CONTACT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dianna Bisswurm
ISSA Director of Industry Outreach
diannab@issa.com
800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800

ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America
Bucks Tradeshow Trends With 2008 Attendance

Lincolnwood, IL, USA—ISSA/INTERCLEAN® North America 2008 posted an 18 percent increase in buyer firms—distributors, building service contractors (BSCs), and in-house service providers (ISPs) —and an 11 percent increase in buyer-attendee personnel over last year’s show. The event, hosted by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and its alliance partner Amsterdam RAI took place in Las Vegas, NV, September 8-11, with 16,233 people registered.

This year’s attendance eclipsed that of 2007 by the end of the first exhibit day. This growth occurred during a year when Association Meetings magazine reported that 50 percent of U.S.-based association annual meetings have experienced decreased or flat attendance over 2007, and that most growth for the remaining 50 percent was only in the single digits.

“While the exhibition maxed out its square footage, we also were pleased that the growth in the number of buyers eclipsed that of most other association events,” said ISSA Executive Director John Garfinkel. “The majority of groups posting increases in 2008 are in the high-tech and medical fields, so this is a big accomplishment for the cleaning profession, and it reflects the strong drive of our industry to pursue professionalism, networking, and new ideas.”

ISSA’s 2008 double-digit growth also is in contrast to other visitor statistics from the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), where ISSA/INTERCLEAN took place. Despite being in one of the top convention cities in the United States, the LVCC has reported less than half a percent of visitor growth during the first six months of this year over last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority’s June executive summary.

“It is a testament to the vitality and staying power of our industry that in challenging economic times, the attendance and mood of this year’s ISSA/INTERCLEAN was strong and upbeat,” said Dennis Shearer, vice president of sales for Georgia-Pacific Professional.

An adjacent exhibit hall—never before used by ISSA/INTERCLEAN when in Las Vegas—was added to accommodate record event space this year. Yet even with this expansion and the move of the ISSA Resource Center to the registration-lobby concourse, the show fully sold out of available exhibit space.

There were 90 first-time exhibitors present at this year’s show, bringing with them many new products and ideas. Additionally, 75 of the first-time firms from last year’s event returned.

Continuous Improvement by Design
According to Association Meetings, two top tactics that event organizers have begun using to increase value in the face of a turbulent U.S. economy are selecting convenient locations and improving educational sessions. Both of these were employed by ISSA for the 2008 show.

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At the request of exhibitors and attendees, ISSA switched from the scheduled 2008 show location of Anaheim, CA, to Las Vegas, when a date at the LVCC became available last year.

ISSA also made a number of adjustments to the educational-conference schedule and content, resulting in a 19 percent increase in seminar attendance this year. This growth led to standing room only for many sessions, including the popular keynote address by comedian Dr. Bill Cosby, as well as sold-out workshops covering the Cleaning Industry Management Standard, or CIMS; technical floor care; and slip-and-fall prevention. The All-Industry Networking Lunch also was sold out for the third year in a row.

“ISSA seminars and continuing-education sessions offered learning opportunities for everyone,” said William Krueger, GOJO Global Group vice president and general manager. “This year’s ISSA/INTERCLEAN was very productive for GOJO. We were able to collaborate with our key distributors and our sales teams about how we are going to be successful in the balance of 2008, in 2009, and beyond.”

Distributor attendance was up 6 percent over last year—including those attending the co-located DistriPakUSA™ exhibition—with a 27 percent increase in distributor companies over 2007. BSC individual participation was up 10 percent. Results indicate this was due to contractors bringing more personnel per company, as BSC firms in attendance were within 1 percent of last year. ISP attendance took the largest jump in 2008, with more than 30 percent more individuals and properties present.

“As a new company to the industry, we knew that the best way to start our marketing activity was to be at ISSA/INTERCLEAN, and we were right: The leads we received were high quality and our access to facility service providers and end users was just what we hoped for—outstanding,” said Todd Schaeffer, vice president and general manager of ActiveIon.

“The 2008 ISSA/INTERCLEAN show in Las Vegas was a big success for [our company],” said Rich Steinberg, vice president of sales for ProTeam. “The traffic at our booth was exceptional, and we were pleased with the number of new contacts and loyal customers that stopped by.”

While exhibitors naturally favor increased attendance, the true measure of a tradeshow’s return on investment is how well each company meets its individual goals. For a great many ISSA/INTERCLEAN exhibitors, the results were very positive. Among exhibit managers who stated that their intent was to build market visibility, influence branding and image perceptions, or differentiate themselves from the competition, 100 percent reported success in Las Vegas. Also, nearly 40 percent of exhibitors surveyed said they had success introducing new products.

In addition, 85 percent of exhibit managers surveyed said their companies generated new business at ISSA/INTERCLEAN while 94 percent said they strengthened existing relationships—both vital steps as the industry heads into uncertain economic times.

Companies that conducted pre-show marketing or tried new exhibit activities had 10 percent to 40 percent higher success rates regarding exhibit goals than those that didn’t, according to post-convention surveys. Steve Baker, vice president of sales and marketing for the U.S. floor care division of Nilfisk-Advance, Inc., witnessed this bump: “In general, we saw an increase in interest and in the booth traffic for each of the Clarke, Advance, and Kent brands. We attribute this to pre-show promotion and constantly performing demonstrations of our more innovative products.”

