Non-executive chairman Frank Lowy

Pointing out ‘we at Westfield really don’t know to clean a shopping centre’, Westfield non-executive chairman Frank Lowy told shareholders at the group’s AGM last Wednesday 17 May that questions from the floor pertaining to poor cleaners’ wages and low cleanliness levels really belong to the contractors providing the services.

An item by Scott Rochford in the Sydney Morning Herald’s CBD column (17 May) was, appropriately, headed ‘Westfield cleaners taken to the cleaners’.

The following day’s SMH letters’ page carried a riposte to Lowy’s comments and attitude by the Uniting Church’s social justice officer Antony McMullen.

“Cost-cutting contracts imposed on the cleaning industry by shopping centre owners and managers are hitting low-income workers hard (‘Westfield cleaners taken to the cleaners’, May 17). At Westfield’s AGM on Wednesday I politely questioned Frank Lowy and the Westfield Board, regarding unjust contracts in the cleaning industry,’ stated McMullen.

“In our Uniting Care survey, 54 percent of cleaners reported not having enough time to clean properly. There are larger spaces to clean over shorter periods of time, with fewer people available to do the work. Research undertaken for United Voice indicates hygiene levels in shopping centres are a problem. This could cause health issues for workers and customers.

“Wages are a problem, too, with 63 percent of cleaners who have children reporting hardship paying for groceries.

“We hope that Westfield will follow through with its commitments to justice and equity and review the terms for Westfield cleaning contracts. We suggest Westfield commit to ongoing and meaningful consultation with Westfield cleaners for this purpose,” concluded McMullen.

www.smh.com.au

Toni D’Andrea, the Association of Italian Manufacturers of Professional Cleaning Equipment, Machinery and Products (AFIDAMP) CEO, recently visited Curitiba in order to plan initiatives for the Congress’s promotion to its members. Pictured from left are Toni D’Andrea; the Mayor of Curitiba, Luciano Ducci; and the WFBSC president, Adonai Aires de Arruda. Photo credit: SMCS/City of Curitiba

One the most important international building service contractor events, the 19th World Federation of Building Service Contractor (WFBSC) International Congress will deliver a programme strongly focused on international and local BSC issues.

The Congress will be held in Brazil’s ‘sustainable’ city of Curitiba from 10 to 14 October 2012 and it is expected to attract some 1,000 leading BSC delegates from around the world.

The Congress will be complemented with the 22nd Regional Higiexpo – Hygiene, Cleaning and Maintenance Products and Services Exhibition, and the 23rd ENEAC – National Meeting of the Cleaning and Maintenance Companies.

The three meetings will take place simultaneously, assembling a total of about 5,000 delegates.

The WFBSC Congress presentations will focus on key contractor issues including management, administration, sustainability and laws.

Plenary sessions will include ‘Family Succession in Multi-Generational Family Businesses’; ‘Why take part in Trade Exhibitions?’; ‘The Experience of the Specialized Service Outsourcing Chamber within the scope of the Ministry of Work and Employment’; ‘Risk Management by Effective Infection Control and Food Safety’; ‘Green and Sustainable: How cleaning contractors can meet the demands of a changing world’; ‘Multi-services: Challenges and Opportunities in the Brazilian Market’; ‘The 21st Century Socio-Environmental Paradigm and Labor Laws’; ‘Smart application in cleaning: how a sustainable approach will increase productivity for BSC’; ‘The client´s vision of cleaning services and the challenges of service contractors’; and ‘Cleaning as an absolute value’.

“Being in Curitiba in October means being in contact with the latest in our industry worldwide,” stated WFBSC president, Adonai Aires de Arruda.

“This is a unique opportunity for Brazilian entrepreneurs. In addition to the plenary sessions focusing on momentous themes and fostering networking with people from the world over, regional meetings will also be very productive, since we will have important attendees coming to Brazil to know our market,” added Arruda.

WFBSC registration is well underway and can be done through the website www.wfbsc2012.com. Those interested can find more information about the event and Curitiba (tourism, special tours, hotels, restaurants, etc). A partnership with Star Alliance, offers a discount for international flights. The registration code is JJ01S12. More information through the website www.staralliance.com

The WFBSC 2012 is going to be held in parallel with the 22nd Regional Higiexpo (Fair of Products and Services for Hygiene, Cleaning and Conservation) and the 23rd ENEAC (National Meeting of Cleanliness and Conservation Companies).

