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ATLANTA — Registration is now open for Clean 2013, scheduled for June 20-22, 2013, in New Orleans. Attendees can easily register online at the show’s website for the discounted rate of $99 a person (on-site registration will be $149 per person). All registrations can be made with credit card or check.

The Clean Show—officially the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—is the world’s largest exhibition of commercial laundry, dry cleaning and textile services equipment and ancillary products. Attendees can see and compare working equipment through live demonstrations.

“I am constantly asked why should I come to the Clean Show or why should I exhibit,” says John Riddle, president of longtime Clean Show management firm Riddle & Associates. “There are many reasons. You will see the newest equipment, learn about new services, see working demonstrations, and have access to outstanding industry education.

“In today’s world of electronic communication, it is nice to have the opportunity to communicate with someone eye-to-eye, face-to-face, and talk with them about industry issues. It’s a great chance to renew old friendships and make new ones. These are just several reasons I think making this trip is worth the time, effort and money.”

Reservations for official Clean Show hotels can be made on the show’s website (special show rates are available only through the Clean Show Housing Bureau).

To learn more about Clean 2013, visit the show website or contact Riddle & Associates, 404-876-1988, info@cleanshow.com.

ATLANTA — The Clean Executive Committee (CEC) has unveiled a brand-new mission statement for the Clean Show that it believes reflects and promotes the exchange of new ideas before, during and after the event.

A thorough review of all aspects of the every-other-year show led the group to adopt the following: “The Clean Show provides a global forum for bringing together garment and textile care services professionals for the purpose of sharing ideas, business practices and the latest products, services and innovations as well as raising the level of professionalism in the industry.”

In keeping with the spirit of this statement, the CEC has relaxed certain rules regarding the convening of affiliate groups during trade show hours. In the past, meetings were restricted to hours outside education and exhibit hours (which traditionally run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), but now exhibiting companies and industry associations can schedule their sales, distributor or group meetings during educational sessions or between the hours of noon and 2 p.m.

David Cotter, CEO of the Textile Care Allied Trades Association and chairman of the 2013 Clean Show in New Orleans, supports the new direction. “We believe the new rules will support an environment where exhibitors and attendees can conduct business and meet with others more freely.”

The CEC is comprised of representatives from the five sponsoring associations, including the Coin Laundry Association.

The New Orleans Morial Convention Center will host the Clean Show on June 20-22, 2013. More than 400 companies are expected to exhibit.

ATLANTA — Four members of a Cobb County document fraud ring that made counterfeit Social Security cards, permanent resident cards, and other fake identification documents and then sold them from a Smyrna Laundromat have been sentenced to federal prison on a charge of conspiring to produce fraudulent identification documents, United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates reports.

The defendants, all from Mexico, received sentences ranging from nine to 28 months, plus two years supervised probation. Four additional co-defendants in the scheme have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing on various dates over the next three months.

The organization used a coin laundry located in Smyrna to facilitate the sale of the counterfeit documents and offered their services to illegal aliens who frequented the Laundromat.

Between March 2010 and August 2011, Homeland Security Investigations agents, U.S. Secret Service agents and investigators with the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection purchased counterfeit identification documents at various locations in Cobb County, Ga., as part of an undercover operation.

The documents included Social Security cards, permanent resident cards and State of Georgia driver’s licenses. Using physical and video surveillance, agents determined the location of the organization’s counterfeit document production facility.

In September 2011, agents executed a search warrant at an apartment complex in Marietta, Ga. Agents recovered document-making equipment, including computers and printers, and recovered electronic files containing more than 2,000 images of fraudulent identification documentation, including Social Security cards, permanent resident cards, birth certificates, driver’s licenses from more than 20 states, and various other documents. Firearms were also recovered.

“Manufacturing counterfeit identification documents is a serious problem in our community,” Yates says. “These defendants ran an operation that enabled many illegal aliens to get their hands on identification that made it appear as if they were legally in the United States. This crime impacts our community in many ways, not the least of which is the negative impact on the credit history and financial well-being of people whose Social Security numbers were unlawfully used on the counterfeit documents.”

“This case demonstrates the wide-reaching effects of the manufacturing and selling of counterfeit identification documents and its impact on innocent victims and our communities,” says Reginald Moore, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “The importance of cooperation among our law enforcement partners remains paramount to our ability to catch those that are involved in these types of fraudulent activities.”

CHICAGO — The arrival of fall can only mean one thing for self-service laundry operators — a calendar full of opportunities to attend manufacturer and distributor special events, open houses and service schools. Here is a brief rundown of events from the AmericanCoinOp.com calendar through October—call or visit the website listed for registration information. In many cases, space is limited.

Monday — Alco Washer Center Open House, Erie, Pa.; 800-633-7153, www.alcowasher.com.

