CETA Moves Confidently into 2021

Published January 2021

In the final two weeks of October 2020 and the first two weeks of November, the Cleaning Equipment Trade Association (CETA) held a series of virtual meetings. 

     These meetings provided an update on the state of CETA heading into 2021, the work of the technical committee in 2020, and the exciting educational offerings that will come through the relaunch of CETA University. The last meeting was a roundtable that covered the topic of best practices/sales strategies amid COVID-19.

     Ben Hagemann with American Pressure was CETA president from 2019–2020. He says, “I am truly honored and humbled to have had the chance to serve as president of CETA, an organization reflecting the best of a strong and vital industry.” He passed the president’s gavel to Jimmy Welch, also with American Pressure, who will lead CETA in 2020–2021.

     New directors Scott Hansen of Alkota Cleaning Systems and Yujin Anderson of Steamericas Inc. were elected to serve on the board from 2020–2023. Delaney Johnson of Wayne Combustion Systems and Jimmy Welch were reelected to the board to serve another three-year term.

     Financially CETA is in a strong position. According to the 2020 CETA business report booklet, they have been able to budget money for enhancing CETA University as well as for COVID-19 education and best practices. In addition, they have set aside time to develop PowerClean 2021 so that it will be a great event for all members. PowerClean 2021 will take place September 9–11, 2021, in New Orleans, LA.

---

  

---

     The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Patrick G. Wingen. This award recognizes and honors those who have achieved excellence in the pressure cleaning industry and made significant contributions. To read more about why it was given to Patrick Wingen, visit https://www.cleanertimes.com/magazine/cleaner-times-articles-2/patrick-g-wingen-a-tribute-to-success-with-honor.

     The second virtual meeting was for the CETA technical committee. The committee states, “The purpose of the technical committee is to identify, review, clarify, and interpret technical and safety regulatory issues impacting our industry as well as our membership.” In terms of covering the CPC100 Performance Standard, Rick Gilpatrick, who serves as senior vice president of global R&D for FNA Group, says the performance standards keep the playing field level for everyone and hold manufacturers accountable for their products. For more information on the transition from the safety standard UL1776 to UL60335-2-79, CARB 2020, and California Proposition 65, and why these are important for your company, become a member of CETA and visit the members only section at www.ceta.org.

     A COVID-19 CETA technical committee was established in March 2020. Calvin Rasmussen with Royce Industries shared how they worked to provide necessary information from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that allowed CETA members to identify as an essential business. The committee also worked to provide financial resources through the CARES Act and PPP loan program. 

     Yujin Anderson gave a presentation on the use of dry vapor steam as a way to clean a variety of surfaces, such as ambulance and subway interiors, and reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 through contact with contaminated surfaces.

     The relaunch of CETA University is an exciting new benefit to CETA membership. As the 2020 CETA business report states, “With the new CETA University platform, members will be able to access a library of videos to assist them when training new employees in the office, or it can also be used in the field. The content library will be a collection of how-to videos and best practices gathered from experts both inside and outside of the industry, covering a wide range of topics.” This is a great resource.

     Mark your calendars for a regional meeting in May in Minnesota and for PowerClean 2021 in September. Visit ceta.org and consider all the benefits of becoming a member to help your company move forward confidently in 2021.