People and Events

GCE appoints new Cape Town branch manager

Goscor Cleaning Equipment (GCE), announced the appointment of Robert Cooper as branch manager at their Cape Town operation. Cooper will be filling the shoes of Petra Minutelli, who retired after being with the company since 2012, when it was still known as Tennant Western Cape. Cooper comes from the sales and cleaning arena and brings more than 14 years of experience in managing large teams in the contract cleaning industry, as well as expertise in the food and beverage and retail space. “He has unmatched professional experience and we look forward to his contribution,” said Greg Venter, GCE Managing Director.

“Goscor Cleaning Equipment is a national leader in this industry that understands the importance of providing the best possible service to their customers and I’m excited to join their growing company,” Cooper added.

For more information visit: www.goscorcleaning.co.za

New appointment at Tsebo Solutions Group

Kumaran Pillay joined Tsebo Solutions Group in September as National Sales Director. Pillay has 15 years’ experience in the facilities services sector.

Interclean Amsterdam 2020 a virtual event

The organisers of Interclean Amsterdam decided to cancel the 2020 in-person event and will host a virtual version of the exhibition from 3-6 November. “This decision is disappointing for all of us, especially as RAI Amsterdam is ready to organise Interclean Amsterdam COVID-secure and fully in line with all health and safety guidelines. RAI Amsterdam has worked tirelessly to adapt all its facilities and protocols to enable events to be held in a safe, responsible and hospitable manner,” says Bas Dalm, Executive Vice President Exhibition & Sales at RAI Amsterdam. “But as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, and many of our international exhibitors and visitors have been forced to cancel their plans to participate at Interclean due to market conditions and continued travel restrictions, we feel that the show can no longer deliver the quality expected of Interclean as the largest global cleaning and hygiene platform and therefore will move forward to a virtual experience for 2020.”

“For more than 50 years, Interclean has provided the most complete meeting place for the global cleaning and hygiene industry. By organising the virtual event from 3-6 November, we plan to continue to play a vital role in supporting the industry to get back on track, wherever we are able. Online educational sessions with different themes will complement each other and are available for everybody throughout the day as well as the possibility to visit companies, plan meetings and socialise with peers.”

Dalm continues: “This year’s Interclean Amsterdam in May would have been the largest ever, postponing the event to 2022 will result again in a strong, value-adding event for the industry with high benefits for all parties. Due to the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak, our mission cannot be accomplished successfully now, thus we believe it is the right decision to hold on and come back even stronger together in 2022. Going completely virtual this year allows us to still provide a place for the industry to gather, share knowledge and connect with other industries who are in need of expertise.”

International integrated services congress

Forum Pulire was founded in 2012 with the goal of creating a much needed new opportunity for reflection on the cleaning and hygiene support services industry. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Forum Pulire event is formulated to recreate the experience of a physical congress, taking the meeting to a digital location and offering access to industry knowledge by participating in the congress through a variety of channels for interaction.

In its new guise, the Forum Pulire digital event continues to be the place for the integrated services sector to meet and exchange views, gain knowledge, inspiration, experience and insights. In recent months, cleanliness has emerged as one of the most effective ways of containing the pandemic, therefore this dramatic experience highlighted the importance of cleaning and hygiene. “Never before has it been more vital to share our challenges, celebrate our achievements and to recognise the importance of the professional cleaning sector,” says ISSA Pulire Network CEO Toni D’Andrea.

The fifth edition of Forum Pulire will take place on 13-14 and 20-21 October, to watch the event video click: https://youtu.be/jK97PcjRVEk

Virtual UK exhibition and conference to replace October event

The Manchester Cleaning Show became the latest industry event to announce a postponement to September 2021. Described as a saddening decision by everyone working on the Manchester Cleaning Show, the September 2020 postponement decision was a unanimous agreement. The latest UK government rules regarding social gatherings, and the ongoing local lockdown in the Greater Manchester Area forced the organisers to reevaluate their plans for the event in order to put the health and safety of exhibitors and visitors first.

The British Cleaning Council Exhibitions (BCCE) Board stated: “There is so much to discuss right now. So many of our exhibitors have products that can help the UK get back to business; and so many individuals need the support and the contacts that an event brings. The UK cleaning industry needs an opportunity to come together now, so we will be staging a virtual version of the Manchester Cleaning Show on the same dates of the planned event on 14-15 October 2020.

The BCCE remain steadfast in their commitment to stage a much-needed physical exhibition and conference for the industry. The Board hope that the move to 2021 will see a situation where they are able to operate freely without social distancing restrictions, or interferences with other planned industry events. “This isn’t what we had hoped for, but the opportunities that this virtual event presents are exciting and we have a really innovative platform to show. There are no apps to download, everything can be viewed on a device of choice, and it will deliver exciting content and business solutions for our visitors and a vital commercial opportunity for our exhibitors. It’s important that we come together,” the BCCE further stated.

For more information visit: www.cleaningshow.co.uk/manchester

NCCA Gauteng AGM a virtual affair in 2020

Patrick Makhubela

The NCCA Gauteng branch AGM was held on 19 August and due to the coronavirus pandemic regulations pertaining to group gatherings it was, for the first time, conducted as a Zoom meeting. Some of the most salient issues raised by Patrick Makhubela in his Chairman’s report included: After a period of 3 years the new NCCA constitution was registered with the Department of Labour in December 2019. A copy of the new constitution is available on the NCCA website.

The Gauteng committee took a decision in November 2019 that only companies which have been found compliant during the 2019/20 membership year would be invoiced for 2020/21 membership year renewals. The Gauteng branch will carry the cost of compliance audits.

NCCA (National) nominated Geoffrey Phiri of Cleaning Africa Services to represent the NCCA on the Services SETA Chamber.

Patrick reported growth in branch membership – at the end of the current membership year (March ’20) the Gauteng branch recorded 463 paid-up members compared to 451 paid-up members for the previous year. As a collective, contract cleaning member companies in Gauteng employed 67 760 cleaning workers at the end of March ’20. One positive that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic was the huge increase in membership enquiries which numbered close to 3 000 from the beginning of the year.

Gauteng Branch Administrator Sandy Deale read out the following names of individuals elected as Branch Executive Council Members: Vice Chairman – Lennox Batchelor (Bidvest Prestige), Treasurer – Arthur Bath, Janine Botha (Numatic), Chairman – Patrick Makhubela (Neledzi Services), Sushi Naidoo (Nakisani), Patrick Nndwamato (Cleaning Africa Services), Dave Reynolds (Supercare Group) and Pieter van der Westhuizen (Afriboom). Patrick Makhubela extended his congratulations to the Council, thanked Steve Braham for his many years of dedicated service on the Council and welcomed Sushi Naidoo as the newly elected Council member.

Industry loss

Dr. Clive Roffey, senior technical consultant at IPS Procurement Services and CEO of Indvac passed away during July following a motor vehicle accident. Clive’s link to the professional cleaning industry was mainly through Indvac, a leading manufacturer and supplier of industrial vacuums and cleaning equipment. The company also distributed the Lavor brand of high pressure cleaning equipment in South Africa. Clive was possibly best known for his role as one of Business Day TV’s most popular market analysts.