Industrial component cleaning conference 2024: 20 years of FiT

At the 32nd Industrial Component Cleaning Conference from September 11-12, 2024, experts from the component cleaning industry met at the Dorint Hotel in Dresden to take part in a total of 15 presentations, visit the industry exhibition with 26 exhibitors and hold countless interesting discussions. Under the expert leadership of Dr. Michael Flämmich as Chairman of the FiT, the trade association also celebrated its 20th anniversary, which provided an opportunity to look back on the development of industrial component cleaning. In his presentation, Dr. Flämmich recalled the most important milestones in industrial component cleaning in the various areas, from chemistry to applications, with individual highlights such as the introduction of test inks in the 1980s or the development of VDA 19 Technical Cleanliness as a standard. The FiT itself and its specialist committees and their members were also presented. With 90 member companies, the Fit is now the leading expert network for component cleaning. Just as the German cleaning technology sector is not only a pioneer, but also a global leader. Looking to the future, it was noted that the requirements in cleaning technology will continue to increase, development cycles will become shorter and speeds will increase, which will remain a challenge for the industry.

The other presentations were divided into the thematic blocks of Chemistry & Environment, Processes & Systems, Measuring & Testing and Process Solutions. Here, too, there were reviews of developments over the past decades, for example in the two presentations on solvent cleaning through the ages by Dipl.-Ing. Markus Mitschele and the presentation by Ulrike Kunz on aqueous parts cleaning through the ages. Among other things, the participants were able to take an exciting journey back in time to the beginnings of parts cleaning in the form of manual cleaning with decoction degreasing or white spirit. Gerhard Koblenzer also went into the development of processes and procedures in plant engineering and parts cleaning in general, which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. In stark contrast to this are the modern requirements, for example in the area of high purity. But also today's industry-wide trends such as resource efficiency and sustainability, which Michael Schnaufer highlighted in his presentation. On the second day of the event, participants were able to find out everything that is happening in the field of analysis in three presentations, which focused on measurement technology developments and the current and future status of VDA 19, which Dr. Markus Rochowicz presented in his talk. Last but not least, Thomas Kenyeri picked up on the trending topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and spoke about AI in companies, which the component cleaning industry also has to deal with. In addition to the presentations, the focus of the event was the presentation of the Fit2clean innovation award(as reported by Oberfläche-Online). The next 33rd FiT Industrial Component Cleaning Conference, organized by trade fair organizer fairXperts, will take place from 26 - 27 June 2025 at the Neckar Forum Esslingen.