Editor Alan Hardcastle reports from Pulire 2011

The ISSA is well advanced in building a global cleaning industry ‘family’ of manufacturers, distributors and various other stakeholders in the service side. The US-based organisation has progressively evolved internationally and today has a strong presence in most continents.

“The ISSA’s philosophy is to act as a facilitator between companies and between industry organisations. Our strategic plan is well advanced and here in Europe we now have some 1,000 members across 27 countries,” explained Keith Baker, ISSA’s director of EMEA Services.

He pointed out that the world of cleaning had changed markedly in recent years with all major bodies cohabitating happily and, in reality, supporting each other.

“The ISSA’s relationship with the World Federation of Building Service Contractors (WFBSC) has reached a stage where we are both very committed to working with each other.

“You can see here too at Pulire that the ISSA  – which also operates a program of international events – has a stand and we are pleased to demonstrate our organisation’s support for this major event.

“Our international cleaning community, with so many common goals, has to be connected and the ISSA will do its bit to create a stronger and more unified industry,” Baker emphasised.

The ISSA has made strides into Africa and present on the ISSA stand at Pulire when this writer visited was South Africa’s National Contract Cleaners Association chairman Clive Damonze.  In fact, Damonze and I spoke at an ISSA Interclean, Amsterdam, 2010 conference session on our respective BSC marketplaces.

At Pulire 2011 INCLEAN was honoured to be invited to join the ISSA family and accepted. INCLEAN will continue, as part of its ethos, to contribute to a vital and unified local cleaning and hygiene industry and, when appropriate, we will do our bit on the international cleaning stage.

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