parts2clean 2022 grew significantly in all areas
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 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 event 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 that 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
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, 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, 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, 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.”
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 an 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.
