ATLANTA — Late this month, the 2022 edition of The Clean Show will open here at the Georgia World Congress Center, bringing together self-service laundry owners/operators and other textile care professionals for four days of networking, education and business development.
Each edition of Clean—formally the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Dry Cleaning—draws thousands of people from around the world to see and learn about the newest and most technologically advanced products the industry has to offer.
Scheduled for Saturday, July 30, through Tuesday, August 2, it will be the first Clean Show since 2019; the every-other-year event was delayed an additional year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exhibitors are gearing up to meet with potential buyers from across the commercial laundering, drycleaning, and textile service industry. There will be booths featuring roughly 350 companies and organizations spread throughout halls B1 through B5.
Attendees can expect to see and/or learn about:
- Machinery, systems and accessories for washing, cleaning, and other textile applications;
- Financial and technology solutions;
- Additives and chemicals;
- Facility maintenance;
- Logistics and material flow, and
- Energy-saving solutions and water technology.
Show organizer Messe Frankfurt says that Clean 2022 will have 41 first-time exhibitors, a record for the most new companies in any one year in Clean Show history dating back to 1977.
Aside from the many exhibits, Clean Show attendees will have the option to attend over 30 hours of free education sessions, with content provided by the five partnering associations: Association for Linen Management (ALM), Coin Laundry Association (CLA), Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI); Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA) and TRSA, the Association for the Linen, Uniform and Facility Services Industry.
This year’s sessions will address the latest trends, technologies and technical developments hitting the industry, and will feature strategies to help business owners become more efficient, effective and profitable, and adapt in an ever-changing business landscape.
Education sessions will be limited to the show’s first three days. Morning sessions will be staged in convention center meeting rooms, while afternoon sessions will take place in a “classroom” on the exhibit floor. The full schedule is available at https://the-clean-show.us.messefrankfurt.com/us/en/Education.html.
The four-day event begins at 8 a.m. EDT Saturday, July 30, when only distributors will have access to the show floor and the first education sessions occur. Gates will open for everyone at 10 following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the show will run until 5 p.m. Hours for the rest of the event are 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
There will be complimentary shuttle buses running each morning from designated hotels to the Georgia World Congress Center while Clean is in session. Buses will run about every 15-20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday and from 7:30 to 11 the other three days.
The schedule flips during the afternoons, with buses picking up passengers at the GWCC every 20-30 minutes and stopping at designated points. Those shuttles will run from 3 to 6 p.m. the first three show days and from 1:30 to 4 on closing day.
A printable shuttle bus schedule is available here: https://the-clean-show.us.messefrankfurt.com/content/dam/messefrankfurt-usa/the-clean-show/2021/pdfs/planningandpreparation/CLN22_ShuttleSchedule.pdf.
With so much show activity, it’ll be important to have a game plan so you gain the most from your visit, advises Greg Jira, Clean Show director for Messe Frankfurt North America.
“Definitely review the show’s floor plan. Look at the exhibitor directory and education schedule. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the floor,” he says. “And then set up your own show objectives: Which exhibitors do you want to meet? What educational sessions are ‘can’t-miss’ for you? What networking events most interest you?
“Also, make sure you leave some time to pursue all the halls. You never know when you might unexpectedly find an unfamiliar exhibitor that can spark a new idea or can better solve an issue you’re having. Oh, and don’t let me forget: download the mobile app.”
Check back Thursday for the conclusion!
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
