Milan, Italy – EXPOdetergo International, dedicated to equipment, services and products for laundry, ironing and textile cleaning, was held at Fiera Milano from October 21 to October 24.
Linens from 2 million hotel rooms, tablecloths from 184,000 restaurants, sheets from 211,000 hospital beds and more than 600,000 uniforms of healthcare workers are the figures that summarize the yearly activity of industrial laundries (source: Assosistema 2022), without taking into account the contribution of neighborhood businesses, according to an EXPOdetergo news release. An essential industry for the continuity of some key sectors the economy, that today like so many other energy-intensive realities, is suffering the consequences of high energy bills and urgently calls for solutions to optimize its costs.
“EXPOdetergo International 2022 will take place in a complex historical moment, in which our industry is particularly sensitive to the increase in energy costs. That’s why we need to act now, to prevent these critical issues from affecting essential public services such as hospitals and nursing homes, for which we are in the front line every day,” says Marco Sancassani, president of EXPOdetergo International. “However, I’m certain that concrete answers will come also from the exhibition: the new machines, together with more innovative processes, are designed to use less energy, allowing savings between 30% and 40%. In these times, having the courage to invest in innovation means being competitive in the market.”
Thanks to the presence of companies from all over the world (250 exhibitors, 33% of them from 22 foreign Countries) and of all the reference associations for the Italian market – Assofornitori, Assosistema, Assosecco, CNA and Confartigianato – that decided to bring their know-how to the exhibition, EXPOdetergo International promises to be an unmissable moment for operators willing to understand the ongoing changes and develop new strategies.
“EXPOdetergo International returns after four years to give voice to the best of world production. With 250 exhibiting companies, in fact, it reconfirms itself as a reference point for the sector, globally recognized as an event not to be missed. In the coming days, operators from all over the world will gather to discover what’s new in the field of laundries, because this is the place where the market can do business and networking” says Simona Greco, Exhibitions Director of Fiera Milano.
The Italian Scenario
With a turnover of 1.7 billion euros and more than 20,000 employees, the world of industrial laundries represents an important sector for Italy, but above all it ensures the continuity of key sectors of its economy – tourism and catering – and provides essential services to hospitals. In one year the sector sanitizes linens for 2 million hotel beds, manages tablecloth for 184,000 restaurants and, in the health sector, sanitizes more than 211,000 beds and provides dresses to more than 600,000 health workers.
The Exhibition
Three main topics characterized the exhibition proposal: sustainability, digitalization and sanitization.
Today, laundries are called upon to make a big change, which sees attention to the environment, digital evolution and guaranteed hygiene as three cornerstones that can concretely contribute to the growth of the sector.
“Doing more with less”: this has been the main goal of textile maintenance for some years now. Sustainability means maintaining maximum efficiency, hygiene and productivity with the lowest possible expenditure of energy, water and detergents. At the exhibition, many brands will focus on environmentally friendly and energy-saving solutions. Considering the actual increase in utility bills, today more than ever these solutions coming from investments in R&D and innovation are essential to ensure continuity for every business, whether small or large. From individual washing machines to large automated lines, from detergents to chemical additives, the entire exhibition will describe the advantages and potential of an increasingly green business.
But that’s not all. Today’s latest generation machines are increasingly connected, able to reduce or eliminate the possibility of human error, to plan the management of an item from its arrival to delivery, to manage maintenance even remotely. Digitalization, which is increasingly present due to the strong development of the sector, will characterize a large part of the proposals, ensuring ever more efficient operations and the possibility to keep the same personnel costs while increasing productivity.
The sense of health and wellness that we all feel when faced with cleanliness is a real contribution to one’s well-being: the last few years were a clear example of the importance of this dimension, that becomes essential especially when dealing with hospitals and nursing homes, but also hotels and restaurants. The same goes for sanitization, that has always been fundamental and has become even more essential today: the combination of latest generation machines, detergents and washing techniques will be described at the exhibition. A guarantee that is not just determined by existing regulations, but that has become a decisive element for its strong influence on customer’s choices.
The exhibition will display the entire offer available on the market at international level: super-fast and energy-saving washing machines, ergonomic and more energy-efficient ironing systems, fully digitalized machines able to manage the washing/ironing chain even remotely, highly effective and environmentally friendly professional detergents, up to textile proposals (bedding and table linen) of high quality fabrics for rent.
Constantly focused on new and high-performance products, that are the result of investments in R&D in recent years, EXPOdetergo International confirms its vocation: giving space to excellence with a proposal dedicated to the best solutions in the world for cleaning, sanitizing and fabric treatment. A showcase that, as always, will also allow operators to have a look at various machines in operation.
