The highlight of day one at the world’s biggest cleaning exhibition, ISSA/Interclean, was the event’s Innovation Awards’ presentation ceremony. Karcher’s B60/10C MopVac was announced as overall winner of the Amsterdam Innovation Award while Alpheios’ ExpertAtHand won the Visitor’s Choice Award.
Interestingly, while ExpertAtHand secured 39.9% of the visitor votes, the MopVac was very close behind with 37.8%.
The B60/10C MopVac fills the gap between the mop/bucket and scrubber/dryer. It is said to clean open areas five times faster than a regular mop, however, it is much more economical and cost-effective than a scrubber dryer.
And the fact there is no need for electricity or battery power – the floor is dried using a vacuum pump – makes this tool ultimately simple and cost-effective to use and maintain, as well as being eco-efficient.
Michelle Marshall, chair of the 2014 Amsterdam Innovation Award jury commented that, “Across the various categories we have seen a most interesting mix of entries this year, a range of products that really demonstrates how much manufacturers are developing solutions that take into account the genuine day-to-day needs of their customers and fill in those gaps in products available that may have existed.
“As demonstrated in previous years, the sustainability trend is proving it is very much here to stay and we continue to see new products that use less water, energy and chemicals. Not only that, they have also been manufactured using more environmentally conscious methods and with an eye on the total life cycle impact.
“It is also most encouraging to see the industry taking advantage of latest web-based technology – with the introduction of some highly intelligent solutions that should genuinely assist cleaning operations to be more efficient, productive and streamlined.”
The Machines, accessories and components category winner was Wetrok’s Discomatic Mambo. The compact size of this 30-litre scrubber dryer makes it extremely manoeuvrable and suitable for a wide range of new applications. The fact it is powered by a lithium-ion battery gives it a run time that is four times longer than a conventional lead battery. The water feed can be regulated from the control panel and to make operator training even simpler, there are only four control buttons.
The Equipment/tools for cleaning, care and safety category and overall winner was Karcher – B60/10C MopVac.
Cleaning management and training solutions category winner was European Cleaning Machines Recycling – ECMR – a truly innovative concept for the professional cleaning sector. The issue of cleaning machine disposal is a challenging one for our industry, and it will become even more so as regulations will inevitably oblige manufacturers to take more responsibility for machines at the end of their life – and in a totally transparent fashion.
The Visitor’s Choice Award winner was Alpheios International’s ExpertAtHand, an app for devices such as Google Glass that makes it possible for a cleaning expert to look through the eyes of a cleaner on-site and communicate with them in real time.