Behind the Scenes of Interclean part four: Meet Marjolijn van Loon

When you’re hosting the largest professional cleaning show in the world, it’s all about building relationships and maintaining new ones. In the fourth part of our Behind the Scenes of Interclean series, we take a look at the person who helps to build this bubbling community – our very own Sales Manager, Marjolijn van Loon.

We’re all in this together

Working in the professional cleaning show business isn’t like any other trade show. Life-long friendships are forged between the team, exhibitors and even visitors. For Marjolijn in particular, that means getting boots on the ground and getting involved with the conversation – sharing in the delights of the constant to-and-fro of ideas, insights and tips with other like-minded professionals and creating a real sense of community on the floor.

Getting to know each and every exhibitor personally is something Marjolijn feels is incredibly important to the show’s continued success. As she says herself: “the cleaning and hygiene industry is a real people business.” And she’s not wrong – it’s the people themselves that really make the show into what it is. By forging strong relationships with all the exhibitors and the visitors alike, she’s able to introduce like-minded people together and prompt a discussion between them, helping to create new connections and strong bonds across the exhibition halls.

Building a community

This sense of community could definitely be felt at the last Interclean show in Amsterdam in 2018. The largest show to date, all of the exhibition halls were filled to capacity and abuzz with lively and spirited debate between professionals. People from all over the world, connecting with new people they may never have even considered speaking to out in the real world, all united by this one shared passion – it’s truly something special and it was certainly one of the proudest moments that Marjolijn has had since she began working on Interclean.

Though Amsterdam 2018 is her greatest success to date, Marjolijn also had a hand in organising exhibitors for both ISSA/Interclean North America in 2017, as well as the Interclean Istanbul 2017 show – and each time her enthusiasm and passion for the industry and building relationships helped to propel the shows to new, greater heights.  With her unwavering positivity, she’s seen every show as a new challenge and another opportunity to bring the community closer together.

Going global

The desire to connect with people from all over the world makes Interclean successful, and it’s a desire that Marjolijn shares herself. An avid traveller, she loves nothing more than to explore new places, meet new people and share in good conversation. It’s this affinity for socialising and travelling that made Interclean the perfect fit for her. As she says herself, “In this role, I was able to combine my travel experiences with my strongest personal trait – building relationships.”

Having an international platform like Interclean, where industry professionals can bounce ideas and innovations off one another, is integral to the continued momentum of the industry. By connecting with a whole variety of professionals working in different sectors, the industry continues to evolve and adapt at a rapid pace. Conversations like these are exactly why Marjolijn loves her job – being the driving force behind bringing all of these professionals together from all over the globe is both a challenge and a joy for her.