"The Cleanzone has developed significantly upwards"

Cleanroom Award 2013

Christiane Schwittay and Paulo Santos

Robert Jan Buis

Annett Michel

Frank Spehl

Thomas Wollstein

Prof. Gernod Dittel

Ruth Lorenz

Anja Diete

Dr. Lothar Gail

Roman Czech

Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Blattner

"The concept has succeeded. Both the interdisciplinary approach and the sharpened profile of the trade fair and congress were very well received," said Ruth Lorenz, Head of "New Events" at Messe Frankfurt, as Cleanzone 2013 closed its doors after two days. The second edition of the trade fair for cleanroom technology reached new target groups from important industries and countries. Messe Frankfurt launched Cleanzone last year at the initiative of the cleanroom industry. It is overseen content-wise by the Leipzig Cleanroom Academy.

The organizers recorded an increase in visitor numbers of about one-third to 800 this year, and the number of exhibitors grew from 40 to 50, coming from nine European countries. The top five visitor nations were the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, and the USA.

Congress shows future perspectives

The Cleanzone Congress, organized parallel to the trade fair, focused in 2013 on the globally increasing demands in industry and on new solutions for the healthcare sector. With the high quality of their technical presentations, the international speakers emphasized the scientific claim of this new platform and covered a broad spectrum from cross-industry trends to specialized fields of cleanroom technology. One of the highlights of the congress was the appearance of cardiologist Dr. C. Luis Vasquez. With his lecture on the diagnostic center in Yantalo in the Peruvian Amazon, the founder and president of the Yantalo Peru Foundation demonstrated the specific challenges of maintaining a sterile environment for rural areas in many countries around the world—and how creative solutions can look.

reinaum-online was also present at Cleanzone and spoke with exhibitors and visitors:

Beaming faces at Cleanzone Plaza: Christiane Schwittay, Marketing Director of basan GmbH, a specialist for cleanroom materials, received the "Cleanroom Award 2013" for innovations in cleanroom technology together with Paulo Santos from the Portuguese company Laborial. The award, presented by the Leipzig Cleanroom Academy, is endowed with 3,000 euros. Basan distributes the "Blautouch" from the Portuguese manufacturer Laborial, a touchscreen embedded in a glass table with a chemically resistant surface specifically developed for cleanroom requirements. "This helps us avoid the well-known contamination problems caused by keyboards and mice," explained Paulo Santos, International Manager at Laborial. His colleagues in Maia, Portugal, received the news of winning the innovation award by phone with great jubilation. "They were over the moon," reported Santos.

With very good feelings, Robert Jan Buis came to Cleanzone. No wonder, as last year the Dutch company "Technology of Sense B.V.," where he works as Vice President Sales & Marketing, won the Cleanroom Award for the best innovation in cleanroom technology. This year, Buis was able to award the new prize winner "Laborial" from Portugal. The device called "Apmon" measures particle deposits in real time. It has thus become a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) for "Technology of Sense." "We received many inquiries and were able to significantly improve the device, which we initially introduced as a prelaunch," he said. Now production and sales have started.

"Very satisfied with the positive development of Cleanzone," said Annett Michel from the Leipzig Cleanroom Academy. The idea of a "somewhat different trade fair concept," implemented for the second time, has succeeded. "By midday on the first day, we had already reached the total visitor count of last year," she said with joy. Her goal is to bring together more and more people involved with cleanrooms. "This now includes many industries; even the Federal Criminal Police Office works with cleanroom technology." Cleanzone should contribute to the industry’s coming together as a place of encounter and mutual learning.

"The professional audience is here," said Frank Spehl, Sales Director of AAF-Lufttechnik GmbH, the oldest air filter manufacturer in the world, happily. "Nevertheless, I wish there were even more visitors," he said, but added: "You have to give the trade fair time to develop." An important factor for him is that the price-performance ratio is right. His company presented the innovative filter material "Nelior" at Cleanzone, which enables significant energy savings thanks to reduced pressure loss.

Thomas Wollstein, responsible for Facility Management at the German Engineers Association (VDI), used Cleanzone among other things for a meeting with a group of measurement technology specialists. "We are working on developing a classification of air purity in the nanoparticle range," he explained. As chips become smaller and measurement methods more precise, the requirements for purity increase. "What used to be considered a small particle is now as large as a potato for us," he said. He explained how much cleanrooms have also gained importance for everyday products, using toast bread as an example. Thanks to improved manufacturing processes, microbial contamination has been significantly reduced. "This means that toast bread no longer molds as quickly as before." He complimented Cleanzone 2013: "The trade fair has developed significantly upward."

Prof. Gernod Dittel, CEO of Dittel Engineering, was pleased about "very good conversations at Cleanzone." "The audience is very international," said the expert for planning, qualification, and measurement technology in the cleanroom sector. He does not see Cleanzone as a sales fair but as a place for substantive discussion and scientific exchange. "Here, people finally have time to talk to each other." He definitely sees a future for the trade fair in Frankfurt. After all, there are still many companies "that should be here."

For Ruth Lorenz, Head of "New Events" at Messe Frankfurt, this was her first Cleanzone. "I recently took over this area," she told reinraum-online. Not only because of that, she found the trade fair "super exciting." Although she had never worked directly with cleanrooms before, "here I can really grasp the things." She sees the large number of visitors from abroad as proof of Cleanzone's attractiveness. Looking to the future, she is not worried: "The trade fair has very good potential." Still, she cautions: "We must not forget that we are operating in a niche." Where does she see Cleanzone in five years? "As a platform where the industry meets."
This should also be contributed by the 120 representatives of Messe Frankfurt worldwide, said event manager Anja Diete. She was pleased not only with the increase in exhibitors from 40 to 50 at the second event but also with "the fact that companies brought significantly more exhibits this time than last year," when brochures still dominated even more. This brought much more life into the hall.

For around 40 years, Dr. Lothar Gail has been dealing with questions of cleanroom technology and advising companies on GMP issues. He was pleased that it was possible to create an attractive trade fair for the industry with Cleanzone. "Everything here is well organized and shows a representative cross-section," he noted. Gail moderated a panel discussion on "New Cleanroom Standards – Revision of ISO 14644-1 and -2" at Cleanzone Plaza. His conclusion: The era of national standards is finally over: "There is only one cleanroom technology worldwide with internationally valid rules."

For Roman Czech, Managing Director of Cleanroom Technology Austria GmbH and First Chairman of the Austrian Cleanroom Society (ÖRRG), Cleanzone is a must-attend event: "This is where people meet." Five of the approximately 100 ÖRRG members presented themselves at a joint booth in Frankfurt and provided information about equipment for mobile sterile air supply in operating rooms, monitoring systems, and air filters. Czech sees his participation in two directions: on one hand, into the international industry network, and on the other, into the domestic scene: "The Austrian visitors should see what we are doing for the industry."

"Cleanzone is an important date on my calendar," admitted Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Blattner, head of the engineering firm BSR. "Because this is where people meet and exchange ideas." For him, the focus was on cleanroom standards, which is why he sought exchange with colleagues from VDI and ISO. He considers Frankfurt an ideal trade fair location, easily accessible from everywhere. He also plans to participate again in 2014 with his own booth. The date, October 21 and 22, 2014, is already in his calendar.