Stephen Harrison, Managing Director of Harrison Wipes, has stepped down as chairman of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) after five years in the role.
Lorcan Mekitarian, Sales Director of RPC bpi group, took over as CHSA Chairman at the meeting of its governing Coucil, which was held on 16 October 2019.
Lorcan commented: “Stephen has made a significant and incredibly valuable contribution to the CHSA. I speak on behalf of all the Council and the members we represent, when I say thank you. Under Stephen’s leadership we have increased the value provided to members and widened our influence. I am excited about the future, with plans to develop key initiatives including our drive to tackle the challenge of plastics in our sector but know Stephen will be a hard act to follow.”
Stephen added: “It has been an honour to serve the CHSA as Chairman. I have relished working with the excellent team taking the CHSA forward and am confident Lorcan will steer it through a period of change.”
During Stephen’s time in office, the Association’s Accreditation Schemes for Manufacturers of Soft Tissue, Plastic Sacks and Industrial Cotton Mops have increased in rigour, grown in membership and members now consistently achieve near-perfect compliance in inspections. The Association also successfully launched an Accreditation Scheme for Distributors, with all distributor members to be accredited from 1 January 2020.
Now, more than ever before, the CHSA’s Accreditation Schemes make sure buyers of cleaning and hygiene products can be certain ‘what’s on the box is what’s in the box’. As the CHSA say: ‘Our Standards. Your Guarantee.’
Under Stephen’s guidance, the CHSA has developed its industry presence in recent years, increasing its engagement with other industry associations and supporting key industry initiatives including the Kimberley-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards, the CSSA’s Innovation Showcase and the CSSA’s Innovation Awards.
Stephen’s term of office also saw the CHSA raise tens of thousands of pounds for charity. Andi’s Fund, set up to raise £1m for life saving research into cancer, the Helping Treat Cancer Together, the Royal National Institute for Blind People and now Grief Encounter, which supports young people who have suffered bereavement, have all received funds to support their valuable work. The CHSA’s Undergraduate Bursary Scheme was also reintroduced, giving a helping hand to the children of its members’ employees as they head off to university.
