INTERNATIONAL/USA
Messe Frankfurt has announced, 12 November, that the 2021 edition of The Clean Show will be postponed due to the continued global impacts of COVID-19. The next edition will be held 30 July – 2 August 2022, in Atlanta, according to a report published by the TRSA, the North America textile rental association trade body.
TRSA reported: After months of strategic conversations with Messe Frankfurt’s global leadership, partner associations and representatives from the show’s key exhibiting groups, the team has decided that pushing the show and its subsequent edition is in the best interest of the industry as a whole.
The decision will affect at least the next two editions, with Clean 2023 also being moved to now take place in August 2024.
“Although this has been a tough decision to make, we are confident that moving The Clean Show will allow us to provide the quality experience and return on investment our exhibitors and visitors have come to expect from Clean,” said Greg Jira, show director for The Clean Show.
The decision to move the show has been met with a positive response from exhibitors. “I have been very pleased with the response from Messe Frankfurt to understand the issues the exhibitors face in light of the world-changing event of Covid-19,” said Jeff Frushtick, chairman and CEO of Leonard Automatics. “I feel that Messe has been very open with their conversations and very understanding of the exhibitors’ issues in this very troubling time.”
Engelbert Heinz, managing director for Kannegiesser, served as an adviser during the decision-making process and endorsed the move to 2022. “We have always valued our relationship with the Clean Show and are proud to have established such a prominent role in the event,” Heinz said. “While postponing the show is regrettable, we believe it is in the industry’s best interest. Our entire company will look forward to the opportunity to meet face-to-face again in Atlanta in 2022.”
Another key exhibitor representing the industry, Jesper Munch Jensen, CEO of JENSEN-GROUP, also showed his company’s support for the postponement. “The Clean Show has traditionally been a very important platform that allows us to showcase and demonstrate our industries’ leading automation equipment,” Jensen said. “We appreciate Messe Frankfurt taking the global scheduling concerns of the manufacturing sector into consideration, and we stand behind Clean in their decision to move the next show to 2022.”
As the show pivots to the new dates, the team will release communication around important changes and deadlines for exhibiting companies and individuals planning to attend. In addition, Jira said to “stay tuned,” as the team at Messe Frankfurt is working on alternative opportunities for the industry to do business until meeting in person again in 2022.
The Clean Show is organised in collaboration with five industry-leading associations: Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA), Association for Linen Management (ALM), Coin Laundry Association (CLA), Dry-cleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI), and Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA). For more information, visit www.cleanshow.com.
