Cleaning Technologies Trends and Prospects 2023 - Interview with Gerhard Koblenzer, CEO LPW Reinigungssysteme
Cleaning alone is no longer enough - industrial component cleaning is facing major challenges. In an interview, Surface Technology Online Editor-in-Chief Oliver Missbach talks to Gerhard Koblenzer, CEO of LPW Reinigungssysteme, about trends and prospects for 2023, high purity and the integration of cleaning systems into an optimized overall process.
Gerhard Koblenzer: "We succeeded in doing this because of the course we took many years ago. LPW ventured into the high purity sector 15 years ago, specifically in the area of high vacuum technology. 14 years ago, we started doing business in medical technology and 7 years ago in the additive manufacturing environment. Then, in the fall of 2019, we inaugurated our cleanroom-based test and service center at the company's site in Riederich. This was not a marketing gimmick, but another important building block within a long-term strategy as well as the consequence of our many years of activity and research in the various high-purity segments. Until recently, the industry was still hesitant about this. But in the end, our course has paid off. We are an established and sought-after specialist that combines experience, modern technologies and all the necessary processes, and is constantly developing further. This is why we have been able to compensate for all market changes, crises and other challenges with strong demand in the high-purity sector and in our new business areas of application engineering and contract cleaning.
Gerhard Koblenzer: "For years, the automotive industry and the industries dependent on it represented the decisive demand drivers for industrial cleaning technology. High sales and margins were generated here until mid-2019. Naturally, the industry was fully committed to this. So the emerging new requirements were seen by most as simply not important and economically irrelevant. At LPW, we read the signs differently and have been dealing with the general social and industrial trends for quite some time. So, uninfluenced by the voices in the environment, we embarked on new paths in a very focused manner. At that time, it was not yet clear to us when all this would come to fruition. But it was crystal clear to us that the transition to the new tasks and challenges would require years of preparation. Today, we are reaping what we sowed back then. Also with regard to our CNp technology, which is an important but not exclusive building block. The competition now emerging in this segment confirms us even more and shows that we are continuing in the right direction and have internalized the industrial structural change as well as understood it as a creative design task."
Gerhard Koblenzer: "For the industry, it is a matter of gaining a foothold in the new segments with higher requirements. For example, in the "new" automotive industry with topics such as eMobility, FuelCell or autonomous driving. Electronics, chip and sensor production has always been and remains very dynamic. And then you can expect all the newcomers in the field of alternative forms of energy and energy efficiency. But ultimately, across all industries, it's all about technical cleanliness in the entire process chain. Because cleaning alone is no longer enough. For us in the company, this means further standardization of processes and expansion of service offerings such as application engineering and monitoring solutions. Nationally and internationally. Because all the major industrial sectors in the key regions of Europe, North America and Asia are currently facing the challenges mentioned."
Gerhard Koblenzer: "In addition to suitable technology, accompanying support in the application itself is also required. Of course, the development and construction of high-quality cleaning systems, including all process engineering, remains the core business and duty. However, these systems can only fully develop their performance if they are integrated into the entire process chain and the users are provided with intensive and all-inclusive support along the way. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve technical cleanliness, especially with the current and emerging requirements."
Gerhard Koblenzer: "The supreme discipline means not only building a supposedly good plant, but also knowing how to integrate it into an optimized overall process. Because know-how does not stand for a theory, know-how stands for lived practice and knowing how. Thus, among other things, a profound understanding regarding possible sources of re- and cross-contamination influences in the cleaning process, but also in the upstream and downstream processes, is a mandatory task in this special environment. Reflective experience and the appropriate mindset are required in all areas of the company - at the plant manufacturer as well as at the user. A short-term success with a customer or a supposed certificate at one point in time, are always only intermediate stations on the way to constantly increasing requirements. ASML is important, but it is not the answer for other high purity applications in the same industry. So if you ask where the journey is going and what challenges lie ahead for the industry, I would conclude by answering as follows: We cannot reach the destination because the destination is continuously changing and moving forward ..."
Gerhard Koblenzer: "High purity and technical cleanliness in the process chain have been part of our company DNA for over 15 years. But we are not resting on our laurels. We continue to research and develop in-house. In addition, we are involved in the relevant professional associations and committees and are pushing ahead with many development projects in process development and in the fields of process monitoring. In addition, we are continuing to develop and expand LPW application engineering as an independent business area. It serves process chain optimization and support, provides solutions for validatable process simulation, and also includes high-quality cleanroom-based contract cleaning in our test and service center."
Gerhard Koblenzer: "North America and Europe are facing comparable changes in all new industrial applications. These require a higher degree of technical cleanliness in the process as well as significantly higher quality cleaning processes at the interfaces between the actual production and the place where the parts are used. Cleaning technology "made in Germany" represents a seal of quality abroad, which in principle offers great opportunities for German companies. LPW is well positioned in this respect. However, we cannot do this without a network and cooperations, also with market companions. On the one hand, we are committed to safeguarding common interests through our work on the board of the German Industrial Parts Cleaning Association (FiT) with responsibility for international cooperation. Here we are jointly reviving cooperation with the US partner association MCA. This includes classic networking, joint events and support in setting up an efficient trade fair platform in the USA. On the other hand, we as LPW have been active in international markets for years with our partners in the Surface Alliance. For example, through our joint venture partner Washtech in Queretaro, Mexico, we provide an experienced service and license manufacturing partner in North America. And with Surface Alliance Cleaning Corp. we have a direct sales contact in the USA. In this constellation, we have already been able to demonstrate our capabilities as a high-purity partner in semiconductor/high-vacuum technology in Silicon Valley, among other places."
Gerhard Koblenzer: "We would like to see fewer crises and thus full speed ahead again for what we do best and for what our hearts have been beating for many years. We are well prepared for the new year. The technological prerequisites for change have been created in recent years. This has resulted in a large number of development projects that will leave their prototype status in 2023. In addition, there are new challenges ahead for oversized components in the high purity environment, for example. We have already built chamber volumes of up to 4,000 liters. But that will no longer be enough, especially in the high-vacuum environment. We are continuing to develop cyclic nucleation on the basis of the patent granted two years ago for Dynamic CNp, and new digitization projects are in the pipeline. The continuation of internal training measures is an ongoing topic. With the qualification and training of application technicians, for example, the existing range of services can be significantly expanded. In Europe, the focus is on supporting medium-sized suppliers. Attractive LPW standard solutions make it easier for them to enter the new "ultra-clean" business segments. So we will not be bored ..." (OM-1/23)
Contact
LPW Reinigungssysteme GmbH
Industriestrasse 19
72585 Riederich (Germany)
P.O. Box 11 64
72585 Riederich
Phone: +49 (0)71 23 - 38 04-0
E-mail: info@lpw-reinigungssysteme.de
www.lpw-reinigungssysteme.de
About LPW Reinigungssysteme GmbH
LPW Reinigungssysteme GmbH is one of the leading suppliers of high-quality systems and process technologies in industrial component cleaning with aqueous media. The systems are used in the mechanical engineering, automotive, aerospace and general industry sectors, among others. With its High Purity division, LPW is also a sought-after partner in sectors with fine and ultra-fine cleaning tasks, such as the medical technology, optical and semiconductor industries.