“Look around IMTS; exhibitors make machine tools and fluids that, one way or another, produce contaminant, so there is a real need for cleaning,” says James Millar, sales manager at Innovative Organics, Saint-Gobain Surface Conditioning Group (Anaheim, Calif.). Given the sheer size of the International Manufacturing Technology Show, looking around is always a daunting experience, but it is also worthwhile. At the recent show, we asked a number of suppliers of cleaning agents and cleaning equipment how the see the industry moving. When asked “what’s new,” some responded that there couldn’t be much new in cleaning. But others took a proactive, productive, and profitable approach to the economic situation, to performance requirements, to trends in attendees, and to environmental requirements.
Dave Sunderlik, Midwest area business manager at Kroff (Detroit, Mich.), explains that the company had a history in water treatment and then branched into environmental management and recycling. However, he says, “About one year ago, based on listening to our customers, we saw a need to coordinate what we have been doing with process-side fluids (including cleaning agents) that are used in specialized applications in manufacturing. Customers were complaining about service reduction and product line consolidation. We expanded; we hired formulators. Many times, in a down economy, if you are in a position to, it can be the best time to break into a new market niche.” Mr. Sunderlik adds that at larger companies, if the sales volume is not high, product managers may be forced to discontinue very useful formulations. One of the formulators was enjoying being with a leaner company with reduced bureaucracy, because he felt empowered to develop his ideas and to do the right thing for the end-user.
There appeared to us to be a shift in attendees to those involved in more specialized, high-value, high-technology applications. This shift has prompted not only more specialized cleaning and process chemistries, but also changes in cleaning equipment. Paul Beezhold, marketing manager at ESMA Inc. (South Holland, Ill.), has responded to the need for smaller-footprint systems by redesigning a system to move the cleaning and rinsing agents in and out of a single tank instead of moving the parts from tank to tank. In looking at trends in the four most recent shows, Mr. Beezhold sees a shift in emphasis, with less emphasis on automotive and more in medical and pharmaceutical manufacture.
Awareness of value-added cleaning was apparent among attendees, from those involved in initial fabrication to those concerned with final assembly of critical product. “Two years ago, many [people] didn’t understand the complexities of precision cleaning,” says Martin Horn, U.S. sales representative for Biel, Switzerland-based Amsonic. Mr. Horn has seen an increased awareness of and interest in consistent, reliable processes that achieve proper cleaning, adding that “some wanted to just push a button and get clean parts. Now many are beginning to realize there is more to it. We see more projects with clearly defined, measurable cleanliness requirements.”
Tom Blissick, sales manager at Dürr Ecoclean (Plymouth, Mich.), observes, “There were interested people from all over the country who were seriously looking for solutions.”
The suppliers at IMTS with the more positive world-view seemed to be the ones who combined innovation with reality, who responded to the needs of their customers, and who thought of cleaning as value-added. In addition to the appropriate products and presence at IMTS, Mr. Millar notes the importance of ongoing customer education and support; his company’s website includes an assortment of technical reference books and resources.
“I’m like a prospector looking for that next vein of gold,” says Jawn Swan, president of Crystal Mark (Glendale, Calif.). Mr. Swan has been exhibiting at IMTS for more than 20 years and says, “I know the gold is out there. I like new challenges and applications.”
