments and innovations in this industry. This worldwide recognized award is just that and more. It’s a celebration of innovation – featuring the best solutions that we’ve seen over the past year while looking forward to an exciting future of further development.

The category winners in four categories – out of a total of 86 entries – of the Amsterdam Innovation Award 2020 are:

 • LeoBot by LionsBot
 • VacuTronic by Hermes
 • ToolSense IOT & ToolSense NOW by ToolSense
 • TORK Virtual Reality Clean Hands Training by Essity

Sustainability was key criteria for the judges this year, all the awarded products and solutions demonstrated their ability to drive the circular economy or reduce resource consumption. The drive for efficiency and productivity was another major point for the jury, the winning products and solutions are designed to reduce the time spent on tasks and free up resources to be used for the improvement of cleaning quality.

Michelle Marshall, chair of the Jury: “Once again this year we on the jury have been given a fascinating, and sometimes challenging, task. There were so many diverse products to evaluate and compare – from all sectors of the market - that selecting the final nominees was complex.

“We can see three main themes emerge time and again – digitization, robotics and sustainability. The vast majority of products we have chosen to be finalists in our four categories highlight one or more of those trends.

“It’s encouraging to observe that the solutions developed by our finalists are focusing on their clients’ needs against the backdrop of those global trends. The goal is clearly to offer meaningful benefits within the context of an everyday cleaning operation. It’s all very well to generate vast amounts of data through digitization, but how can it be used to impact on productivity and profitability? What can a robotic cleaning machine offer that a human being cannot, when the investment is relatively high? How do we differentiate what a ‘sustainable’ product or service is, and does it hold up under scrutiny? These are questions we must all ask.

“Alongside these ‘megatrends’ we must always remember that people are at the center of any cleaning operation and it was encouraging to see our finalists have really considered the needs of the operatives who will be using their products and solutions. What we see here is a group of solutions that aims to make the job of the operative more streamlined, less labor intensive and more ergonomic – achieving an all-round ‘smarter’ way of doing what can be a challenging and fatiguing job.

“Of course we cannot talk about our sector without mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented event has brought cleaning out into the public consciousness in a way we have never seen before. As plans are made around the world about how we move forward, the industry will undoubtedly have a crucial role to play in sharing expertise, developing strategy and managing the practicalities of safeguarding hygienic environments. Maybe now is the time the cleaning industry will finally have the recognition it deserves.”

Category nominees and winners

Category 1: Machines, Accessories & Components

Winner – LeoBot by LionsBot

LeoBot by LionsBot
A family of cleaning robots (each with their own specialism), the LeoBots are a step forward in terms of cleaning results – and bring a lovable personality with them.

The jury voted Leobot by Lionsbot as the winner of this category, because the family of floor cleaning robots is capable of performing a range of tasks. This socialised robot is able to build a relationship with human cleaners through continuous interaction with the environment. This way, Leobot elevates the cleaner’s status and motivation helping them take pride in their job. The robot brings cleaning out into the public domain in a fun and positive way.

Other nominees in this category:

Whiz by ICE Robotics / Softbank Robotics
Whiz is a fully autonomous vacuum sweeper powered by intelligent, self-driving technology that delivers high-quality cleaning results. Capable of navigating complex and dynamic environments, it helps teams to be more productive.

ERA PRO by SPRiNTUS
An exceptional intelligent dry vacuum cleaner, the ERA PRO drives effective resource management with cleaning data collected and sent to the state-of-the-art SPRiNTUS fleet management system.

Category 2: Equipment, Detergents & Washroom

Winner – VacuTronic by Hermes

VacuTronic by Hermes
A new part of the Hermes system, the VacuTronic aids every area of façade cleaning – all while catching the wastewater created by this process.

The jury was impressed by the simplicity of this tool and the potential impact on the operators tasks. An affordable, easy-to-use system with many applications. Hermes’s wastewater collection tool can be used for all types of façade cleaning. It is a practical solution to a widespread problem; protecting the environment by preventing contaminated water from seeping into the ground.

Other nominees in this category:

ZERO Waste Cleaning: Reduce + Reuse + Recycle by green care PROFESSIONAL
With the circular economy a prevalent topic, green care PROFESSIONAL has introduced the world’s first 100 precent recyclable refill pouch that’s able to cut plastic use by up to 80 percent.

TWT Solar System by TWT
Bringing smart systems into the flat mop arena, the TWT Solar System introduces smart dosing and solar panels for charging – increasing efficiency and productivity.

Category 3: E-cleaning

Winner – ToolSense IOT and ToolSense NOW by ToolSense

ToolSense IOT and ToolSense NOW by ToolSense
ToolSense aims to eliminate sub-optimal machine use and failure through the digitization of cleaning processes at a fraction of the cost of other systems.

The combination of practical and affordable solution for digitizing cleaning machines was a decisive factor for the jury. It can be used with any brand of cleaning machines and operates across all manufacturers’ products. The system is easy to apply to both large and small cleaning machines and captures wide variety of smart data. Large or small, it is accessible to all cleaning operations.

Other nominees in this category:

TASKI IntelliTrail Analytics by TASKI, Diversey
Combining cleaning industry know-how and data science, TASKI’s IntelliTrail Analytics platform takes fleet management to new levels – helping teams to interpret information and calculate savings.

TORK Digital Cleaning Plans: Cleaning Software
Making digital cleaning accessible to businesses of all sizes, TORK Digital Cleaning Plans gives facility managers the ability to deliver greater efficiencies through the digitization of routines.

Category 4: Related Products/Services

Winner – TORK Virtual Reality Clean Hands Training by Essity

TORK Virtual Reality Clean Hands Training by Essity
An interactive hand hygiene training simulation, TORK Virtual Reality Clean Hands Training puts users in the role of a nurse or physician – gaining feedback on their hand hygiene compliance.

The jury was highly impressed by this user-friendly method of maintaining hand hygiene compliance in healthcare settings. The accessibility of ensuring ongoing training on-site in order to improve standards is a true innovation. The Virtual Reality approach is essential to stimulate behavioral change in a fun and engaging way. It is the perfect solution for the well-recognized need to educate people worldwide on hand hygiene

Other nominees in this category:

Recycle Factory by Spectro
Recycle Factory offers the opportunity to return empty plastic packaging that’s then either reused or recycled to create new packaging.

Kärcher Battery Universe by Kärcher
The Kärcher Battery Universe allows managers to see the battery status of all their machines in real time – making their machines far more productive.

Meet the Jury
 • Antonio Borreda, Director, Revista Limpiezas (Spain
 • Chiara Merlini, Chief Editor, Cleaning Community (Italy)
 • Cor van der Velden, Chief Expert, Worldskills (the Netherlands)
 • Michelle Marshall (Chair) , Chief Editor, European Cleaning Journal (UK)
 • Pierre Deschamps, Chief Editor, Batiment Entretien  (France)
 • Reinhard Knittler, Publisher, ReinigungsMarkt  (Germany)
 • Rob Geissler, Publisher, Sanitary Maintenance, Contracting Profits, Facility Cleaning Decisions (United Stated of America)   
 • Ronald Bruins, Chief Editor, Servicemanagement (the Netherlands)
 • Ton van der Riet, Managing Director, Senzora (the Netherlands)