LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Convention Center will host the world’s premier textile care expo for a fifth time when the 2011 Clean Show—officially the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—arrives on Monday for a four-day stay through Thursday.
The Clean Show has been convening every other year since 1977 to present new technology, educational sessions and networking opportunities to all segments of the laundry, drycleaning and textile care industry—from single-owner coin-operated laundry and drycleaning establishments to giant industrial and institutional laundries and textile rental.
Those preparing to attend no doubt hope to gain a competitive advantage by learning from classroom sessions and live product demonstrations and networking with others in the industry who’ve faced similar challenges.
“We hope all textile care professionals will take advantage of this great opportunity to learn about what’s new in the industry and to network with their peers,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the show’s management company. “It only happens every two years, and it is truly the Show that Works for You.”
As of today, 435 companies and organizations are represented on the exhibit floor, covering roughly 185,000 net square feet.
Because the Clean Show features working equipment, it uses more steam than any other trade show in the world, Riddle & Associates says. The equivalent of about 100 neighborhood drycleaning establishments will be built on the convention center floor.
The exhibits will open following a brief 10 a.m. ceremony on Monday (distributors are granted exclusive access from 8 to 10). Exhibits will open at 9 a.m. on subsequent days and will close at 5 p.m. (3 on Thursday).
Some of the Clean ’11 sponsors, as well as several other industry associations, will offer approximately 40 hours of education over the show’s four mornings, beginning at 8 a.m. each day.
Access to all seminars is included in the show registration fee. Attendees who didn’t pre-register will pay $149 at the door. Registration hours at the convention center will be 1-5 p.m. Sunday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday.
Complimentary shuttle buses will transport attendees between official hotels and the convention center mornings and afternoons during the show. Shuttles will run approximately every 15-20 minutes from 7 a.m. on opening day, and 7:30 a.m. on subsequent days, to 11:30 a.m., and again from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Five industry associations sponsor the Clean Show: Coin Laundry Association, Association for Linen Management, Drycleaning & Laundry Institute, Textile Care Allied Trades Association, and the Textile Rental Services Association of America.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].