The clean room applications market has been on a tear, as reported by Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets ‘Global Cleanroom Technology Market Report 2020-2030’. It states that the global clean room technology industry will post 7.2% compound annual growth over the next four years, reaching a valuation of $7.3 billion USD by 2025. The COVID-19 pandemic and the global semiconductor shortage have caused demand for computer chips, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals to spike, prompting manufacturers in these industries to boost spending on capacity-expanding initiatives. The Harvard Business Review reported in February 2021 that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductors, increased its budget for capital projects to $28bn.
A Pelloby 3.
5 ton overhead crane designed for use in a UK plastics factory.
A Pelloby 3.5 ton overhead crane designed for use in a UK plastics factory.
The Pelloby hoist was designed to maximize available lift height using low-headroom construction and an undersl
The Pelloby hoist was designed to maximize available lift height using low-headroom construction and an undersl
Two 10 ton overhead cranes in use at the State University of New York Polytechnic Instit
Two
10 ton overhead cranes in use at the State University of New York Polytechnic Instit
Scott Zinter, president, Zinter Handling in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA, says clean room handling equipment is the fastest-growing segment of Zinter Handling’s business. The company has completed at least one project that directly supported the production of a COVID-19 vaccine. Zinter says that in sensitive industries where clean rooms are regularly used, all material handling equipment must meet strict requirements.
Zinter Handling produces overhead crane systems, jib and
gantry cranes, and material handling equipment for both industrial and clean room use. Zinter says that the business’ clean room division typically has significantly longer project cycles than the industrial division. Project timelines, he says, last a great deal longer because every piece of equipment must be perfectly precise. Working in a clean room setting also involves specific protocols that all personnel are required to follow.
Adding to the complexity of clean room projects is the fact that most clean room installations demand almost entirely custom work. Zinter Handling regularly invents new pieces of machinery to meet specific applications, as pre-existing designs often fail to meet clean room requirements. Zinter says some companies may try to pass off standard industrial equipment as clean room equipment by painting it white. He explains the key to rooting out bad actors in this sector is insisting on seeing documentation:
“There are plenty of people in the marketplace who call their equipment clean, but can’t provide any documentation that it is clean. We can provide documentation that proves our product is actually clean.”
Clean room hoists may be involved in a variety of processes that could increase the risk of particulates if the hoist isn’t designed or installed correctly. Matt Downing, director of sales and marketing for David Round Company in Streetsboro, Ohio,
USA, notes that production hoists in clean rooms are typically used for moving product from one production station to another. Downing says designing hoists for these applications involves a significant amount of engineering work to customize the equipment for individual customer requirements.
“The hoists are usually required to be entirely stainless-steel construction,” he notes. “Sometimes there are polishing requirements, which we can do if requested. Sometimes there are explosion-proof requirements for motors, brakes, and controls. We custom engineer for each customer’s needs.”
David Round Company has supplied clean room hoists and cranes, as well as custom-engineered material handling solutions, to pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline. These companies, and other clients in the clean room/pharmaceutical industry, typically require hoists to have high-quality finishes that can meet particular specifications.
VOLUNTARY PRODUCTION STANDARDS
While there is no universal standard that clean room hoist equipment is required to meet by any particular law, the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland, has a list of voluntary standards that could include clean room hoists depending on the application in question. Gayle McCann, marketing communications and project manager for William Hackett Lifting Products in Alnwick, Northumberland, UK, says clean room hoists are typically covered by ISO 14644, which specifies air purity classifications depending on various levels of airborne particle concentration, and other related standards. However, the end-user application will influence which ISO standard applies.
The clean rooms themselves are also subject to ISO classification, with clean room levels ranging from ISO 1 to ISO 9. According to Pegasus Clean, a San Diego, CA, USA cleaning services company that serves the clean room industry, ISO class 1 clean rooms must have a room air exchange rate of 500 to 750 changes per hour. These clean rooms must also test below 12 particles per cubic metre. ISO 1 is the strictest ISO standard of cleanliness for clean rooms; ISO 1 clean rooms are most often used in the life sciences, nanotechnology, and aerospace industries. The European Space Agency’s microbiology laboratory in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, houses an ISO 1 clean room that is used for Planetary Protection procedures; these procedures are designed to prevent cross-contamination between planets when astronauts take organic matter onboard a space flight or return to earth with organic material samples.
Clean room hoists are in high demand, buoyed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic