PULIRE 2007, the 18th edition of Italy’s largest cleaning industry show held June 5-8 in Verona drew more than 350 exhibitors and set a number of attendance records.

Promoted by AfidampFAB (Association of Italian Makers of Cleaning Machine Equipment and Products), PULIRE has become one of the leading European and international exhibitions in the cleaning sector due to its increasing popularity from visitors from across the globe.

This year’s show — the show is held every other year — had 358 exhibitors scattered across the 45,000-square-meter showroom floor. The majority of them — 305 — were Italian manufacturers. Fifty-three foreign manufacturers exhibited at the show, edging out the 52 foreign booths in 2005.

The event, which models the ISSA/INTERCLEAN® North America show, saw a record-breaking 23,735 visitors walk through the turnstiles, a 28.48 percent increase over the 18,474 that attended in 2005. Foreign visitors accounted for 22.9 percent of the attendees.

Those in attendance were able to network, take in a handful of seminars, view countless product demonstrations from manufacturers, and catch a glimpse of a “museum” of cleaning products dating back to 1840. PULIRE also allowed attendees to get up close and personal with the European market’s newest innovative product offerings.

Similar to trends in the United States, the exhibiting manufacturers placed an emphasis on environmentally friendly solutions, mostly with their chemical and paper products.

A notable offering specifically designated by the show’s organizers was a booth that highlighted innovative products.

Exhibiting manufacturers showcased their specialized cart systems, bio-active innovative toilet tissue, a touch-free sanitary bin, environmentally friendly hand cleaners and chemicals, a green designed vacuum, floor pads and autoscrubbers.

The show’s “Premio Innovazione 2007” (Innovation Award) went to companies in four categories: machines, chemicals, equipment and services. Soteco SpA, RARO Srl, Cartiera Lucchese SpA and fumacare took home top honors in those categories, respectively.

“The goal of this competition” explained Giampaolo Ruffo, president of AfidampFAB, “was the recognition and the evaluation of the firms excelling in evolution according to technical, technological and methodological level, safety level and fitness for use.”

In unique circumstances, Ruffo, presented the show’s top prize to his father, Giancarlo Ruffo, president of Comac SpA for its Vispa 35B, a small autoscrubber that has 14 inches of working width.

“This award gratifies great team work,” said Giancarlo Ruffo. “At the exhibition we presented twelve new machines, included Vispa 35B. To make this machine, that with no doubt will leave traces, was not very simple: the effort in the research, planning and the putting into production to make it, required almost three years of work.”

Several U.S. companies’ European divisions exhibited at the show, while some U.S. representatives made the trip themselves representing the U.S. for the first time.

Bill Summers, managing director for Kaivac Intl., Summerville, S.C., said exhibiting at the show served as a great opportunity to connect with the international clientele as well as open up new avenues abroad.

“We met a few customers in Italy that we didn’t even realize we had,” Summers said. “A gentleman came up to us and said he purchased 10 of our machines over the past two years. I didn’t even know about it. But now he knows some of the faces behind the company and vice versa.”

The participation of several U.S. companies was coordinated by ISSA and the U.S. Commercial Service and included the presence of an American Delegation sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission, whose aim was to recognize values and characteristics to help build mutual routes of expansion among international markets.

U.S. delegates included Annie Balonick, ISSA; Lawrence Green, Clean & Polish Inc., Wilmington, Del.; Roger Parrott Jr., RoVic Inc., Manchester, Conn.; Mike Thompson, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington D.C.; and Rick Woodward, Coastwide Laboratories, Seattle.


Industry Surveyed On Bacteria Dangers
According to a survey of 270 facility managers, jan/san distributors and building service providers, when asked where most of the e-coli and other forms of bacteria are located in a public restroom, 43 percent indicated it is on the floor — which is correct; 20 percent said the toilet seat; and 37 percent pointed toward the restroom sink.

They also said that the best way to determine if a restroom is “truly clean and sanitary” is to use a device that can indicate and measure the presence of germs and bacteria.

Among the other findings:

• Fifty percent believed that not all surface-area germs and bacteria are potentially unhealthy but can lead to illness and disease.

• When asked how many school days are lost because of illnesses caused by germs, viruses, and bacteria, the majority, 35 percent, said about 50 million. According to NSF International, a public health and safety company, more than 160 million school days are missed each year that could be greatly reduced with proper hand washing and more effective cleaning.

Other questions dealt specifically with the transfer of potentially health risking germs and bacteria.

For instance, when asked if the presence of germs and bacteria on floor surfaces was safe as long as children and adults don’t actually “touch” the floor, 88 percent indicated it was false, which is correct. Recent studies report that bacteria and germs found on floor surfaces find their ways on to people’s hands.

The survey was conducted in mid-May 2007 by Kaivac Inc.


NEWS MAKERS

HD Supply Sold
In late June, HD Supply was purchased from the Home Depot for $10 billion, by a consortium of three private equity groups — Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice.

The wholesale distribution business includes a maintenance arm, which encompasses jan/san equipment and supplies.

In the days and weeks following the sale, many distribution experts weighed in on the impact it would have to distribution.

It is estimated that the company spent $8 billion in the acquisition of nearly 40 companies that fell under HD Supply.

According to one report, it is likely that the new owners will continue to acquire more companies.

SDA Defends Hand Sanitizers
While isolated cases of improper use of sanitizers are making headlines across the country, the Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) says that these cases ignore the fact that hand sanitizers are used safely and effectively everyday by millions of people.

Recent coverage questioning the safety of alcohol-based sanitizers has stemmed from a few instances when children unknowingly ingested sanitizers — and prison inmates did so knowingly. However, officials say there is very little danger posed in the form of accidental poisoning.

“It is most unlikely that accidental poisoning would occur in a child who licked their hands after application of hand sanitizer gel,” said S. Rutherfoord Rose, PharmD, FAACT, associate professor of emergency medicine and director of the Virginia Poison Center in Richmond. “Most of the alcohol contained in these products evaporates into the air upon application.”




POSTED ON: 7/1/2007