By Jennifer Meek, Marketing Director, Charlotte Products
Every fall, we look forward to the biggest trade show for the cleaning industry, ISSA Show North America. This annual event convenes leaders in the cleaning industry not just from North America, but from across the world. This is a unique and invaluable chance we have to meet with our customers in a fun setting, to see what’s new on the trade show floor, and to receive recognition for the innovative work we’ve accomplished.
This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ISSA Show North America was virtual. We were impressed with the cleaning industry trade association’s professional quality programming and the ease of participation in this virtual event. While we missed the excitement of being together in one place, we were grateful for the opportunity to connect with our colleagues and customers, our friends at ISSA, and to present our expertise to a new audience.
As part of the event programming, our Vice President of Sales Canada at CP, Jim Flieler, presented a session on safer COVID-19 facility results. In this talk, which is available on the Charlotte Products YouTube channel, Jim touched on the recurring themes of our work in 2020, like how to provide safer and more effective cleaning and disinfection in a pandemic, how to clean for health as our roles have been elevated in the public eye, and the importance of cleaning for quality versus cleaning for price in the COVID-19 world.
Over the course of the three days at the ISSA Show North America Virtual Experience in November, we heard many other industry experts discuss the same themes. Naturally, discussions and presentations came back to COVID-19 again and again. If there can be a positive to come out of this global pandemic, it is that the world is paying closer attention to the work our industry has been doing, and cleaning for health is finally being recognized as the main purpose of cleaning in every sector. We enjoyed listening to other experts from across the globe as they shared case studies, personal experiences and lessons learned during the first phase of the pandemic, and provided recommendations for what lies ahead.
We were still able to meet with customers on a Virtual Trade Show Floor, where we distributed virtual business cards, and were able to listen to end user needs so that we could recommend best practices and solutions for them.
Every year, ISSA Show North America grows and amazes us with its record-breaking attendance. This year’s event was no exception. According to ISSA, “The week-long experience attracted 13,500 unique platform visitors from 79 countries, with over 6,284 creating personalized Virtual Planners and/or registrations.”
As the COVID-19 vaccine is approved by more countries, we have renewed hope that the 2021 ISSA Show North America will return to an in-person event, and we can reconnect with our industry friends and reflect in person on what we’ve learned and accomplished during these challenging times. ISSA is planning to host the show November 15–18, 2021 at the newly expanded west hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, USA. We hope to see you there! Until then, we’ll be virtually ready to connect and answer any questions you may have for us.