On the first day of Clean 2019 in New Orleans, the show’s new owner, Messe Frankfurt, held a news conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
“We’re honored that you gave us your trust,” said Messe Frankfurt Senior Vice President Iris Jeglitza-Moshage, whose company currently operates 150 trade shows around the world. “It’s a great moment. We will improve and develop this show.”
Joe Ricci, who is the CEO of TRSA, which is one of the Clean Show’s former trade-association owners, explained that the event’s five sponsoring trade groups weren’t necessarily looking to sell the biennial show and convention.
“The mission was to find a new management team,” he said. However, after a “long and tedious process,” a deal was eventually struck to sell the textile-care industry’s largest U.S. trade show.
Ricci added that the 10-year agreement with Messe Frankfurt, headquartered in Germany, was with the understanding that the show’s five former owners — including the Coin Laundry Association — would continue to be critical players in the running of this event.
The Clean Show is valuable to our industries,” Ricci said. “So, we will continue to be a part of it.”
He also hinted at the possibility of Clean’s sponsoring trade organizations working with Messe Frankfurt on projects outside of the Clean Show.
Constantin von Vieregge, president of Messe Frankfurt North America, noted that show exhibitors and attendees can expect business as usual for the New Orleans event.
“We run shows all the time,” he said. “We know how to run a show. But the show is never about us. It’s about the exhibitors. It’s about the people doing business. Without that, we don’t have a show.”
Messe Frankfurt also announced that the next Clean Show will be held June 10-13, 2021, in Atlanta. The location for Clean 2023 will be Orlando, Fla., and the show will return to Las Vegas in 2025.
The show will remain on a two-year schedule, according to von Vieregge.
“We will not reinvent what is working well,” he said.
