Prague, 2 October 2026 – More than 200 participants gathered at Stages Hotel Prague on 1 October for the 29th edition of the INTERCLEAN conference, organised by the Czech Association for Textile Care (APaČ). This year’s traditional industry gathering focused primarily on the future of the Czech market, sustainability, energy savings, technological innovation and employee care.
One of the highlights of the programme was the presentation of a new study – the most comprehensive research into the Czech laundry and textile cleaning market to date. The study examined not only laundries and dry cleaners themselves, but also household behaviour and the needs of corporate customers. A total of 693 respondents took part in the three-part study – 434 consumers, 150 laundries and dry cleaners, and 109 corporate customers.
“The research has provided us with valuable data on how the Czech market, customer expectations and the operations of laundries and dry cleaners are evolving. At the same time, the fact that more than 200 people attended INTERCLEAN confirms that the industry is keen to address these topics together,” says Jana Puškáčová, President of the Czech Association for Textile Care.
Sustainability was another major theme of this year’s conference. The Czech Association for Textile Care presented its upcoming carbon footprint and water consumption calculator for laundries and dry cleaners, which is being developed in cooperation with experts from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology. The tool is designed to establish a unified calculation methodology, help businesses identify areas with the highest energy and water consumption or emissions, and eventually enable anonymous benchmarking between operations.
Attendance was not the only record this year. INTERCLEAN also featured the highest number of exhibition stands in the conference’s modern history, with 18 stands representing 16 companies. Participants had the opportunity to explore the latest technologies, products and solutions for professional textile care. A prominent presence was also maintained by the Association’s general partner, Christeyns, which presented its current direction in technology development for professional and industrial laundries under the concept “WOW – We Optimise Wisely”. The approach combines laundry chemistry, dosing and process monitoring with efficient water and energy management.
Employee wellbeing also received considerable attention. The organisation dobrokruh presented the first results of its anonymous counselling service available to employees of the Association’s member companies. During its first six months, the service recorded 107 requests for assistance and 280 consultations with specialists, while the average rating of the support provided was 1.2 on the Czech school grading scale, where 1 is the best possible score.
The full-day event concluded with an evening programme. Following the reception, Janek Ledecký Band performed live, while star bartender Marcel Jinoch provided the bar service. During his career in New York, Jinoch served, among other roles, as head bartender at the prestigious Manhattan restaurant Le Pavillon, where he prepared drinks for guests including Taylor Swift, Ivanka Trump and Brad Pitt. The entire event was hosted by actress and presenter Veronika Kadeřábková.
Preparations are already underway for the next edition. The 30th anniversary INTERCLEAN conference will take place on 7 October 2027 and will return to the OREA Congress Hotel in Brno, formerly Hotel Voroněž, where the history of the conference began.
“The 30th edition will be very special for us, and returning to the place where INTERCLEAN began decades ago adds another symbolic dimension to the anniversary. At the same time, we want to continue improving both the programme and the event as a whole. We have therefore sent a satisfaction survey to participants and our member companies, and we will greatly appreciate every piece of feedback that can help us make the anniversary edition even better,” says Jana Puškáčová, President of the Czech Association for Textile Care.
Photos and a video from this year’s conference are available HERE.
Czech Association for Textile Care