by Brianna Crandall — May 9, 2014—At the opening of the 25th ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam international trade fair for cleaning professionals, the B60/10C MopVac from Kärcher was announced as winner of the Amsterdam Innovation Award 2014.
According to the awards jury, the B60/10C MopVac from Kärcher has filled the gap between the mop and bucket and scrubber dryer. It can reportedly clean open areas five times faster than a regular mop; however, it is much more economical and cost-effective than a scrubber dryer. And the fact there is no need for electricity or battery power—the floor is dried using a vacuum pump—makes this tool ultimately simple and cost-effective to use and maintain, as well as being eco-efficient, concludes the jury.
Michelle Marshall, chair of the 2014 Amsterdam Innovation Award jury commented, “Across the various categories we have seen a most interesting mix of entries this year—a range of products that really demonstrates how much manufacturers are developing solutions that take into account the genuine day-to-day needs of their customers and fill in those gaps in products available that may have existed.
“As demonstrated in previous years, the sustainability trend is proving it is very much here to stay, and we continue to see new products that use less water, energy and chemicals. Not only that, they have also been manufactured using more environmentally conscious methods and with an eye on the total life cycle impact.
“It is also most encouraging to see the industry taking advantage of latest Web-based technology—with the introduction of some highly intelligent solutions that should genuinely assist cleaning operations to be more efficient, productive and streamlined.”
The winners and nominees of the Amsterdam Innovation Award 2014, along with the award descriptions, are as follows:
Machines, accessories and components
Category winner: Wetrok — Wetrok Discomatic Mambo is a 30-liter scrubber dryer whose compact size makes it extremely maneuverable and suitable for a wide range of new applications. The fact it is powered by a lithium-ion battery gives it a run time that is four times longer than a conventional lead battery. The water feed can be regulated from the control panel, and to make operator training even simpler, there are only four control buttons.
Nominees:
- Tennant Europe — T17 Battery Powered Heavy-Duty Rider Scrubber is a heavy-duty ride-on scrubber designed to offer all-day cleaning on a single charge while reducing the amount of water and chemical needed to clean.
- Teinnova — Visioair is a machine that can view, clean and produce a video report in AC ducts of all sizes—in one single operation. It uses air injection rather than traditional brushing.
Equipment/tools for cleaning, care and safety
Category and overall winner: Kärcher — B60/10C MopVac (description above)
Nominees:
- Sofidel — Biotech is a biologically active toilet tissue containing microorganisms that produce enzymes on contact with water. These enzymes feed on the dirt in pipes in sewers, helping to reduce the need for cleaning.
- Tennant Europe — Orbio os3 is a unit that allows customers to generate their own cleaning and disinfecting solutions on-site—created through water electrolysis and using salt—so reducing conventional chemical use.
Cleaning management and training solutions
Category winner: European Cleaning Machines Recycling — ECMR is a truly unique concept for the professional cleaning sector. The issue of cleaning machine disposal is a challenging one for our industry, and it will become even more so as regulations will inevitably oblige manufacturers to take more responsibility for machines at the end of their life—and in a totally transparent fashion.
Nominees:
- Alpheios International — ExpertAtHand is an app for devices such as Google Glass that makes it possible for a cleaning expert to look through the eyes of a cleaner on-site and communicate with them in real time.
- Hako — Hako-Fleet-Management-Solutions is a system designed to manage fleets of cleaning machines, and to help customers to control and run them economically via mobile phone and the Internet.
- Kärcher — Kärcher Fleet Services is a solution for managing fleets of cleaning machines. Data is taken from machines, analyzed, and made available for use on a Web-based user interface.
Visitors’ Choice Award
For the second time, the Visitors’ Choice prize was awarded to the nominee that was voted as the most innovative by ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam attendees. With 39.9 percent of the votes, Alpheois ExpertAtHand is the winner of the Visitors’ Choice Award 2014.
The complete list of the Innovation Award entries is available online.
The proceeds of the registration fee of the Amsterdam Innovation Award 2014 are being donated to the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) Flying Doctors, and their project “Sustainable Water Access for the Masai in Kajiado, Kenya.” This project aims at providing the local community with better access to clean (drinking) water and aims to decrease water sanitation and hygiene-related diseases.
