A public war of words has begun between ISSA and RAI Amsterdam, following the apparent collapse of their partnership.

In a statement released on 7 November 2017, RAI Amsterdam announced that the two parties had ‘come to the decision to end their alliance and pursue separate ventures’. The ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam event will revert to its previous name Interclean Amsterdam with immediate effect, becoming the brand name for all future RAI Amsterdam events for the professional cleaning industry.

Rob den Hertog, Director of Interclean, said: “With the change to Interclean Amsterdam, we will continue to fulfil our role as the promoters of innovation within the professional cleaning industry. We will keep our global focus, strengthen our strategy across the entire event, and go wherever the industry needs us to be. The event is being created for professionals, by professionals.

“The Interclean brand has a rich history that we take a lot of pride in, and we have represented that in the refreshed logo. The new elements symbolise who we have become and what we are today: the place to be to discover advanced cleaning technologies that will transform and modernise the professional cleaning world.”

However, later the same day, ISSA launched a scathing rebuttal of RAI’s statement. They released their own statement, which read: “ISSA unambiguously rejects RAI Amsterdam (RAI)’s claim that the long-standing alliance between ISSA and its ‘INTERCLEAN’ trade show partner, RAI, is terminated.

“On Friday, November 3, 2017, RAI submitted a letter to ISSA indicating its desire to terminate the agreement between ISSA and RAI and immediately began contacting ISSA members, exhibitors, council members, and other organizations announcing the termination. Subsequently, a series of communications went out that also demanded that ISSA members work directly with RAI to book their trade show booths for the Amsterdam ISSA/INTERCLEAN show.

“ISSA unequivocally denies that the alliance is terminated.”

ISSA Executive Director John Barrett said: “This behaviour is unacceptable. I want to stress to our valued members, peers, and stakeholders that these allegations regarding ISSA’s partnership and global family of ISSA/INTERCLEAN exhibitions are not only unprofessional, but absolutely untrue. We do not in any way support RAI’s unilateral departure from its obligations or its decision to communicate directly to members of the association with misinformation.

“ISSA has made no secret of our global strategy, which is in line with our mission to bring together the industry to promote cleaning as a necessary investment in better health, a better environment, and a better bottom line. There is no chain of events that would suggest otherwise. In the current business climate – where ISSA members and industry companies are addressing their own challenges and opportunities daily – RAI’s actions are selfish and an unnecessary distraction.

“Given the progress we are making together in gaining respect for the global cleaning industry, and new projects that we have been co-operatively developing, RAI’s sudden departure from this strategy is inexplicable.”

He continued: “Out of respect for our two organizations, our members, and the global cleaning industry, I hope discussions regarding the ISSA/INTERCLEAN partnership remain business-like and will not be carried out in the public domain. Yet rest assured that we will make every effort to communicate any new developments to our members and stakeholders as they unfold.

“I know many of our exhibitors that have booked booths for the Amsterdam event or were planning to have questions. We respectfully ask that they hit the pause button until we can get the details worked out. I promise we will do everything in our power to ensure a positive experience going forward. I know for them, they bought into the show under the brand name ISSA/INTERCLEAN, not INTERCLEAN. That’s a big difference.”

ISSA is currently consulting with its legal team to resolve this dispute, which could be a protracted and painful process. However, at the moment it is not expected to cause any disruption to the 2018 show beyond the name, and the event is on schedule to take place 15-18 May 2018.

At the time of writing, RAI Amsterdam has not responded to ISSA’s rebuttal.