parts2clean 2022 on the road to old strength in a challenging environment

By OEM Update Editorial November 10, 2022 2:57 pm IST

 Parts2clean 2022 grew significantly in all areas when compared to the restart event last year.

By the end of the third and final day of the 19th parts2clean, it  was abundantly clear that the requirements for cleaning industrial parts are becoming  increasingly diverse and demanding, with no end in sight. One major indicator consisted of the tasks and projects which some 2,300 visitors (up by around 15% from 2021) brought with them to Stuttgart. The share of trade fair attendees from outside  Germany was 25 percent, with the strongest nations (apart from Germany) being  Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Poland. “We are  satisfied with the course of this year’s parts2clean in the face of the prevailing  conditions,” says Hendrik Engelking, Global Director at Deutsche Messe. “More  important for us, however, is that participating in the tradeshow was worth it for our  exhibitors.” And indeed it was, as most of the 140 exhibitors from 16 countries who  presented their new, enhanced and established products and services for industrial parts and surface cleaning on over 4,300 square meters of display space, were able to  hold highly detailed discussions. This was confirmed by Michael Höckh, Managing  Director of Höckh Metall-Reinigungsanlagen GmbH: “For us it was an acutely interesting trade fair. Our visitors here were overwhelmingly devoted to finding solutions to projects they are planning to implement in the near future. Often, this  involves making replacement investments in order to meet higher cleanliness  requirements.” 

Trade audience with high level of decision-making authority and readiness to invest

The fact that things were so concrete at parts2clean was due to the exceptionally high  percentage of trade visitors (99%), over 95% of whom are involved in operational  procurement decisions. Another value that ensured exhibitor satisfaction at this year’s  parts2clean consisted of investment plans, which were the decisive factor for around  85% of all attendees. This facilitated a high number of promising leads, as Dr.-Ing.  Günther Schmauz, CEO of acp systems AG, reports: “Even though we still have quite a  ways to go to reach the visitor numbers of the pre-Corona events, this year’s  parts2clean went better than expected for us. This year we were able to observe shifts  in our attendees’ industries. For example, more than 80% of the discussions at our  booth revolved around tasks from the so-called high-purity area, for example in the  semiconductor supplier industry, electronics, optics, medical, defense and sensor  technology, as well as high-tech measurement technology. We were able to make  some really interesting contacts with domestic and foreign companies here.” Ronald  Holzleitner, Head of New Business at the Austrian Fronius International GmbH, also  achieved his company’s trade fair goals:

“We met up with a highly qualified trade  audience from different industries here, were able to optimally present our  technologies and products and, after some excellent discussions, have already  scheduled subsequent talks.” For Stefanie Borst from the management of BO-INNO GmbH, parts2clean 2022 also went well: “We were very satisfied with our participation at the trade fair and had the impression that the discussions were even more concrete  and intensive than in years past. It became clear that many companies need to meet  higher cleanliness requirements. This enabled us to make many new contacts, but we  also used the tradeshow to intensify our cooperation with our partners.” This  networking aspect was also appreciated by Chuck Sexton, Global Product Line  Manager, Industrial at the US cleaning media manufacturer Kyzen: “We can always  generate first-rate leads at parts2clean. But the tradeshow is also an excellent  opportunity for us to establish new contacts with partners and intensify existing ones.” 

Brisk attendance at specialist forum and presentation of first FiT2clean Awards

The parts2clean specialist forum was once again one of the visitor magnets this year.  In simultaneously translated presentations, experts from  research, trade associations and industry provided information on a wide range of topics and trends in industrial surface and parts cleaning. The presentations were also  broadcast live on the parts2clean event website. “The immense interest among the  participants on-site and online shows that there is a great need for information in the  field of surface and parts cleaning, whether for traditional tasks or new applications,  and that the importance of component cleanliness as a product characteristic and  quality factor will continue to grow,” adds Engelking. 

Another highlight at parts2clean 2022 was the presentation of the FiT2clean Award for  outstanding achievements and solutions for a current challenge in industrial parts cleaning, which the Industrial Parts Cleaning Association (FiT) was offering for the first  time. The 10,000 euro award went to the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) for its new and unconventional approach of using  liquid butane gas as an effective and energy-saving cleaning medium. The FiT2clean  Award is scheduled for annual presentation in the future.

This, too, illustrates the extent to which industrial parts cleaning is facing an array of  new tasks and challenges – set to be a key focus at the 20th and anniversary edition of  parts2clean, which runs from 26 to 28 September 2023 at the Stuttgart Exhibition  Center.