Hannover, Germany. The 16th parts2clean proved to be a complete success. From 23 - 25 October 2018 the 240 exhibitors at parts2clean transformed Halls 3 and 5 of the Stuttgart Exhibition Grounds into an international hub for the industrial components and surface cleaning sectors. Companies from 16 countries exhibited at the event, including 26 percent from outside the host nation Germany. Approx. 4,500 trade visitors from 42 countries attended, a response that underlines the consistently sound performance of this international flagship event. Some 21 percent of the trade visitors came from outside Germany, including 76 percent from member nations of the EU and a further 18 percent from non-EU European countries. Germany, of course, accounted for the largest contingent of visitors. This year the biggest groups of visitors from outside the host nation came from Austria, followed by Switzerland, France, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Netherlands.

"We are entirely satisfied with the results of parts2clean 2018", says Olaf Daebler, Global Director parts2clean at Deutsche Messe AG, adding: "Many exhibitors noted a further improvement in terms of the quality of the visitors." This view was shared by Jens Emmerich, Product Manager for R&D, Surface Technology at BCD Chemie GmbH : "The number of contacts made at our stand was slightly down on the previous year, but quality clearly made up for quantity. In the past, some of the discussions at the stand tended to be a bit cursory, but this year we were able to talk in more depth. These discussions led to concrete projects, dates for visits and even some tests of our cleaning technology. We will definitely be exhibiting at parts2clean 2019."

Decision-makers welcome this platform for information and acquisitions

The 16th parts2clean clearly showed that more companies from different sectors are beginning to recognize the important role played by industrial parts and surface cleaning in maintaining quality standards in diverse stages of production. This was made evident not only by the extraordinarily high proportion of professionals who attended the event (99 percent), but also by the decision-making competence of the visitors within their companies. One in two visitors came from management and 85 percent of all visitors stated that they played a role in their company's investment decisions. It was also clear that the visitors to parts2clean were keen to invest. No fewer than 82 percent of them came with clear ideas on acquisition and investment, a figure that was slightly higher than at last year's trade show. Some 41 percent of these potential investors had an investment budget of over 100,000 euros at their disposal. In other words, many of the trade visitors arrived at the International Trade Fair for Industrial Parts and Surface Cleaning with clear intentions and concrete projects in mind.

Consequently, the exhibiting companies were able to report some excellent contacts, new projects and even contracts negotiated at the trade fair. "We could convert high-calibre contacts into potential new customers at this year's parts2clean and were able to conclude a big order almost on the spot. That is relatively rare at a capital goods fairs such as parts2clean," explained Carola Maurer, Market Development Assistant, Hobart GmbH . Similarly, Peter Ruoff, Head of Marketing & Sales and a member of senior management at MAFAC – E. Schwarz GmbH & Co. , enthused about an order for the company's latest cleaning system: "parts2clean 2018 proved better for us than last year's event, not simply because we concluded a direct sale of a cleaning system at our stand, but also due to the number of enquiries received from new contacts. The conversations with trade visitors revealed that the trend towards increased industrial cleanliness continues unabated. The main focus of interest is in the removal of particulates, residues and film-like contaminants."

This positive experience was echoed by Raffaela Tessari, Sales and Customer Care with the Italian manufacturer of cleaning plant and systems, NOVATEC S.r.l. : "We have been exhibiting successfully at parts2clean for many years and 2018 was another success. This trade fair only attracts serious trade visitors interested in concrete business and it gives us the time to discuss their requirements and specific objectives with them in detail. parts2clean is always a great opportunity to meet first-class contacts and convert them into potential new customers, as well as nurture existing customer contacts and business partners." Elia Bosco, Sales, Everest Elektromekanik Makine Ve Sistemleri Sanayi ve Tic Ltd. Sti. , Turkey, also considers parts2clean an ideal platform for initiating new business: "parts2clean offers an excellent opportunity to promote our products and new developments among the right audience. The quality of the international professional visitors is outstanding and we will definitely exhibit again at next year's parts2clean."

The manufacturers of cleaning plant were not the only exhibitors to register overwhelming satisfaction with their trade fair participation. Suppliers of equipment from other areas of industrial cleaning were also impressed. For example, Sandra Gruber, from Sales & Marketing at SensAction AG , said: "The number of visitors at our stand was similar to last year, but the quality of the contacts made was higher. We are therefore expecting good post-fair business." Hans-Jürgen Oberdiek, Sales Marketing Manager, Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH , was also optimistic: "The visitors approached us with a quite diverse range of interests and requirements, which really underlines the growing importance of clean parts and surfaces within an increasing number of sectors. Accordingly, we were able to make a large number of new contacts at parts2clean, and this could generate more orders."

Florian Weber, Sales Director of Weber Ultrasonics AG , had the same experience: "Yet again, we are very pleased with this trade fair. The number of trade visitors and the quality of the contacts was excellent. parts2clean is the only trade fair in this sector and we will be back next year." Likewise, Tobias Jessberger, managing director of Dr. Jessberger GmbH , reported: "Due to the extremely high quality of the contacts and the international outreach of the trade show, parts2clean has a firm place in our trade fair schedule." Anja Wächter, managing director of Metallform Wächter GmbH , came to the same conclusion: "Our trade fair participation has again paid off ‒ 100 percent. The outcome of this year's parts2clean justifies our decision to exhibit at this trade fair every year."

Focus on trends and future requirements

A tour of parts2clean showed that this flagship event is not solely focused on current needs and demand for clean industrial components and surfaces. As parts2clean organizer Daebler pointed out: "We established that digitization and automation are making rapid inroads into industrial components and surface cleaning." The organizers responded, therefore, by including new display formats, special presentations and various exhibits covering these future-focused areas. "This year, by exhibiting combined preliminary solvent treatment and plasma technology, as well as our digitization solutions, we addressed the core needs of many users. We received an excellent response from the visitors, particularly from customers and existing business partners with high expectations and requirements in specific areas such as film-like residual contamination or the digitization of cleaning processes. We were able to give them a clearer idea about the direction that this sector is taking", said Rainer Straub, Board of Management, Vice President Sales & Customer Service, Ecoclean GmbH . His comments were echoed by Andreas Rosenbusch, Business Development Manager at Stäubli Tec-Systems GmbH Robotics : "parts2clean has signposted the role of Industrie 4.0 in the cleaning of industrial parts and surfaces. The digitization of cleaning plant and processes, as well as the acquisition, evaluation and use of data are huge topics that will assume greater significance and for which we can offer an array of solutions." However, many sectors are still seeking a solution to their specific needs, for example with respect to both the partial or complete removal of residual, film-like contamination of surfaces, as Karl-Hein Menauer, Senior Manager Sales & Technologie at acp systems AG , reported: "Compared to last year, the number of leads was up by about 30 percent. These were primarily contacts from the automobile and components industries, aerospace and electronics. The most frequent issue was the partial removal of film-like contaminates, a challenge for which many companies do not yet have an adequate solution."

A cross-section of sectors and materials

The cleaning of industrial parts and surfaces involves an extremely broad range of tasks and requirements, and this diversity is matched by the number of sectors from which the professional visitors at parts2clean came. The sector with the biggest contingent of visitors this year was the automobile industry with approx. 42 percent, followed by mechanical and plant engineering, metalworking and metal processing, electrical engineering and electronics, precision engineering, optics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and production technology. The verdict of the visitors at parts2clean was positive. An overwhelming majority stated that the event covered almost every aspect. Nine out of ten visitors are confident that they will again attend the International Trade Fair for Industrial Parts and Surface Cleaning in the future. The next parts2clean will take place from 22-24 October 2019 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Grounds.