Clean valves and process components economically

A manufacturer of stainless steel components optimizes its wet-chemical cleaning process, reduces energy and water consumption and improves component cleanliness. Government funding reduces costs and increases profitability.

A manufacturer of stainless steel components wants to be able to keep its quality promise to customers with sensitive safety and cleanliness standards in the future. Cleaning between the individual production steps plays a decisive role in this, which is why the process was reorganized - with a wet-chemical system from Vapic. The company was able to take advantage of a considerable government subsidy for the purchase.

Pentair Südmo GmbH, based in Riesbürg, Swabia, has been producing hygienic and aseptic stainless steel process valves and components for the food, beverage, dairy, pharmaceutical and chemical industries for 70 years. All products are characterized by optimal cleanability and an excellent surface finish - qualities that in turn ensure reliable and resource-saving operation with less downtime and high product safety for customers.

Pentair Südmo decided to renew the existing cleaning process so that these unmistakable properties can be guaranteed in the future with regard to the increasing requirements for hygiene safety and sustainability. As before, cleaning was to be carried out on an aqueous basis, but processing residues such as coolants, emulsions, greases, grinding particles and polishing pastes were to be removed more economically, in a resource-optimized manner and with consistent quality in the future. In particular, cleaning the polishing pastes inside the component and in the threads posed a challenge for the previous cleaning solution and led to longer process times.

With the aim of reducing process times and achieving energy savings of up to 25%, the technicians at Pentair Südmo went in search of a suitable solution. After initial discussions and test cleanings, they finally opted for a three-chamber system from Vapic, which was tailored to Pentair Südmo's individual process requirements: Batch size 800 x 600 x 400 mm, fully automated loading and transfer between the cleaning chambers, cycle time of a maximum of ten minutes, increasing variety of parts and sizes, particle avoidance during handling and increasing material mix in the items to be cleaned.

The new system, measuring 9 x 4.5 x 3 m (LxWxH), has been in the Swabian valve manufacturer's production hall since February 2025. Three work chambers, six dedicated tanks, two ultrasonic units and a vacuum drying unit achieve a throughput of six batches per hour. Around six to seven thousand parts of various sizes can be cleaned and dried every day. To do this, they pass through alternating spraying and flooding phases with simultaneous lifting and lowering movements of the batch carriers.

Time savings and a reduction in water and energy consumption are already noticeable. This means that the system not only creates new cleaning potential, but also positive effects on future operating costs - an aspect that also proved to be worthy of funding. Together with Theneo GmbH, an energy optimization company from Ruhpolding, Pentair Südmo was able to secure a government subsidy of 26% with the support of Vapic. "We have been offering our customers this increasingly important service of using our technical expertise to apply for subsidies for some time now, and the effort has also paid off for Pentair Südmo. Thanks to the state subsidy, the investment costs were reduced by more than a quarter," explains Florian Pasch, technical salesman at Vapic.

In addition to shorter process times, the fully automatic transfer between the cleaning chambers, automatic bath monitoring and automatic dosing of the cleaning solution ensure efficiency gains. "Creeping bath renewal not only saves time, water and energy. We also achieve significantly more stable cleaning results and extend our bath service life in favor of reduced non-productive times," says Stefan Jargstorff, Material Manager at Pentair Südmo. He also appreciates the fact that the system is self-operating: "With the new system, cleaning practically runs on the side. We can use the time for other activities and thus optimize the entire production process." He sees a further advantage in the versatility of the program selection: "Depending on the circumstances, we can react much more flexibly and, above all, now clean in a tailored and resource-optimized manner." (OM-4/26)