Naitonal Clothesline

Drycleaners from around the world will converge in Kobe, Japan, Nov. 2-6 for the 2003 International Drycleaners Congress convention.

An IDC board meeting on Sunday, Nov. 2, where the association’s regional vice presidents will convene and discuss member concerns, will be the opening activity.

On the same day, opening ceremonies will be conducted. Honored guests will make an appearance, including Hyogo Prefecture Governor Toshizo Ido, Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Association President Hiroshi Oba, and All Japan Laundry & Cleaning Association President Shozo Yamamoto. Also, on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 4, IDC will host a reception and banquet which will include a preview of the association’s 2004 convention set in Germany for June 6-10.

Show dates set in Japan

Clean-Life Vision 21, the 41st all-Japan cleaning convention and exhibition, will be held Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at Intex Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

The show is organized by the All Japan Laundry and Drycleaning Association and the Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers. In 2002, Clean-Life vision, which was held in Tokyo, drew 150 companies and 30,000 visitors.

In addition to cleaning machinery, equipment and related materials, the show will feature products from the IT industry. Show organizers believe that the introduction of IT technology could benefit customer management and merchandising control and help prevent damages and claims in the cleaning industry.

The 42nd installment of the show will be held Nov. 26-28, 2004 in Tokyo.

For more information, phone 81 (6) 6612 104281 or send a fax to (6) 6612 8585 or visit the show’s web site at www.fair.or.jp/clean/2003/english.

Four separate educational sessions throughout the week will inform attendees on a multitude of subjects. The first session will start on Monday, Nov. 3, covering the theme “Customer Satisfaction.”

Keynote speaker Kaoru Kobayashi, a management critic and professor at Sanno University, will offer his thoughts on the future of customer satisfaction. Joining him will be speakers Yoshihei Nishikawa, chairman of the Japan Cleaning Productivity Council, who will discuss a corporate owner’s point of view, and Mitsuo Hori of IWS Nominee Co., Ltd., who will present “The Outlook for Water Washable Clothes.”

IDC’s second session will take place on Tuesday and cover “Risk Management.” The session will feature a seminar on “Emergency Response” with testimonials from several Japanese cleaners (including Tadashi Ishii, owner of Hankuseisha Cleaning Co., Ltd.) who have survived and rebuilt their businesses after the devastating earthquake in Kobe that occurred several years ago. A guest speaker from outside of Japan who has also gone through a disaster will be invited to speak, as well.

A second seminar on “Environmental Protection” will feature Koichi Kosaka, General Manager of the laboratory for Hakuyosha Co., Ltd. (the largest cleaning firm in Japan). He will talk about the current situation of environmental preservation in Japan and how Hakuyosha is involved.

A third session, called “Annual International Updates,” will round out the day on Tuesday, November 4. Speakers from various regions will offer updates on current trends in their nations.

The convention’s fourth and final seminar session on Wednesday, November 5, will be comprised of various 2003 fellowship presentations. Younger association members who have made international journeys will report on what they learned and how they applied that knowledge to their own businesses.

After that session, cleaners will have an opportunity to embark on a technical plant tour of Hankuseisha Cleaning Co., Ltd., operated by Tadashi Ishii.

The full registration package for the convention is $595 and includes entrance to all business sessions, the welcome cocktail party, the banquet and the tour.

For hotel accommodations, the Kobe Portopia Hotel offers single rooms in its main building for $105 per night. Twin/double rooms in the main building cost $148 nightly for single occupancy and $192 nightly for more than one occupant.

Prior to the convention, an INTEX Machinery and Supply Exhibition will take place in Osaka — located about 45 minutes away from the city of Kobe —†on Saturday, Nov. 1. Those planning on attending should make individual arrangements through IDC.

For more information, call (213) 680-0333, ext. IDC.