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Healthy into the future
7th of May 2013 Article by Markus Asch
Markus Asch, vice chairman of the management board at cleaning equipment manufacturer Kärcher and president of EUnited Cleaning, writes his latest blog for the ECJ website. He examines the part cleanliness has to play in health and wellbeing and asks how the industry can maximise the associated opportunities.
Cleaning has many aspects, as can be seen from an internet search that reveals an incredible 745,000,000 hits. Learning from this, it becomes very clear which significance cleaning has especially in connection with health. In addition to personal hygiene it is matter of cleaning one's living and work surroundings - from hygienically sound sanitary facilities via kitchens and offices to public transport facilities.
Nobody doubts that there is still considerable growth potential for our industry here. Even in the most heavily industrialised countries 90 per cent of cleaning problems have yet to be solved. Furthermore, there can be few areas of human activity in which manual labour is still so prevalent. Even in highly sensitive areas such as hospitals or nursing homes manual cleaning is still the rule.
Global epidemics such as SARS, bird flu or swine flu also demonstrate that cleanliness is not a luxury of a spoiled and cosseted society but is absolutely indispensable in a networked world.
Health is a megatrend and thus a global development that will strongly influence the needs of all of us in the decades to come. As futurologists have discovered, health is no longer just a result of external circumstances but has gained a new meaning. It is changing from a state of not being ill to an active attitude toward or awareness of life.
Medical care and environmental influences may continue to play a crucial role, but health is increasingly seen as a matter of individual performance with a significant influence on personal development and quality of life. An enormous market is developing and maturing into a core sector of our economy.
That is why, at the association level, we have set ourselves the target of positioning our industry even better in this connection. In the different organisational bodies we are working toward underscoring the value of our work in this area even more clearly.
Wellbeing is a good selling point and has long penetrated all areas of life and consumption. Let us make use of society's increased health awareness for a successful future for our industry!
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