The combination of the events has been considered a milestone for the industry as it creates opportunity to gather in one place both local and international public, and major suppliers, buyers and professionals. The sponsors are Diversey, Karcher, Becker Industries, Alfa Tennant, UPS Services, Seven Uniforms, Leone Equipment, Sutter Professional and Brazilian Confederation Commerce (CNC).

The WFBSC 2012 is promoted by the World Federation of Building Service Contractors, Union of Cleanliness and Conservation Companies from the State of Paraná (SEAC-PR), Brazilian Federation of Services and Environmental Cleanup Companies (FEBRAC), and Brazilian Association of Professional Cleaning Market (ABRALIMP).

It has the support of the Brazilian Central Services Sector (CEBRASSE), Embratur, Ministry of Tourism, Brazilian Confederation of Convention & Visitors Bureaux, Tourism Office of Paraná, Cleanliness and Conservation Foundation of the State of Paraná (FACOP), Federation of Commerce of Paraná (Fecomercio), Federation of Convention & Visitors Bureaux of Paraná, Municipal Institute of Tourism of Curitiba, Curitiba Convention & Visitors Bureau, Brazilian Confederation Commerce (CNC), International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA), the Association of Italian Manufacturers of Equipment, Machinery and Products for Professional Cleaning (AFIDAMP), World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), and Higiplus Magazine.

This is the first trade show that has been held since 2009 so it’s a great opportunity for the industry to get together after a long absence. There is no other event like this on the NZ events calendar that caters specifically for the contract cleaning industry and its stakeholders.

The Clean NZ industry dinner will again be the largest social event on the New Zealand cleaning industry’s calendar. In fact it is also one of the largest social events in terms of numbers held in the cleaning industry world. It’s a time to mix with industry colleagues from across New Zealand and Australia.

Motivational speaker Rob Mathews

Places for the BSCNZ dinner are filling up fast and with motivational speaker Rob Mathews as the after dinner speaker, attendees will go away inspired by his address. Inheriting blindness from his father, Rob was blind by the age of 20. He found focus and inspiration in running and has now turned to tandem cycling for New Zealand. Rob believes that it’s his attitude that determines the outcome. It’s not that he is blind; it’s just that he can’t see. Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

With only eight days to go, numbers for the dinner have reached more than 160 with bookings increasingly daily.

BSCNZ executive director Marja Verkerk has enjoyed working with professional organisers Interpoint Events who, she states, has worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to bring this event to fruition. “After all the planning that has been done it will be great to see the event open to record numbers on the 24^th May”.

Book your place at the Clean NZ industry dinner here

www.cleannzexpo.co.nz

Networking is an important part of ISSA/Interclean. The ISSA held a 'family' get together.... world associations, bodies and interested parties spent an hour or two networking. It was an excellent initiative. Pictured from left are Cleaning Consultants' CEO Bill Griffin, ISSA president Jon Scoles, Neledzi Cleaning Services (South Africa) CEO Patrick Makhubela and The Bullen Companies' CEO Scott Jarden

Reflecting the cleaning and hygiene industry’s buoyancy, the ISSA/Interclean 2012 Amsterdam opened its doors on Tuesday 8 May with a record 690 exhibitors (from 42 countries) that covered some 50,000 sq metres of floor space.

Of those 690 companies, about 26 percent (180) were first time ISSA/Interclean exhibitors.

A spike of 84 percent growth in exhibitors from Asia was a major factor in the event’s prodigious expansion. However, Spanish ‘newbies’ were up 25 percent while German and Italian companies also contributed to the impressive 180 first-timer figure.

In opening the ISSA/Interclean 2012, the Amsterdam RAI’s director of international exhibitions, Theo Lingmont, pointed to his venue’s recent recognition as the ‘best venue in the world’. The RAI is also an extremely sustainable venue and a fitting site for the world’s largest cleaning and hygiene exhibition.

www.issainterclean.com

“As new materials and processes are introduced into our industry, we remain committed to ensuring the IICRC’s standards provide credible, up-to-date information,” said Mili Washington, IICRC standards director. “Through the development of the S210 standard, we are upholding our promise to the industry to establish an international standard of care and provide our registrants with a knowledgeable industry voice and resource.”

