NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    APRIL 2014

Cleanroom Consumable Expenditures to Reach $7.5 Billion In 2015

Operators of cleanrooms including those manufacturing pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, aseptically packaged food, flat panels and solar cells will spend $7.5 billion next year for consumables which are specifically designed for ultraclean applications. This is the most recent forecast in the McIlvaine report World Cleanroom Markets.

The largest single purchased product is gloves. Disposable gloves are universally used in all classes of cleanrooms and in all the types of industries. Gloves must be changed each time a worker leaves or enters a cleanroom. Gloves must meet requirements of minimal particle shedding and VOC offgasing. Packaging of gloves to prevent contamination during shipment from the ultraclean environment where they are manufactured to the ultraclean environment where they are unpackaged, adds to the cost.

There are a number of large players in the market. Suppliers of single use garment materials include Kimberly Clark and DuPont. Reusable garments are often rented and not sold. The laundries or processors have to clean these garments in ultraclean environments. Garments are frequently disposed or cleaned after each exit from the clean space. Aramark and Prudential Uniform supply the garments as part of the processing fees.

Another large company entered the cleanroom industry a few years ago. ITW purchased Texwipe and became a leading supplier of wipes. A number of the glove suppliers are large companies. Much of the manufacturing of wipes, gloves and single use garments is now in Asia.

The supplies market includes special mops, mats and furniture which have to be built so as not to shed particulate or volatile organic compounds. Two-thirds of the supplies market consists of the various cleaning chemicals and disinfectants used in cleanrooms.

East Asian purchases of cleanroom consumables are not only larger than other regions, but are growing at a faster rate. This is due to the expansion of the flat panel, semiconductor, solar cell and medical device industries in the region.

For more information on: World Cleanroom Markets, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/2-uncategorised/474-n6f-world-cleanroom-markets