National Clothesline

With one eye on the past and another on the future, the International Drycleaners Congress convened for five days in Kobe, Japan last month.

The Japan venue was a return to the organization’s roots. The first IDC convention was held in Tokyo in 1959 and it was at this 45th convention that one of the founding board members said farewell. Makoto Igarashi, who had held the post of treasurer-orient since that original meeting, ceded his seat to his cousin Nobuyasu Igarashi who served as president of the organization for the past year.

But the present and future was the focal point for the convention program, which was organized around the theme “Creation of New Values.” Economic and political difficulties in the world limited attendance at this convention, but the discussions were serious and intense.

Keynote speaker Kaoru Kobayashi took up the convention theme in his talk during the opening business session. A management critic and professor at Sanno University, he advised cleaners to be aware of the ever-changing needs and demands of customers Cleaners are no longer just “stain and dirt removers,” but “clean living care supporters.” He urged cleaners to expand their horizons beyond cleaning clothes. There are an array of cleaning services that people want. If cleaners don’t provide them, someone else will. Cleaners, he said, are not just competing against other cleaners. They’re competing against all kinds of other business for a share of consumers’ disposable incomes.

The programs that followed tapped some of the industry’s top minds on topics ranging from customers satisfaction, environmental challenges and risk management, with reports on the state of the industry from representatives of regions around the world.

Ceremonies at the reception and banquet included the presentation of the Drycleaner of the Year Award, which went to Isao Nishhijima, who served as convention chair for 2003 and has worked on many past conventions. He is also active with the Japan Productivity Cleaning Council.

The incoming president, Egon Burchard of Germany, took office and has already begun planning for the 2004 convention which will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, June 6-10. The convention will be held in conjunction with the TexCare show in Frankfurt.