Keeping It Clean ….
Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 10/3/2008 10:45:00 AM
Not everybody enjoys talk of fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes, but at the Sept. 24-26 Connections Convention and Trade Show, such events are quietly called “good for business.” Exhibitors at the tradeshow market products related to residential and commercial cleaning, restoration and mold removal.
Held at the Las Vegas Hilton, the seven-year-old Connections is a cooperative effort among 13 trade groups involving commercial cleaning and restoration – with Meetings & Events managing the show. Show manager Larry Cooper said the number of exhibitors (300 inside and 40 outside), square footage (80,000 sq. ft.) and attendance (3,000) are about the same as 2007. “We may have just a slight increase from a year ago, but, in this time of rising travel costs, we’re thrilled that we’re not looking at decreases,” Cooper added.
Although some of the companies exhibiting at Connections noted a slight downturn in business recently, Edmar Corp. Sales Consultant Jerry LaPerriere said, “Sad to say, but tragic events such as hurricanes and floods bring lots of calls for restoration services.”
Exhibitor Debbie Rogers of Home Carpet Industries, a wholesale carpet company based in Dalton, Ga., said that while business related to homebuilding is down substantially, the need for storm-related replacement carpet keeps Dalton’s carpet mills humming.
Conversation about a greener planet also is good for the cleaning and restoration business. Renee Staggs, who owns a carpet cleaning business in Tucson, Ariz., said customers asked about environmentally-friendly products “that work.” “We serve many high-end customers, and they’re still calling,” she said.
The desire for clean air has been a boon for exhibitors Mac and Donna Mattoon, who own Lewiston, Idaho-based American Caddy Vac. In 20 years, annual revenue for their duct- and furnace-cleaning business grew from $60,000 to $800,000, and now they sell duct-cleaning equipment and training to others as well.