‘The consensus bodies will meet approximately two times per year, with most of the work being completed online and via conference calls. The new BSR-IICRC S210 standard will encompass the initial, routine, periodic and restorative maintenance methodologies for dimensional stone flooring and fabrication and is set to be completed in approximately 36 months.’

And ‘the updated IICRC S300 standard for professional upholstery cleaning is set to be completed in approximately 24 months.’

Those interested in submitting an application to participate on the BSR-IICRC S210 or IICRC S300 consensus bodies, please contact Mili Washington at mili@iicrc.org

www.iicrc.org

‘The five percent increase in 2012 pro forma adjusted operating profit includes an estimated $15 million in cost synergies from the 2011-2014 Optimisation & Integration Program achieved in the quarter and largely attributed to the Diversey segment. These synergies helped offset lower volumes primarily from European economic weakness and unfavourable mix in the Diversey segment.

“We remain on track toward achieving our 2012 adjusted EBITDA and year-end net debt targets despite the uncertainty of the European economy and the uneven recovery in the U.S,” commented Sealed Air’s president and chief executive officer William V. Hickey.

“We are confident in the cost synergies with Diversey with increased cost synergy estimates in 2012 and future years, and we believe our vision is beginning to resonate with our customer base. We are quite pleased with the overall performance of our Food and Protective Packaging business segments, which achieved both volume and price/mix growth during the quarter.

“Diversey segment sales were less than planned in the quarter due to ongoing weakness in Europe and the timing of specific customer orders inNorth America. We expect to see a more normalised order pattern inNorth Americain that segment through the balance of the year.

“While we remain cautious about any European economic improvement, we are encouraged by high single-digit percent sales growth in developing regions and strong customer reception of our solutions resulting from our growth programs. We have built a strong foundation for growth across all of our businesses whenEuropedoes recover,” he stated.

For the full report, visit http://ir.sealedair.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104693&p=irol-newsArticle&id=1691015

The ‘Essential’ is designed for home use – handling one or two bins down steep slopes and across difficult terrain such as lawn, gravel or soft or rough ground.

The ‘Multi’ handles two bins piggy back or abreast; three bins can be loaded in a triangular set-up using a special handling bracket provided and four empty or lightly laden bins can be handled in a ‘four-square’ formation using two handling brackets. It is ideal for multiple residential complexes and sites utilizing large numbers of bins.

The WheelieSafe Dolly Trolley is designed to handle single heavily laden wheelie bins in commercial, institutional (hospitals/aged care) and industry (meat preparation/baking, etc), especially food preparation/processing and waste disposal.

It helps to avoid OH&S type back injuries while moving very heavy bins because the dolly wheel takes the load at all times. Pushing the trolley is also much safer than pulling a bin where hips and shoulders are not aligned – another OH&S injury risk.

The WheelieSafe Bin Handling System provides a bin trolley for every imaginable purpose  – from the home to industry.

Brian Stafford
Director
WheelieSafe P/L
PO Box 2015
Lower Sandy Bay Tasmania
AUSTRALIA 7005

Ph/Fx: +61 (0)3 6225 2622
mobile: +61 (0) 417 383 957
email: bstafford@wheeliesafe.com.au
web: www.wheeliesafe.com.au

National account manager Robert Musilli

Musilli has been working in the cleaning industry for 18 years with senior roles at Jal Chemical, Peerless Jal and more recently with Tasman Chemicals. He has secured many national accounts for his previous employers across a broad customer base including building service contractors, aged care groups, hospitality and government bodies.

RapidClean endorses Musilli’s knowledge of cleaning products and systems is exceptional as he has developed programmes including colour coding, wall charts, training and risk assessments that is predicted to greatly assist in securing new business.

Musilli also has a strong knowledge of the RapidGroup and has attended conferences as well as visiting many of the member stores. Musilli will work from his office inMelbourneand will commence employment with RapidClean on the 4 June.

