EDUCATION and TRAINING PROVE MAJOR DRAWCARDS
It was organised to be a dedicated gathering of the Australasian cleaning industry and it proved to be so. The inaugural AUSCLEAN Convention 2011 involved a number of industry bodies and hence drew large numbers of senior cleaning and hygiene executives.
Held at Jupiter’s Casino, Gold Coast, on 27 and 28 September, some 1400 Australian and New Zealand industry executives made their way to and ideal venue and locale.
“AUSCLEAN was designed to provide our industry an education and training forum, as well as offer a networking environment,” explained Interpoint managing director Simon Cooper.
“This we achieved and I must thank all the various organisations and companies that worked with us to deliver such a strong programme of education and training.
“They included Lennox Institute, Jena-Dyco, Mycologia Australia, Accord, WoolSafe, the British Damage Management Association (BDMA), the IICRC and the World Federation of Building Service Contractors (WFBSC).”
Individuals who were instrumental in drawing large seminar delegate numbers – 700 plus – included Bug Control’s Judy Forrest, Mycologia’s Dr Heike Kemp, WoolSafe’s Dr Agnes Zsednai (UK), BDMA’s Bob Spencer (UK), WFBSC’s John Grant, Lennox’s Paul Morrall and Ian Charlton, Fresh Green Clean’s Bridget Gardner, Accord’s Bronwyn Capanna, and Duplex Australia’s Murray McDonald.
Of course keynote speaker Bill Griffin proved a terrific drawcard. This US-based cleaning industry consultant and educator didn’t disappoint, his content was devoured by all delegates and for most the only disappointment was when he finished his presentations.
At any one time there were up to five seminar streams operating and there was a constant flow of visitor traffic. For exhibitors that meant a steady stream of well-credentialed, genuinely interested industry executives with whom to talk. Many of those execs were New Zealanders who took time out from the Rugby World Cup…
The event’s tenor was well captured by National Cleaning Suppliers’ Association CEO Terry Fraser’s comments. “We’re here to support our members. About 70 percent of the people exhibiting here are our members so if our members have been successful, we’re successful. We’re very happy to be here to support the industry and, in particular I think that AUSCLEAN itself has taken a big step forward with the conference; an educational aspect is most important for our industry’s future,” he observed.
AUSCLEAN also had a social side, complemented with recognition of products’ and services’ innovations. “The first ever INCLEAN Awards were presented at our AUSCLEAN industry dinner and we are confident we can build on this process and formula to further the INCLEAN Awards in years to come,” Cooper noted.
Right now the Interpoint team is working towards employing its successful formula at Clean New Zealand, Auckland, on 24 and 25 May 2012.
www.cleannzexpo.co.nz
For AUSCLEAN Convention 2011 images, go to www.picasaweb.google.com/incleanmag