ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Italian reporter Anna Garbagna brings news of a new prize being awarded at the Pulire show in May.

It is almost time for the debut of the new award created by the organisers of the Pulire exhibition, which will take place in Verona from May 21-23. The organisers specifically wanted this award to recognise |research activity carried out by companies operating in the professional cleaning sector
and to ratify the effectiveness of the products that have been launched.

For this reason the award Product of the Year was created and it will be presented for the first time during the show.

Only those who are taking part in this edition of Pulire as an exhibitor have been included in the shortlist of candidates for the award: Italian companies as well as foreign, producers of machines, accessories,  mechanical, electric and electronic devices, equipment, chemical products, paper, fibres, cloths, systems and services for the professional cleaning sector.

The values characterising the products on which the award is determined are: quality, reliability, environmental friendliness, performance, ergonomics and cost-effectiveness.

Market acceptance is critical because it measures the effectiveness of products; nominees for prizes must have been introduced to the market between January 1 and December 31 2018.

“After 10 editions of the innovation award, it was time to change the concept but not the objective. Our organisation has always had an interest in stimulating, incentivising and promoting companies’ study and commitment into research and results. This year the market will also have a say in the matter because nowadays focussing only on the innovation of a product is limiting if this is not also seen in the aspects of use and approval,” declared Toni D’Andrea, managing director of Afidamp Servizi, the creator of the award.

Products that have already participated in other awards organised in previous trade events can also compete for the prize Product of the Year 2019. Products will be judged by a jury of influential personalities, experts of the sector and international institutions. They will evaluate everything being presented on the basis of analysis and as well as the documentation provided. Each exhibitor can present three products.

The cleaning market is certainly becoming more and more important. There was evidence of this in a recent speech by Roberto Galli, president of AfidampCOM (the association of Italian distributors of equipment, machines and products for the cleaning sector) during  ‘Mi manda Rai tre’, a programme with a large audience from the Italian National TV RAI operator. During the programme there was an update on materials, objects and products which clean better than other the different types of surfaces and in particular the concept of cleanliness was discussed.

And if the data shows that the professional cleaning market in Italy is worth €13 billion, these television opportunities and the trade exhibition scheduled for May prove that they are ideal opportunity to obtain information on relevant topics.