With over 5400 registered visitors, the second international edition of Clean India Show – Clean India Pulire – saw a 19.3% increase in visitor turnout. Neither the threat of an impending cyclone nor the rains could dampen the enthusiasm of the visitors. The floor space was also increased by 22.6% over the previous edition. The exposition showcased products and services from more than 10 countries. Inaugurating the exhibition, Kripashankar Singh, President, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, said: “Professional and mechanised cleaning brings dignity to the cleaning process. The Clean India Shows can create awareness about the need to keep our surroundings free of garbage and raise the overall national standard of cleanliness.” The highlight of the show was the two-day seminar on Housekeeping/Facility Management which was well-attended by top management professionals.

Apart from senior officers from housekeeping/FM companies, the seminar attracted facility heads from hospitality/healthcare industries and corporate houses and concerned officials from municipal corporations and government departments.

The topics included ‘Choosing the right service provider’, ‘Drawing of contracts’, ‘Availability of institutional loans for working capital and purchase of cleaning equipment’, ‘Restroom hygiene’ and ‘FM and products/systems’, ‘Eco-friendly housekeeping’, ‘Housekeeping-Entrepreneurship to professionally-managed company – operations and human resources’, ‘Industrial canteen’ and ‘How mechanisation reduces cost in the long run and helps sustainability’.

The show was supported by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, the Council of the EU Chambers of Commerce in India, the Italian Trade Commission and the Italian Ministry of Economical Development.

Show, a source of information

Many visitors found the Show a platform to learn & understand cleaning as a science and know about the latest cleaning equipment and chemicals.

End-users from several industries, government & non-government organisations, banks, municipal corporations, service providers, schools and other institutions visited the exposition.

An official from Gujarat-based Patel Technology, a tank cleaning company, said, “I never expected so much. There are so many good concepts which I am taking back with me. Though I had come only for a day, I am extending my stay and coming back tomorrow.”

Durga Facility Management Services Pvt Ltd, that is engaged in more than 70% mechanised operations, was keen on buying the advanced steam jet spray for janitorial solutions. “We want to implement more advanced technology in our services. At present we are using hot-n-cold spray jets but steam jets can help in maintaining the hygiene levels in toilets,” said the Managing Director, B S Shetty.

Some companies were looking for specific solutions like Fourrts India Laboratories Pvt Ltd, Chennai, which faces the problem of dirty floors. Said K Sainath, Senior Manager, “Even though our in-house housekeeping team was vacuuming the shopfloor regularly, it did not meet the cleaning specifications of auditors. Hence, we resorted to periodic stripping of the floor. Instead of spending money on repeated stripping, we are going in for one scrubber-drier machine to begin with and soon will add more machines to clean the over one lakh sqft area.”

The Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Mira-Bhayander (Thane), Sudhir Raut was all praise for the stall layout, construction and the officials who took time to explain the various technologies at their stalls. “We have requirements for large sweepers, insecticides and larvaecides and de-odourisers for toilets. Some companies have already approached us and we will soon be placing orders.”

Students too benefited from the exhibits. “There are many housekeeping products which we got to see here,” said Aniket, a student of Ramnath Payyade College of Hospitality Management Studies. “The burnishing machine is something we don’t get to see in the common market. We can use this in our projects.”

Show, a must-attend event

CIP triggered the cleaning conscience of many industry professional and common people, who set aside time to make it to the show. The technical consultant from Sigma learnt about the show through the full page advertisement in the newspaper. He said “The visit to the show was unplanned but I rushed to the venue, as I wanted more information, particularly on hygiene and sanitation products. I plan to introduce some of the products in our organisation.”

Ralph Sunil, VP-Administration, Essar Steel Ltd, Hazira, who has been attending all the Clean India shows right from 2005, found the 2009 show by far the best of all. “A show like this helps spread awareness and give importance to technology. Many people think cleaning as a back-end job, but it is actually a front-end operation and everyone must come forward to support it.”

“This show should be promoted through schools and colleges too,” said Father Rodolf of St Xavier School, Powai. “Every parent and every family should know about the cleaning technology. The cleaning standards of the US and Europe can be achieved in India too in the next five to 10 years provided the right sectors are tapped, especially the educational institutions.” Adding to his views, St Pais D’souza of St Xavier said, “Unless we have shows like Clean India, we cannot become Shine India.”

The team from Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd found the show a good platform to view all cleaning equipment and hygiene products at one go. “Being in the food industry, we need to know the latest development in hygiene products.”