On the way to becoming the market leader in the king class

Bright smiles at the opening of CWS-boco's cleanroom laundry in Heidenheim: (from left) the managing directors of CWS-boco Germany Hans Schwob, Detlef Kröpelin, Dr. Ulrich David, Florian Hünke from Podewils, as well as the managing director of CWS-boco International, Max Teichner, and the mayor of Heidenheim, Rainer Domberg.

The management and the mayor cutting the ribbon for the opening: from left to right: Dr. Ulrich David, Hans Schwob, Detlef Kröpelin (all management of CWs-boco Germany), Mayor Rainer Domberg, Florian Hünke von Podewils (management of CWs-boco Germany), Max Teichner (CEO CWS-boco Group).

In an ISO Class 4 cleanroom, the employees of CWS-boco fold and package the washed cleanroom clothing.

The airtight packaged clothing leaves the cleanroom via a conveyor belt and is transported to the customer in special containers, which are sealed with a seal. (Photo: Klaus Eckardt)

Each piece of clothing is scanned before it goes into the washing machine. (Photo: Klaus Eckardt)

With the new cleanroom laundry in Heidenheim (Baden-Württemberg) and the associated rental laundry service, CWS-boco Germany GmbH has arrived in the "kingdom of professional clothing." "This work requires the highest level of quality and responsibility," said Max Teichner, Managing Director of CWS-boco International GmbH, at the official inauguration on Wednesday, September 3, 2014. The company, which has been active for many years in the business fields of rental professional clothing, washroom hygiene, and dirt trap mats, aims not only to establish a foothold in the cleanroom industry but also aspires, according to Teichner, to market leadership.

Internationally, CWS-boco has been active in the cleanroom business for nearly ten years: with the acquisition of the Irish company "National Linen," they also acquired the first cleanroom laundry in 2005, followed by others in China, Belgium, and Poland. "There really is no reason why we are only now starting in Germany," said Max Teichner self-critically, but this late start gave him a decisive advantage: "We now have the most modern cleanroom laundry in Germany and are thus something like the king of kings."

Detlef Kröpelin, spokesperson for the management of CWS-boco Germany, also expressed his satisfaction about the gap in the company's service offerings. As more and more industrial sectors develop and produce in cleanrooms, "we must also offer this as the market leader in professional clothing." Even more than in the core business, it is crucial here to earn and constantly earn back the trust of customers.

The cleanroom laundry in Heidenheim, which is attached to the CWS-boco laundry for professional clothing that has been in operation for over 25 years, starts with a capacity of 12,500 items per week, which can be increased to 19,000 items in the short term. But even then, it is not supposed to stop: the entire system is modularly designed and can be expanded gradually.

Initially, Heidenheim is equipped with a two-chamber washing machine, which, according to CWS-boco cleanroom expert Werner Münnich, can hold 56 kilograms of laundry. The laundry is thermally disinfected at at least 60 degrees and then washed with ultra-pure water and automatically dosed detergent. The extraction side is located in a roughly 40-square-meter cleanroom of ISO class 4, where the garments are machine-dried and then hand-folded and hermetically packed before passing through a sluice into the less sterile shipping room (ISO class 7). There, the individual batches, whose path can also be continuously tracked by customers via chips and barcodes, are packed into tamper-evident transport containers. Customers with particularly high requirements for germ-free conditions are additionally offered the possibility of steam sterilization by CWS-boco.

About CWS-boco Germany

The CWS-boco Germany GmbH is a national subsidiary of CWS-boco International GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Duisburg-based Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH. With full-service offerings in washroom hygiene solutions, dirt trap mats, and professional clothing, the entire CWS-boco group achieved a total turnover of 748 million euros in the fiscal year 2013. CWS-boco Germany employs around 3,500 staff from more than 55 nations and about 40 trainees. The company's headquarters are located in Dreieich, Hesse. As a service partner for washroom hygiene, dirt trap mats, and textile services, CWS-boco offers system solutions for companies of all industries and sizes.