This year’s parts2clean was probably the most clearly focused edition in the event’s history. Almost every one of the more than 2,300 visitors came to the Stuttgart Exhibition Center (Germany) armed with concrete tasks and projects. For the approximately 140 exhibitors from 16 different countries, this resulted in high-caliber leads that promised to result in good follow-up business. Compared to the restart even last year, parts2clean 2022 was able to grow significantly in all areas.

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 (German <> English), 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.

For more information, please visit www.parts2clean.de