Looking for innovative solutions for industrial parts cleaning

The coveted FiT2clean Award was secured in 2025 by BO-INNO GmbH, represented by Managing Director Peter Borst, with a smart data tracker for real-time recording and storage of relevant process parameters. (Image source: Fachverband industrielle Teilereinigung e.V.)

The FiT2clean Award, endowed with €10,000 and a one-year free membership, annually honors innovative solutions and outstanding performance in industrial component cleaning.

The application phase for the 5th FiT2clean Award of the Professional Association for Industrial Part Cleaning e. V. (FiT) has begun. Manufacturers, providers, and users from all segments of industrial cleaning technology are invited to apply with forward-looking solutions to current challenges in component cleaning. The deadline for submissions is May 24, 2026. The award ceremony for the €10,000 innovation prize will take place during the 34th Conference on "Industrial Component Cleaning" on June 25, 2026, in Esslingen.

New and modified products, innovative manufacturing technologies and materials, higher requirements for cost efficiency, stability, and sustainability of processes, as well as the digitalization of manufacturing – changes in many areas of industry also affect component cleaning. "Innovations and developments in industrial cleaning technology therefore make an important contribution to strengthening the competitiveness and value creation of manufacturing companies," reports Dr. Michael Flämmisch, Chairman of the Professional Association for Industrial Part Cleaning (FiT). "The goal of the FiT2clean Award is to promote solutions for the numerous challenges in component cleaning, advance them, and make them visible." The innovation prize, endowed with €10,000 and a one-year free membership in the professional association, has been awarded annually by FiT since 2022.

Applications in three categories

For participation in the fifth edition, national and international manufacturers, providers, and users from all areas of industrial cleaning technology are invited – from plant and process engineering to media monitoring and treatment, to process monitoring and control, as well as cleanliness analysis. For the 2026 award, innovative solutions, currently implemented product ideas, and developments can be submitted until May 24, in the following categories:

– Innovation: New product or product variation to meet current requirements in industrial component cleaning.
– Ecology: Solutions for industrial component cleaning or for changing a product, process, or application case, resulting in resource-optimized process management or resource savings.
– QSRein 4.0: Innovative system solution for knowledge-based process management in industrial component cleaning.

Award ceremony on June 25 in Esslingen during the conference

The submitted applications will be evaluated by an independent expert jury – consisting of individuals from science, research, industry, and media – according to defined criteria. The three finalists will then present their solutions on June 25, 2026, in Esslingen to the participants of the 34th Conference on "Industrial Component Cleaning." The presentation of the 5th FiT2clean Award will follow immediately afterward.

Further information about the FiT2clean Award, the expert jury, as well as participation conditions and application documents, can be found on the FiT homepage (www.fit-online.org/fit2clean) and for the conference at www.industrielle-reinigung.de.