NEW YORK - The National Cleaners Association’s (NCA) biennial trade show and exhibit called TexCare will return to the Meadowlands Expo Center, Secaucus, N.J., just outside New York City, in October.
Ann Hargrove, NCA’s director of special projects, says the Oct. 19-20 show will be bigger and better than ever.
“Free admission and free parking are not the only reasons TexCare has such a great drycleaner turnout, we also have just about every industry manufacturer or supplier a dry cleaner could ever need on the show floor,” she says. “It’s a great opportunity for cleaners to find new vendors and ideas, or simply cement bonds with existing suppliers.”
Exhibitors include A.L. Wilson Chemical Co.; Air Essentials; Air World Pads & Covers; Albatross USA; Caled Chemical; Church & Dwight Co.; Columbia Boiler Co.; Columbia/ILSA Machines Corp.; Compassmax/Maineline Computers; Computer Connection; Dfh Environmental Services; Dry Cleaning Computer Systems (DCCS); Drycleaning & Laundry Institute; Easy Plus; European Finishing Equipment (Hi-Steam); EzProducts International; Fabricare Management Systems; Fulton Boiler Works; The Green Garmento; InnoClean Corp.; Itsumi USA; Liberty Computer Systems; MBH Enterprises; Machine World Depot (A+Plus); Maruso USA; Metropolitan Laundry Machinery; Minda Supply Co.; Multimatic Corp.; National Cleaners Association (NCA E-mail Marketing Program, NCA Endorsed Insurance Broker, NCA Health Benefits Plan, NCA Worker’s Compensation Group); New York Machinery; NIE Insurance; Pariser Industries; Phoenix Manufacturing; Sankosha USA; TCF Equipment Finance; Tatch Technical Services; Union Drycleaning Products; and Unipress Corp.
In addition to live demonstrations and exhibitions of new products and services, the NCA has planned a strong, relevant educational program, according to Hargrove. This year, NCA members’ interests and real-world problems and concerns they’ve been facing in their businesses are driving TexCare’s educational program.
The seminars, which are free to NCA members, will be focused on Obamacare, employee problems, attracting new customers, making more money, and problem garments.
“Although pundits say the economy is coming back, cleaners are still faced with the problems associated with actually making money and then protecting the money they’ve made, so that’s where the seminar topics are designed to help them,” says NCA Board of Directors President Bob (Sultan) Sneed.
The pre-show event, an all-day educational seminar on Friday, Oct. 18, is also generating a lot of excitement, organizers say. This year, the association is featuring small-business owner and business consultant Claude Whitacre, CEO of Local Profit Geyser (LPG). In recommending Whitacre, member Stephen Weiss of La France Cleaners in Ohio couldn’t say enough nice things about the positive difference that the consultant had made in Weiss’ business, the NCA says.
Whitacre’s story is unique in that he developed a second business (LPG) in order to share the marketing ideas, strategies and tactics he used to build his retail vacuum store called The Sweeper.
The other featured presenter, returning to TexCare, is Jason Loeb of Sudsies.com, Miami. In addition to building his mom-and-pop Laundromat/drycleaning business into a multimillion-dollar business, Loeb has adopted some “revolutionary” marketing strategies and service enhancements that he’ll be sharing during his presentation, namely his couture cleaning service, according to the NCA.
Getting existing customers to spend more money is one of the few ways to grow sales, and Loeb has capitalized on that notion with his premium-priced service niche. The who, what, when, where, why and how big a difference it’s made to his bottom line will all be laid out in his usual tell-all style. Once again, NCA is featuring a successful entrepreneur who has been there, done that, and is prepared to help TexCare attendees do the same.
The New York area location also has an appeal for many cleaners from around the country.
“Autumn in New York is a great time,” says NCA Executive Director Nora Nealis, “which makes this the perfect opportunity for cleaners from other parts of the country to combine a great investment in their business by attending TexCare with a New York City holiday courtesy of that business.”
Just how far has someone come to attend TexCare? Try Odessa, Russia. “And no one was more surprised than we were,” Nealis says.
For out-of-towners, the Meadowlands location is easily accessible from all of New York City’s major airports (including JFK, LaGuardia and Newark), as well as NYC Penn Station (Amtrak). The special convention rates available at the Embassy Suites and Holiday Inn (located across the street from the convention center) make the weekend especially affordable, NCA says.
To learn more about the upcoming show, call Hargrove at 800-888-1622 or visit the NCA website, nca-i.com.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].