National Clothesline

With its biennial trade show convention on Sept. 16 and 17 at the Atlantic City Convention Center fast approaching, the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners Association has announced its program of seminars for the weekend.

Starting on Saturday morning, the association will offer a panel discussion on “New Challenges, A Look at the Changing Environmental Picture.”

Many changes, inspections and new regulations took place during the past year so the invited panelists will detail the outlook of the new regulatory landscape and tell cleaners how it will directly affect them.

The program was developed in response to new initiatives from federal and state officials and is designed to help cleaners work seamlessly through the new requirements.

The session will be moderated by PDCA Vice President Dale Kaplan, who also serves as the association ’s liaison for government affairs.

On Sunday, PDCA will offer an encore presentation of last Expo’s successful “Breakfast with the Best.”

Working on the idea of turning savings into profits, discussion leaders will provide information and ideas on energy saving, cost control and maximizing marketing budgets.

Every participant will take part in group discussions on each topic during breakfast.

In addition to the educational offerings, PDCA’s show will also feature an exhibit floor chock full of the latest equipment, supplies and services available in the industry.

So far, the Expo 2006 exhibit floor is filling up quickly, with two-thirds of the planned booths already taken. In fact, PDCA has a list of 80 exhibiting companies on its web site.

The free exhibit will be open on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will also be open to the public on Sunday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This year’s headquarters hotel is the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel, conveniently located across the street from the convention center and only a few blocks from such designer outlets as Coach, Kenneth Cole, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger and more.

Room rates are available at a special rate of $159 per night. Attendees can sign up by using the official PDCA web site, www.pdclean.org, or by calling the hotel directly at (609) 344-3535 and mentioning the PDCA convention.

This year, the theme of the show is “The Shore Road to Success.”

For more information, contact the PDCA office at (800) 822-7352.

PDCA will also be making online registration forms available soon so that cleaners can sign up early and obtain speed badges, helping them to avoid lines at the front entrance.