Tiedotearkisto

The cleaning industry's Deed of the Year recognition goes to the Environmental Health Group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

The international trade fair for the cleaning industry held on 10–12 May gathered 6,304 industry professionals to the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre. The biggest cleaning industry trade fair in the Nordic countries gathered the industry's operators and decision-makers together for training opportunities, as well as a chance to make deals and meet one another face-to-face, inspired by topical themes. The new Cleaning Industry's Deed of the Year recognition was presented to the Environmental Health Group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, new products were recognised and the Cleaning Industry Professional recognition went to institutional caretaker Tarja Vola. The event attracted 161 exhibitors from six countries. The next trade fair will be a two-day event organised in March 2019.

“This is an industry of approximately 100,000 professionals. Training, as well as knowledge of the latest technologies and practices, is essential for cleaning industry professionals, which is why it pays off to visit trade fairs. The extension to our agreement with the Finnish Association of Cleaning Technology SSTL has been concluded, and the cleaning industry will be gathering at Tampere for the next time in March 2019,” says Mikael Wänskä, Sales Group Manager of Tampere Trade Fairs Ltd.

The Deed of the Year recognition to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health – Cleaning Industry Professional masters occupational safety and people skills

The new Deed of the Year recognition given by the Finnish Association of Cleaning Technology SSTL was presented to the Environmental Health Group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Wednesday. The group was responsible for preparing the legislative amendment pursuant to which the Health Protection Act came to include a provision on pool water hygiene. The act now requires the cleaners of swimming pools and wet rooms to have sufficient skills for cleaning them. The winner of the recognition was selected by SSTL's Executive Director Harri Piiparinen.

In keeping with tradition, the Cleaning Industry Professional of the year was also recognised at the trade fair. This year's winner was Tarja Vola, who works as an institutional caretaker at Lassila & Tikanoja in Lahti and who, according to the jury, masters everything from occupational safety issues to ergonomics and interpersonal skills.

The New Products of the year – elected by trade fair visitors – consisted of Vileda Professional's interior cleaning mop, Kärcher's fleet management system and scrubber dryer, and Diversey Finland's SURE product line. Orbotech Finland's Ultra H20 by Orbotech was recognised as the most significant innovation. The jury also selected its own favourites. On Wednesday, the trade fair and decoration industry association (Messu- ja somistusalan liitto) recognised Sievin Jalkine Oy and Kemvit Oy with diplomas for the best stands. Both stands were praised for their successful implementation, functionality and appearance, which was in accordance with the look of the respective companies.

The industry has a clear future and the trade fair has staying power – The labour shortage is real

“The cleaning industry has more drive than many other industries in Finland. It is a big employer, entrepreneurship is popular and new innovations are developed continuously, in terms of both products and operations. The industry has a clear future and the Finnclean trade fair has staying power,” says Per-Olof Ekström, who will take over as the Executive Director of the Finnish Association of Cleaning Technology SSTL on 1 August 2017.

“The labour shortage in the cleaning industry is real. Cleaning firms are engaged in a tough competition over customers and unskilled workers end up filling vacancies. We should invest more in the quality of cleaning,” says Jarkko Viitanen, a contractual expert from the Service Union United PAM.

For more videos of interviews with experts (in Finnish) and on the trade fair's atmosphere, go to our video library!

Photos, press releases, and other media material in our materials bank:
 www.tampereenmessut.fi (for media)

An international trade fair for cleaning professionals organised since 1981, Finnclean has become established as the Nordic region’s largest fair for the cleaning profession. Finnclean is organised by Tampere Trade Fairs, and commissioned by the Finnish Association of Cleaning Technology SSTL. In 2014, Finnclean was visited by more than 8,300 industry professionals. The next Finnclean will be held in March 2019.

FURTHER INFORMATION: www.finnclean.fi (in Finnish), Facebook: www.facebook.com/Finnclean / Twitter:  @TampereenMessut, #Finnclean
Tampere Trade Fairs, www.tampereenmessut.fi, facebook.com/tampereenmessut, firstname.lastname@tampereenmessut.fi
Mikael Wänskä, Sales Group Manager, Tampere Trade Fairs Ltd, tel.  +358 40 350 0445
Tanja Järvensivu, Event and Communications Manager, tel. +358 50 536 8133, @TanjaJarvensivu
Jenna Antila, Communications Officer, tel. +358 (0)40 172 1188, @Jenna_messuaa