Cleaning Products Europe - a great success! What are the key learnings?

March 23, 2011 - PRLog -- Expertly led by Mark Stalmans of Procter & Gamble and Keith Rutherford of Unilever, the two days of discussions featured companies from the entire supply chain, inside and outside of the industry, and across the international spectrum.  Unsurprisingly, sustainability was the main underlying theme of the agenda, as the driver of future growth, closely followed by innovation and collaboration to drive the industry forward.  

We heard from both Unilever and Procter & Gamble that sustainability must be present in all aspects of business and it is one of the biggest internal challenges at the moment.  This was also backed up by Robert Monaghan from Air Innovation in an original and interesting presentation showcasing novel business approaches and innovations that have been successful in other sectors.

“The cleaning products industry has a long history of innovation, but in the future, innovation will be even more important to fuel growth”, said Mark Stalmans, and this will lead to new product forms and new approaches, an example of which was presented by Richard Garnett and the Eziserv instore dispensing technology.  

It was also clear that there is a role for all parts of the supply chain to implement sustainable practices, especially the regulatory authorities and industry bodies, and a step in the right direction has been taken by AISE, as described in the presentation from Sascha Nissen.  At the top of the supply chain there is a need for a mix of safe and sustainable materials and it “was lovely to see Novozymes, Genencor, Rhodia, Akzo Nobel, BASF all contributing talks to what is ultimately about partnerships”, Keith Rutherford, and of course performance remains paramount, as consumers are increasingly more demanding and the market is dynamic.

The importance of changing consumer behaviour was also a key issue to come out of the discussions and novel approaches are required to make consumers think and act differently.  This is not an easy task for the industry but the solution is entering into partnerships and collaborating across the supply chain to achieve the industry’s long-term objectives.  

The comprehensive two day programme featured presentations with perspectives from all angles of the supply chain, “a very good mix of speakers; legislation, equipment, suppliers, market intelligence all with focus on sustainability”, Martin Heus, Akzo Nobel, as well as “excellent networking opportunities”, Peter Smallwood, Chemical Associates, and “very good interaction”, Sascha Nissen, AISE, with key industry figures.  

“In 2012, a similar breadth of presentations will feature on the agenda with a focus on the need for collaboration between partners, bringing together detergent manufacturers and machinery manufacturers, to ensure both parties are aware of developments in each sector and to develop a platform for synergy”, Hayley Marsden, Conference Producer, IntertechPira.