Show Highlights Include Steve Wozniak, Dennis Miller, Soldier Field Tour

The buyers who crowded the aisles cited their desire to meet with exhibitors and find innovative products and ideas as a top reason for attending the trade show.

Another big draw for attendees was the education available during the event. The show’s revised format included more than 60 education seminars and hands-on training workshops, many of which included certifications. Tuesday also featured an ISSA Featured Speaker, Ryan Estis, who capped off the day with his presentation, “Managing Breakthrough Performance in the New Economy.”

The big-name speakers kept coming Wednesday through Friday with keynote addresses from former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill, comedian Dennis Miller and Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak.

The trade show ended on a high note with a behind-the-scenes cleaning tour of Soldier Field.

Many industry awards were given out during the week. The ISSA Hygieia Network handed out a number of awards during a special ceremony. Distributor winners included Paige Horn, COO from Dixie Paper Co., and Dixie Packaging in Tyler, Texas, who received the Rising Star of the Year Award. This award is open to women aged 35 and under who demonstrate their commitment to furthering the advancement of female professionals at all levels in the jan/san industry. In addition, Charles Wax and Jeff Roberts of WAXIE Sanitary Supply, San Diego, received a special award for the company’s commitment to promoting gender equality in the jan/san industry.

Winners of the 2016 ISSA Innovation Award Program were announced at the ISSA Innovation Awards Ceremony. The program featured more than 50 products and services from cleaning manufacturers and service providers. Participants were entered into one of five categories.

Distributors and end users placed votes online and honored NanoSeptic Self-Cleaning Surfaces by NanoTouch Materials in the Cleaning Agents category; Tork Image Design Line featuring Tork EasyCube Intelligent Restroom System by SCA in the Dispensers category; Doodle Scrub EBG-9 by Square Scrub in the Equipment category; Autonomy by Brain Corp., in the Services and Technology category; and Stingray by Unger Enterprises LLC in the Supplies category.

During the event, exhibiting entries were on display in the show’s Innovation Showcase area. After viewing the entries, attendees voted to determine Visitors’ Choice award winners. Attendees picked i-suit by i-team; eForce Scrubber by NSS Enterprises; Tork Image Design Line featuring Tork EasyCube Intelligent Restroom System by SCA; Doodle Scrub EBG-9 by Square Scrub; and Force by MotorScrubber.

New to the program was an overall Innovation of the Year Award chosen by a panel of judges with a weighted rating system based on the online and on-site voting results. Autonomy by Brain Corp., took home this new award.

The 2017 convention and trade show takes place September 11-14, in Las Vegas. New to the event will be the co-location of the EPIC trade show. EPIC brings together members of both TriMega and Independent Stationers along with manufacturers, wholesalers, system providers and other industry players in office products and IT supplies.

“With the growing convergence of the office supplies and jan/san markets, this partnership with EPIC offers our attendees added value,” says ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “We look forward to deepening our relationships in this important sector of the marketplace as we all work together toward our mission to change the way the world views cleaning.”