Inaugural Clean Buildings Expo: A Resounding Success

The inaugural Clean Buildings Expo (CBE) concluded last week with attendees praising its value and touting their take-aways and new business connections.

CBE is a new trade show for the commercial cleaning industry that delivers education, innovation, and product information for in-house cleaning managers, executive housekeepers, in-house service providers, and building service contractors. The expo, which took place March 26–27, 2019 at the Baltimore Convention Center, is co-produced by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and Trade Press Media Group.

Attendees eagerly consumed the curriculum of more than 20 educational seminars scheduled throughout the two-day event and the grand opening of the expo hall featuring nearly 60 exhibitors showcasing the latest innovation in cleaning technology. Activities and events on both days were free-of-charge to industry professionals.

"The attendees received tremendous value from CBE," said Kim Althoff, ISSA vice president of sales, trade shows, and publications. "In addition to seeing new innovations from top industry manufacturers, the free seminars were led by expert-level trainers and certification professionals from ISSA's Cleaning Management Institute (CMI) and Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) programs."

Additionally, before and after the expo, visitors had the opportunity to participate in three optional certification workshops and earn a maximum of seven hours of continuing education units (CEUs).

Chelsea Johnson of Priority Solutions from Alexandria, VA, was one of many attendees expressing complimentary feedback on their CBE experience. "Today we learned about safety issues and how to prevent accidents—I loved it! Really good information," she said. "I met a lot of people from all over the country. It was impactful to me to see all the exhibitors and get samples to help see how all the products really work."

A popular aspect of CBE was its co-location with NFMT 2019 Conference, providing CBE attendees and exhibitors unique access to a spectrum of facility management solutions in addition to jansan.

Adding a little fun to the show floor was a contest wherein two attendees—one each day of the expo—were randomly selected to win a US$1,000 cash prize. John Winfrey, operations manager for Gainesville, GA-based Turnkey Facility Maintenance; and Ely Cunningham, area manager for Kansas City Public Schools in Kansas City, MO, each walked away with $1,000 each when their names were randomly drawn during the end-of-day raffles that took place on the CBE show floor.

As with attendees of the CBE debut, exhibitors also felt that the event was a valuable experience. Jennifer Meek, director of marketing at Charlotte Products Ltd., stated, "The 2019 CBE definitely exceeded our expectations as an exhibitor, educational speaker, and gold sponsor of this event. The attendees were highly engaged, eager to learn, and passionate about finding innovative solutions for their business. We look forward to participating in this show next year!"

Carissa Gappa, product manager at TEAM Software, Inc., echoed those same sentiments. "Attendees were engaged, looking for ways to grow their knowledge and improve their businesses," reported "The BSC-specific educational programming in the mornings added a unique charge to interactions on the expo floor. We demoed our latest solution with business owners who were actively seeking ways to put the morning's insights into action."

Clean Buildings Expo has been embraced by the cleaning industry as a valued and respected event, rich with meaningful, practical content. The second edition of CBE returns to the Baltimore Convention Center March 17–18, 2020. Details, including the educational lineup and expo, will be announced soon.