Wednesday and Thursday — BDS Laundry Systems Open House and Product Show, St. Paul, Minn.; 800-688-0020, www.bdslaundry.com.

Wednesday and Thursday — Gold Coin Laundry Equipment Founder’s Day Open House, Jamaica, N.Y.; 718-658-2646, www.goldcoinlaundry.com.

Thursday — Wholesale Commercial Laundry Co. SE Commercial Laundry Show, Atlanta; 866-544-7228, www.laundryman.com.

Friday — Dexter Service School at Western State Design, Hayward, Calif.; 800-633-7153, www.westernstatedesign.com.

Sept. 17 — PWS The Laundry Company Annual Fall Show, Los Angeles; 323-721-8832, www.pwslaundry.com.

Sept. 19 — American Dryer Corp. Coin-Store Service School, Fall River, Mass.; sepps@amdry.com.

Sept. 21 — Midwest Laundries Fall Open House & Service School, Chicago; www.midwestlaundries.com/community/special-events.html.

Oct. 3-7 — Maytag Commercial Laundry Fall Coin Service School, St. Joseph, Mich.; www.maytagcommerciallaundry.com.

Oct. 5 — Dexter Service School at Launette, Laurel, Md.; 800-229-3036, www.launette.com.

Oct. 5 — Star Distributing Open House/Service School, Nashville, Tenn.; 800-897-7570, www.stardistributing.com.

Oct. 7 — Dexter Service School at Western State Design, Cerritos, Calif.; 800-633-7153, www.westernstatedesign.com.

Oct. 8 — Western State Design Open House, Cerritos, Calif.; 800-633-7153, www.westernstatedesign.com.

Oct. 10 — Sav-A-Day Laundry Machinery 53rd Annual Open House/Sale, St. Louis; 800-489-9274, www.sav-a-day.com.

Oct. 11 — Maytag Commercial Laundry Service School at Coin & Professional Equipment Co., Phoenix; www.maytagcommerciallaundry.com.

Oct. 11 — Southeastern Laundry/Dexter Open House, Marietta, Ga.; 800-522-9274, www.selaundryequip.com.

Oct. 12 — Maytag Commercial Laundry Service School at Coin & Professional Equipment Co., Tucson, Ariz.; www.maytagcommerciallaundry.com.

Oct. 12 — SAMCO Fall Distributor Showcase and Education Conference, Fayetteville, Ga.; 800-969-7627, www.southernautomatic.com.

Oct. 13 — Laundry Concepts Open House and Service School, Addison, Ill.; 800-845-3903, www.laundryconcepts.com.

Oct. 13 — Maytag Commercial Laundry Service School at Loomis Bros., St. Louis; www.maytagcommerciallaundry.com.

Oct. 17-20 — Maytag Commercial Laundry Fall Factory Sales School, St. Joseph, Mich.; www.maytagcommerciallaundry.com.

Oct. 18 — Dexter Service School, Albany, N.Y.; www.macgray.com/october.

Oct. 19 — Dexter Service School, Milford, Conn.; www.macgray.com/october.

Oct. 20 — Dexter Service School, Waltham, Mass.; www.macgray.com/october.

Oct. 25 — Star Distributing Co. Open House, Atlanta; 800-897-7570, www.stardistributing.com.

Oct. 27 — Coin & Professional Equipment Co. Open House & Product Expo, Phoenix; 602-248-0808, www.cpec-laundry.com.

Check the AmericanCoinOp.com calendar periodically for updates. If your company has a similar event that’s upcoming but you don’t see it listed here, post it free today. Click here to get started!

ATLANTA — Dates for Clean 2013 in New Orleans have been rescheduled to June 20-22, a Thursday-Saturday show.

“This allows attendees to return home on Sunday to start their workweek on Monday, or gives them an opportunity to stay and enjoy a day in New Orleans after the show,” says David Cotter, chairman of Clean 2013 and CEO of Textile Care Allied Trades Association.

Original dates for the 2013 show announced at Clean 2011 were Friday-Sunday, June 21-23. The three-day-show format in 2013, the first since 1981, is in response to exhibitor and attendee feedback. The show will run three full days rather than close early on the last day to allow time for everyone to fully experience the exhibits.

The 2015 exhibition in Atlanta and the 2017 gathering in Las Vegas were also announced as three-day shows, but Cotter says the biennial event could return to four days if that proves to work better for exhibitors and attendees.

Clean 2011 in Las Vegas drew 11,200 people, a 13% increase over Clean ’09, according to show manager Riddle & Associates. In addition to attendees from all 50 states and Washington D.C., there were visitors from 87 other countries.

ATLANTA — For those who will be attending the Clean Show in Las Vegas this summer, planning ahead to maximize use of their time is easy thanks to tools on the event’s website, www.cleanshow.com, says show manager Riddle & Associates.