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More Than an Event
Long before exhibitors reached Las Vegas, the ISSA staff worked with an exhibition expert to offer tailored consulting to companies trying to navigate the ever-changing ISSA/INTERCLEAN landscape and capitalize on show leads throughout the year. ISSA also hosted four free exhibitor webinars that are archived at www.issa.com/roi. Feedback indicates that these efforts paid off for the many current and new exhibitors who worked with ISSA. “The ISSA team was very helpful and played a key role in assisting us with selecting the best opportunities to promote our product and company beyond our booth,” said ActiveIon’s Schaeffer. “I visited with other organizations that are new to ISSA, and they agreed: ISSA is a ‘must-attend’ show for partnering with distributors as well as end users.” Radal Technology, a European company relatively new to the industry, also used the ISSA staff to help plan the firm’s North American exhibit strategy, and that advice has more than paid for the 2008 exhibit fees through new orders received. “The association certainly helped us prepare a strategy to successfully launch ourselves in the U.S. market at this 2008 show, and the networking that has resulted has been fantastic,” said Brent Dunleavey, Radal Technology chairman and CEO.

Many other international firms had similar success this year with ISSA/INTERCLEAN. “Our team received excellent feedback from the exhibitors in the international pavilion, and many have already secured their participation for Chicago 2009,” said Amsterdam RAI Director of International Exhibitions Theo Lingmont.

“We feel that ISSA/INTERCLEAN has, as always, delivered up to its expectations,” said Wim Meulenkamp, CEO of Osmooze S.A. of France. “The event is, for us, the venue for meeting all ranges of customer types, identifying innovations, and networking among industry leaders. We feel very satisfied by the quality of people we met at the show. In addition, we are happy to see this great platform taking shape on other continents that are crucial to our business.”

Partners & Parties
The International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) co-located its 42nd Annual Conference and Convention during ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America 2008, drawing one of its largest crowds in many years. In addition, the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International, or ARCSI, co-located its Fifth Annual Convention and Educational Conference, with increased attendance over last year’s event.

The week also included the hard-to-miss addition of the local Las Vegas IEHA chapter’s annual Cleaning Olympics. This event started with a parade around the show floor and then pitted teams of housekeepers from local properties against one another in cleaning-related competitions while their management and even a few mascots cheered them on.

“In my 27 years of attending ISSA/INTERCLEAN, I found this [one] to be the most exciting show ever,” said Greg Ford, vice president of sales for Spartan Chemical Co., Inc. “The enthusiasm was energizing! ISSA/INTERCLEAN is a wonderful venue to connect with our loyal distributor network and to have the opportunity to meet our end users.”

Many distributor marketing groups also held well-attended member breakfasts and parties during the week. In fact, 54 percent of distributors surveyed said they were members of a marketing group.

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In addition, ABM Janitorial Services held the first large-scale contractor-organized event at ISSA/INTERCLEAN to recognize its top distributors and suppliers. Those receiving awards from ABM included JAD Corp. of America, College Point, NY; Sac Val Janitorial Sales & Services, Inc., West Sacramento, CA; Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Inc., Winchester, VA; and Ecolab Inc., St. Paul, MN.

“It is our goal to encourage industry groups of all types to co-locate their events during the week of ISSA/INTERCLEAN, where the ‘Who’s Who’ of the profession is gathering,” said ISSA Director of Conventions & Meetings LeeAnn Nowling. “We have seen valuable networking opportunities develop as more organizations bring people together to make this truly what we promote: The ONE SHOW for the Cleaning Industry.”

ISSA General Business
Thursday morning, September 11, the ISSA General Meeting ushered in new members of the 2009 ISSA Board of Directors, headed by new ISSA President Robert J. Stahurski Jr., NYCO Products Co., Countryside, IL. Other new board members include David Holtzman, R3 (Reliable Redistribution Resource), Carteret, NJ, as vice president/president elect; Richard L. Rones, Americo Manufacturing Co., Inc., Acworth, GA, as secretary; Leland Fishman, Fishman Supply Co., Petaluma, CA; Allen M. Soden, Deb SBS, Inc., Stanley, NC; and Steven Armstrong, Armstrong Manufacturing, Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada.

The following individuals also were honored by ISSA during the week:

Randal A. Brame, Brame Specialty Co., Inc., Durham, NC, received the Jack D. Ramaley Industry Distinguished Service Award.

Corey Straight, Straight Representation, Aurora, CO, posthumously received the ISSA Manufacturer Representatives’ Distinguished Service Award.

Stephen H. Swigart, Spartan Chemical Co., Inc., Maumee, OH, received the YES Industry Special Achievement Award.

Also decided during the week were the ISSA Innovation Awards and Best Customer Service Awards, as voted on by the distributor, BSC, and ISP attendees. To view the list of winners, visit www.issa.com/2008awards.

About ISSA/INTERCLEAN
ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America is The ONE SHOW you can attend to network with high-level executives as well as gather the information you need to better manage your distribution company, building services company, or facilities department. ISSA and its tradeshow partner Amsterdam RAI produce ISSA/INTERCLEAN shows around the world, with an annual event each year in the United States. Other ISSA/INTERCLEAN shows are held in the Netherlands, Poland, Mexico, and China. For more information, visit www.issa.com.

Upcoming events include: ISSA/INTERCLEAN Central & Eastern Europe, May 13-15, 2009, Warsaw, Poland; and ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America, October 6-9, 2009, Chicago, IL.

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About ISSA
ISSA membership includes more than 5,500 distributor, manufacturer, manufacturer representative, building service contractor, in-house service provider, and associated service members. ISSA offers the popular Web site www.issa.com, educational products, industry standards, periodicals, and legislative and regulatory services that specifically focus on the professional cleaning industry.

The association is headquartered in Lincolnwood, IL, USA, with regional offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Leicestershire, United Kingdom; Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico; Singapore; and Shanghai, China. For more information, visit www.issa.com.