The American Cleaning Institute (ACI)

2017 ACI Convention & Industry Meeting

January 23, 2017
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The American Cleaning Institute’s 2019 Convention was the place to be for anyone in the cleaning products industry. The 2019 Convention hosted more than 1,040 attendees from 180 companies and 27 countries. This annual event provides attendees the opportunity to network, attend business-to-business meetings and learn about new trends and developments taking place within the cleaning products industry. 

Speaker Sessions

In addition to the ACI Committee meetings, there were several other sessions for attendees to participate in during the 2019 ACI Convention. ACI speaker sessions included Global Updates from two panels: Asia/Oceania and Europe/Americas in a conversational setting that allowed a free flowing discussion between the panelists and the moderator. These panels provided their unique perspectives on issues facing their regions specific to manufacturing, supply and consumer channels and the industry trends that are shaping them. They also answered questions from the audience.
 
Wednesday began with the Coffee & Consumer Panel session, sponsored by Takasago International Corporation (USA) that provided attendees the opportunity to learn about the issues men face when they clean. While it might sound cliché, attendees heard first hand from men who were the driving force in keeping their homes clean, what worked/what did not and what their cleaning product preferences were.
 
Wednesday at lunch, two panels of industry experts had conversations with ACI staff leads in the Regulatory and Policy arena as well as the Innovation and Sustainability arena regarding what ACI is doing to support our members in these areas.
 
Thursday morning’s session gave attendees the opportunity to hear from Ken Schmidt, Harley Davidson Motor Company’s former Director of Communication Strategy on how to manage life in the fast lane while meeting and exceeding professional and personal expectations and goals. Later in the day, ACI was thrilled to have Major General Amy S. Courter, CAP USAFX connect with attendees during an insightful session "Unite with Inclusion – Transformational Change". The session kicked off with a fun and engaging speed-networking event that lead into the discussion on how to lead in transforming the culture of your organization. 
 
Following Friday morning’s Annual Meeting, ACI presented the Innovation & New Technologies Showcase, providing ACI’s member companies a chance to highlight new products, ingredients and technologies and packaging innovations. This year’s Showcase featured presentations from The Clorox Company, Colonial Chemical, Inc., Croda, The Dow Chemical Company, Nouryon and Oxiteno. You can now find these presentations on the ACI Members Only Website.
 

Industry Award

The recipient of the 2019 Elva Walker Spillane Distinguished Service Award was William H. "Bill" Phillips, currently the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Ecolab Inc. As a recent chair of the ACI Research, Technology & Regulation Committee, Bill Phillips’ expertise continues to bring many respected and valued contributions to the cleaning products industry.

Convention Charity Events

There were several opportunities for attendees to give back during the Convention. ACI hosted events that benefited Clean the World™.
 
Monday’s 10th Annual Charity Golf Tournament provided golfers with an opportunity to unwind and test their golfing skills on the renowned Grande Lakes golf course. Golf awards once everyone had returned from their rounds of golf to the following:
 
Winning Team:
Mark Saitta (Veolia NA Regeneration Services)
Gordon Geist (Nease Co., LLC)
Steven Byrd (VVF LLC)
Art Devlin (Corbion)
 
Golf awards also recognized the following winners: Diane Tramontana of Lonza Inc. took home the award for the Straightest Drive while Alex Merrin of Lonza Inc. won the award for the Longest Drive.
 
Lonza Inc. sponsored the 2019 Clean the World Hygiene Kit Build which provided attendees a way to network while nearly building 1,000 hygiene kits for those in need.

8th Annual ACI Charity Duck Race

Though Mother Nature was somewhat uncooperative on Wednesday afternoon with cooler temps and chilly breezes, an enthusiastic crowd of attendees showed their support for the 2019 Charity Duck Race that was once again sponsored by Shell Chemical LP. As ducks "swam" towards the finish line, the crowd cheered them on in support of Clean the World. This year’s Duck Race video can be viewed by clicking here.
 
Duck Race Results:
 
Individual Ducks:
1. Jared Skotek, Shell Chemical LP
2. Kathryn Budd, JW Marriott, Grande Lakes Orlando
3. Rutger Beelaerts, Shell Chemical LP
 
Corporate Duck: Shell Chemical LP
Face Your Duck: Arylessence, Inc.
Lame Duck: Kathryn Budd, JW Marriott, Grande Lakes Orlando
People’s Choice: YoDuck - Huntsman Corporation 

5th Annual ACI Fun Run/Walk

Despite the nip in the air, the 5th Annual Fun Run/Walk had a healthy turnout of 47 participants that were treated to a rousing send off by Lubrizol Home Care, this year’s sponsor of the event. Lubrizol provided everyone that participated with a water bottle as well as cheers as they ran or walked the course. This year’s event recognized the following separate categories: men and women runners, most enthusiastic runner and walker as well as first and second place walkers. Needless to say - a good time was had by all! 
 
Men’s Runners
1. Joel Geny – Solvay Novecare
2. Dennis Senackerib – Milliken & Company
3. Justin Conklin – DuPont Industrial Biosciences
 
Women’s Runners
1. Christie Mays – Valicor Environmental Services
2. Annemarieke van Heeswijk – DuPont Industrial Biosciences
3. Tanya Mueller-Borges – Solvay Novecare
 
Walkers
1. Anne Drewer – BYK USA Inc.
2. Karen Allen – Lubrizol Advance Materials
 
Enthusiastic
1. Smita Brijmohan – Lubrizol Advanced Materials
2. Jennifer Altstadt – Sea-Land Chemical Co.

2019 ACI Convention Sponsors

ACI would like to give a special thanks to the 2019 Convention Sponsors: BASF Corporation, Chemical Week, The Clorox Company, Corbion, Croda, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont Industrial Biosciences, Evonik Corporation, Firmenich Incorporated, Givaudan Fragrances Corporation, Huntsman Corporation, Lonza Inc., Lubrizol Home Care, MonoSol, a Kuraray Division, Novozymes, P&G Chemicals, Sasol, Shell Chemical LP and Together for Sustainability.