For the third part of our Behind the Scenes of Interclean series, we meet the man who makes sure that everyone walking through the doors of our shows enjoys the best time possible – and gets the most value they can, whether exhibitor or visitor.
Getting the most from every show
There’s a good reason that so many of our visitors and exhibitors come back to Interclean shows year after year: because they get a huge amount of value from their experience. There’s no point in being the largest professional cleaning and hygiene show if people aren’t coming away with plenty of new ideas, products and services they can use to overcome their biggest challenges. So, it’s a good job we have Robert Stelling on the team to make sure everyone gets what they came for.
As our Exhibition Manager, Robert is in charge of bringing the best out of every exhibition – both in Amsterdam and Istanbul. And he’s now done that at so many editions of our shows that he’s almost lost count. Good job we know it’s two in Central & Eastern Europe, two in Latin America, six in North America, two in Istanbul and four in Amsterdam (and counting…)
Influencing every area of Interclean
One of the things that Robert enjoys most about his role is that it has so much variety. From marketing and sales to operations and finance, he has to have an eye on pretty much every aspect of each show to make sure it’s set to be as good as it can possibly be.
All of it is aimed at answering one question: will Interclean attendees get value from being there? And, while this might seem simple, anticipating and adapting to the needs and expectations of so many different organisations and people from sectors across the industry is a major challenge.
Fortunately, it’s a challenge that Robert relishes each time – and he hasn’t failed to overcome it yet. Working with the rest of the Interclean team, he helps to deliver many of the innovations that keep each edition of a show fresh and exciting – not to mention useful to exhibitors and visitors alike.
Coming full circle to the future
Robert has so many great memories from across the years and exhibitions, but one of his favourites from an Interclean show is actually from the 2018 edition in Amsterdam. For the first time, we held the Interclean Full Circle Run – a fun 5k run that took participants around the show itself.
It was a unique way to see the exhibition floor before the show got up and running that morning – and many used it as a chance to network with their peers (as well as keeping fit). For Robert, however, it gave him an opportunity to look back on our journey to that moment in time.
“I’m particularly proud of it, as we celebrated that Interclean used the entire RAI complex for the first time,” he says. “How great it was to run through these halls, what a proud feeling to see the show grow so much since 2012 and be to be part of the team that helped make that growth happen.”
Taking time out to travel
With Interclean Istanbul just around the corner in 2019, Robert’s no doubt hard at work discovering new ways to make that show even better than last time. He’s probably also managed to get away from the office for a holiday or two… He loves to travel, and the question ‘are you on holiday AGAIN?’ is often heard in the office.
Either way, Robert can guarantee that exhibitors and visitors will always have the best time at Interclean shows, while coming away with great ideas to improve their businesses.
Meet Rob den Hertog »Meet Marjolijn van Loon »
Meet Hilke de Vries »
