No dust and germs: Cleanzone 2015 informs about current trends in cleanroom technology

The number of high-tech products manufactured in cleanrooms is constantly increasing. In the pharmaceutical industry, the cleanroom primarily serves to protect the patient by preventing contamination of medications by pathogenic germs. Conversely, the semiconductor industry produces in a clean environment to minimize production downtime. Even a tiny speck of dust can disable a circuit on a microchip. The industry showcases innovations in building, operating, and monitoring cleanrooms at Cleanzone, the international trade fair with a congress for cleanroom technology, on October 27 and 28, 2015, in Frankfurt am Main. Wolfgang Marzin, Chairman of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, on the concept of the event, which is already taking place for the fourth time this year: “Cleanzone is aimed at all high-tech industries that produce in cleanrooms. It promotes interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and expertise between research, industry, and application.”

The growth prospects for production in controlled environments are good. According to a study, the global cleanroom area grew by about 5 percent from 2013 to 2014, reaching 12.17 million square meters. Experts expect this trend to continue. For Frank Duvernell, Managing Director of the Cleanroom Academy in Leipzig, this increases the importance of events like Cleanzone: “An increasing number of specialists from research, production, logistics, and services need to acquire current cleanroom knowledge. The international trade fair Cleanzone with its congress provides excellent foundations for this.”

The technological development and the trend toward ever smaller structures are responsible for the growing number of cleanrooms. Whether smartphones, tablets, LEDs, OLED screens, the photovoltaic system on the roof, airbags in cars, or lithium-ion batteries under the hood—all these high-tech products are now produced in cleanrooms due to their sensitivity. The same applies to mechanical industries, such as the watchmaking industry, which manufactures with high precision, or new developments in medical technology, such as microchips embedded with biosensors that continuously dispense medication. In the food industry, manufacturing in sterile environments is gaining importance. Toast and sausage, cut and packaged in the cleanroom without preservatives, are long-lasting.

The positive development in cleanroom manufacturing is reflected at Cleanzone. Since its founding in 2012, the event has been growing continuously. This year, 88 manufacturers are presenting themselves, which is 40 percent more than a year ago. Ruth Lorenz, Head of Technology & Production at Messe Frankfurt, explains what visitors can expect from Cleanzone: “We are presenting a research project funded by the EU that deals with measuring contamination in cleanrooms; the international cleanroom association ICCCS is participating for the first time, and we have strengthened the product area Cleanroom2. This great interest in the trade fair shows that we are on the right track with our international and interdisciplinary concept.”

1 Source: World Cleanroom Markets Report, McIlvaine Company, Northfield, Illinois, USA
2 The difference between a cleanroom and a sterile room lies in the consideration of particle sizes. In a cleanroom, particles up to 5 micrometers are considered, while in a sterile room, particles over 600 micrometers are considered.