The times certainly are changing for cleaning industry associations. During a press conference last week at the BSCAI show in Chicago, ISSA and BSCAI announced that the two associations would be co-locating their trade shows starting in 2010. This announcement built upon the partnership that the two organizations formed last November. Years ago, this collaboration would have never seemed possible, but at the press conference, nobody seemed to object. I guess people were finally ready for a change. And it truly is a win-win for all involved. Building service contractors will still be able to belong to an association specific to them, but they’ll also be able to share a lot of information along the supply chain. Putting distributors and contractors under one roof for a week will be a great networking opportunity to build stronger vendor/customer partnerships. This move makes financial sense as well. During this rough economy, building service contractors won’t have to spend twice as much money traveling to two different trade shows. Now they can see even more new products and participate in contractor educational programs in one place.
I feel a little sorry for the ISSA, I really like Anthony Trombetta. Oh well maybe it will work out for the best for all.