LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Visitors continued to pack the aisles yesterday at the third day of Clean '07, swamping exhibitor booths to see the latest in drycleaning technology.
"This has been the best show ever," says Trudy Adams, director of customer service and sales for Conklin, N.Y.-based Cleaners Supply. "It's the turnout — the customers have been fabulous. There has been no downtime at all."
While overall show traffic waned somewhat during the afternoons of the first three days — perhaps as a result of visitors wishing to hit the hotel pools and casinos, one exhibitor says — many booths were still busy when the lights went down at 5:00.
Drawing particular interest throughout the show were the most advanced systems for cleaning clothing and getting it back to customers. Among operators, there seemed to be a steady growth in enthusiasm for the technological advancements of the last decade.
The show's biggest introduction, R.R. Street's Solvair drycleaning system, stopped traffic throughout the day. "It's been an excellent show, says Jamie Mayberry, vice president of communications. "We exceeded our sales expectations and had a lot of enthusiasm for Solvair."
But crowds were thick around any booth offering an innovative way to push out the work. Tensioning equipment and shirt units, alternative cleaning processes including wetcleaning, and automated sorting and delivery conveyors were among the favorites.
Final attendance figures won't be available until the end of the month, but this edition of the Clean Show looks to be one of the best-attended in several years.
"This is where the action's at," says Rogers Conant, operator of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists (AWGS) in Orange, Conn. "In Orlando or New Orleans, you look down the aisles, and you don't see the people you see here."
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].