The Clean Show 2011, held June 6-9 in Las Vegas was, quite simply, a resounding success on all fronts. Held biannually, it is the world’s largest exhibition of textile care products featuring working equipment. Clean 2011 attendees were rewarded with an expanded educational program and the ability to view and compare the products and services by 430 exhibiting companies, showcased over 184,150 net square feet of floor space. Official attendance at the four-day show was 11,200, an increase of approximately 13 percent over Clean ‘09. Included were people from all 50 states and 1,978 people from 87 other countries. Six countries had 90 or more in attendance. The number of exhibiting companies was up more than 4 percent over Clean ’09, and total exhibit space was within about 4 percent of that show.
More than 40 hours of classroom education were presented at Clean 2011 including Korean language seminars for the first time. Reflecting the moving trend in the industry, there was not a single Perc machine or solvent in the exhibition hall, instead, the hall was filled with hydrocarbon and other alternative solvents and machines using these solvents. Most attendees were interested in finding out hot trends in the industry and new products, especially alternative solvents such as SolvonK4.
Joanne’s presentation was held on Wednesday morning for 1 hour during the Korean educational session for Korean drycleaners. The presentation was held both in English and Korean. The title of her presentation was ‘Dry Cleaning Solvents/Technology - Alternatives Studies’. The presentation included an introduction to the Philadelphia AMS Regulation to Control Emissions from Dry Cleaning Facilities and an analysis on the alternative solvents and technologies in the dry cleaning industry which can be used to replace the toxic solvent known as ‘Perc’. The study, which Joanne worked on for 4 months, was based on over 15 scholarly materials from government and industry sources and academic case studies. In her research, Joanne tried to provide an objective and independent perspective from a student’s point of view, thus she included both good and bad sides of each alternative solvent. Her analysis also provided comparisons of various solvents in 3 different aspects: cost, performance, and environmental/health. In her concluding remarks, she advised Korean drycleaners to look for their local/state SBDC to seek information for further assistance.