The Johnson family is dropping its name from the second largest provider of floor care, cleaning and disinfection products, as JohnsonDiversey Inc. has accepted a $477 million investment from a private equity firm.

That was the biggest news to come out of the ISSA/Interclean North America 2009 exhibit and conference held in Chicago last month.

Now a global company doing more than floor care, the $3 billion-a-year Racine, Wis. company will now be known as Diversey, Inc. The investment is part of a $2.6 billion recapitalization plan and a $1.9 billion debt financing package.

The company’s new name will be simplified to Diversey, Inc. The Johnson family will maintain control of the company with S. Curtis Johnson remaining chairman. James G. Berges, operating partner of Dubilier & Rice, Inc. of New York City, will serve as chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors. Though many attendees of ISSA/Interclean expressed surprise by the dropping of the Johnson family name, Diversey said its new corporate identity reflects elements of the strong global brand equity in the name and the growing market abroad.

“We’re doing more than floor care,” said Mark Goldman, director of Global External Communications for JohnsonDiversey. “We’re a global company, and the Diversey name has substantial equity in Europe.” He said the recapitalization helps the company to refinance under more favorable terms.

That wasn’t the only change being talked about at ISSA/Interclean. Though the make up of its membership has changed from exclusively distributors to include end users in the past few years, the cleaning industry association is “still alive and well,” said executive director John Garfinkel.

Despite concerns about the effects of the recession on attendance, Garfinkel said “we have had a very good show.” Though attendance this year is down a little over last year, it’s not extraordinarily so, thanks in part to the one in three who were attending the show for the first time.

Though much of the trade show industry has seen declines of 30 to 40 percent, “we have had a very good show,” he said, crediting the 86 new, first-time exhibitors who joined another 500 or so, according to Garfinkel. The number of distributor companies attending is up slightly, he said, though the number of people they’ve brought is down. “They’re quality attendees,” said Garfinkel. “The people who do the buying are the people who are here,” he said. Adding that the exhibitors are the ultimate judges of the success of the trade show. There are some constants, however, Garfinkel took time to recognize the 73 exhibitors in the Star 40 Club, those companies who have been members and exhibitors for at least 40 years.

The most senior members of the association have been exhibiting for 64 years, he said. They are Nilfisk Advance, Bobrick Washing Equipment, Minuteman, American Specialties, Fuller Brush, Geerpres, Hospeco (which is celebrating its 90th anniversary in business) Palmer Fixture, and 3M.

Twenty more companies have been exhibiting with ISSA for 60 years, 19 for 50 years and 17 more have been exhibiting members for 40 years.

The association also celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its alliance with the International Executive Housekeepers Association, and began laying the groundwork for the Building Services Contractors Association International joining the convention next year. More change. We’ll let you decide if it’s for the better or not.

Thanks and good luck.