“This appointment is a huge leap forward for RapidClean as it now places us in a position to secure business as a group. This is becoming more and more important as our customers are now collating their buying power and centralising their decision making,” said RapidClean’s general manager Bruce Lees.

www.rapidclean.com.au

Vermop's Mag system delivers an innovative way of attaching mop covers to the mop holder

The Mag System from Vermop Salmon was announced as winner of the prestigious Amsterdam Innovation Award prize. At midday on the event’s first day (Tuesday 8 May) an official presentation was made to the winner and recognition given to short-listed products.

The jury felt that the Mag system ‘brings an entirely new way of attaching mop covers to the mop holder. In an industry that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, it was felt the Mag system represents what appears to be a fairly simple step forward for an everyday tool.

‘Its ease of use, hygienic touch-free operation, flexibility, intuitiveness and “ergonomy” all impressed the panel. And the fact the Mag holder can be used with different mop types makes it a practical solution for today’s result-oriented cleaning operations – the best mop for each job in a practical and trouble-free way.’

According to the judging committee, sustainability was a key consideration for almost all of the entries.

Chairman of the Amsterdam Innovation Award, Michelle Marshall noted, “that from all the 71 entries we saw this year it was clear manufacturers are really thinking more carefully about the solutions they develop in terms of how they fulfill their customers’ needs – with more ability to tailor solutions for example.

“It’s encouraging to note the increasing use of web-based solutions, which until now the cleaning sector has been largely slow to adopt. Sustainability has been a key consideration for almost all of the new product entries we have seen in this year’s Amsterdam Innovation Award. This reflects how deeply these values have become embedded in the industry as a whole.”

The Category winner – Machines, accessories and components was Karcher’s B 80 W, an 80-litre walk-behind scrubber dryer designed for areas between 1500 and 3000 square metres. Simplicity and time saving are the key criteria for any user when purchasing a machine such as this, and the B 80 W meets those needs.

One of the features that impressed the judges most was the intelligent RFID key system. This consists of three different keys with different levels of authorisation – there is one for the operator, one for the supervisor/facility manager and one for the service technician. All necessary data is stored and memorised on each user’s key, so the operator is comfortable with the machine very quickly, the risk of errors minimised and training time reduced.

The Category winner – Cleaning Management and Training Solutions was Alpheios’s Infection Prevention Monitor (IPM). It offers hospitals and other healthcare institutions a practical insight into how they are dealing with protocols for infection prevention, and how the risk of cross-contamination can be avoided in their buildings. Independent hygienists carry out inspections using the IPM app on an iPad, then provide a full report along with advice as to how performance can be improved.

The system is said to go well beyond hygiene and cleaning – it also covers the handling of patients, wound care, the state of the building, medication and food handling. The system is module based so users can decide which areas should be measured, and to what extent. In developing this system the judges felt Alpheios is addressing a key area of modern hygiene practice.

Visitor’s Choice winner

For the first time, the visitors had a chance to vote for their favorite nominee. They selected category winner Alpheios with their IPM as winner of this year’s competition.

www.issainterclean.com

“The first quarter is seasonally our weakest,” commented Tennant Company’s president and chief executive officer Chris Killingstad.

“Though sales came in lower than anticipated, gross margins of 43.4 percent exceeded our targeted range of 42 percent to 43 percent. The lower sales level partially stemmed from the increased tightening of credit inEurope; but was primarily due to order timing, resulting in a higher than normal order backlog entering the second quarter.”

“Based on the growing momentum of our global strategic accounts orders and the strength of our overall business in the Americas, we are forecasting a good second quarter and a strong second half. Our strategies are working and we expect 2012 full year results to be within our previously provided guidance range.”

As stated in the report, ‘based on its first quarter 2012 results and expectations of performance for the remainder of the year, Tennant Company continues to estimate 2012 full year earnings in the range of $2.30 to $2.45 per diluted share on net sales in the range of $790 million to $805 million.’

Tennant claims it ‘will continue to manage its business with a focus on operational excellence and strong cost controls, and make selective investments in innovative technologies and other key strategic priorities.’

For the full report, visit www.tennantco.com/am-en/Pages/NewsArticle.aspx?item=Tennant Company Reports 2012 First Quarter Results