Hannover. The 165 exhibitors from all areas of industrial cleaning technology presented a range of innovative solutions. Additionally, the bilingual p2c.EXPERTFORUM attracted a record number of participants. Both these factors provided a significant impetus for optimizing process quality, productivity, and efficiency with regard to costs and resources.

The 165 exhibiting companies from 16 countries came to Stuttgart to show off intelligent and impressive technical solutions for industrial parts and surface cleaning. The three days of parts2clean made it clear that there is a demand for such solutions, in spite of the currently challenging market conditions: after all, the trade visitors from 44 countries, more than 3,200 in number, had brought just the right tasks and projects with them to the show. "Compared to the 2023 event, the 21st edition of the Leading Trade Fair for Industrial Parts and Surface Cleaning not only chalked up a growing number of exhibiting companies and a net exhibition area of 4,600 square meters, but also a small increase in visitor numbers," reports Ramtin Randjbar-Moshtaghin, Project Director at Deutsche Messe AG. The share of visitors from outside Germany was around 25%. The nations most represented after Germany were Switzerland, Austria, Türkiye, and the Netherlands. "For us as the organizer of parts2clean, however, the bare facts and figures are less important than whether the exhibiting companies were satisfied," adds the Project Director. And this year's event also scored highly in this respect, as Samuel Wolf, Managing Director of cleaning system manufacturer vapic GmbH, confirms: "By the end of the second day of the trade fair, we had already established more contacts than during the entire 2023 show. The visitors came to the trade fair with specific tasks and projects. In some cases, they had even brought along drawings of the parts to be cleaned, so that we could get straight down to developing solutions. The very high number of new contacts – around 80% – is also pleasing."

Professionals with decision-making authority and investment plans

The above-average quality of discussions and contacts at parts2clean reflected the exceptionally high proportion of trade visitors, at 99%. The visitor survey revealed that around 90% of visitors are involved in operational investment decisions. Upcoming investment projects were the main reason for visiting for more than 31% of trade visitors. This resulted in real inquiries even during the trade fair, as Rien van Sliedregt, Commercial Director at the Dutch company Esselent Solutions, reports: "We were exhibiting at parts2clean for the 18th time, and were actually expecting fewer visitors at the trade fair due to the economic situation. However, the opposite was the case: we had more visitors at our stand than in 2023, including a lot of highly promising new contacts. We received requests for quotations during the trade fair for the first time. Discussions and inquiries often focused on optimizing processes and finding ways to save costs – for example by extending bath service lives. Our expertise is an important factor for visitors, because experienced employees are reaching their pension age in many companies, taking their knowledge and skills with them into retirement. We will undoubtedly be exhibiting again at parts2clean 2027." Martin Dreher, Head of Strategic Marketing at acp systems GmbH, also reported highly intensive discussions about upcoming projects with visitors from the electronics, optical, aerospace, microtechnology, and semiconductor industries, for example: " parts2clean is definitely one of the most important trade fairs for us and it has fully met our expectations this year; we will continue to be present here in the future." Oliver Kerber, Head of Parts Cleaning at Stockmeier Chemie GmbH & Co. KG, reports along similar lines: "We were pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors and the high quality of discussions on specific projects. Often, this involved tasks with very high cleanliness requirements and high-purity applications. We have been very satisfied with our participation in the trade fair."

The exhibits at this year's parts2clean also showed that automation, digitalization, and AI can also contribute to greater process reliability, efficiency, and resource savings in industrial parts cleaning. "In addition to four new or further developed systems for solvent and water-based cleaning, we presented innovative, partly AI-supported solutions for automated process monitoring and control from our broad portfolio at parts2clean. The visitors' interest and feedback on these developments from general industry and various high-tech sectors were excellent. We have succeeded in establishing many substantive contacts, and we can assume that these will lead to good follow-up business developing after the trade fair," reports Oliver Pelz, Director Sales at Ecoclean GmbH.

Information exchange, trend scouting, networking, and cooperation – these have also been among the focal points at parts2clean, as noted by Juliane Schulze, Managing Director of SITA Messtechnik GmbH: "Some aspects of our participation in the trade fair involve networking with the industry, exchanging ideas with partners, and scouting for the latest trends. That's why it's essential to be present at parts2clean, because this is where you meet all the relevant suppliers from the various sectors."

p2c.EXPERTFORUM – knowledge is in even greater demand than ever before

The bilingual p2c.EXPERTFORUM, open to attendees at the trade fair free of charge, has always been one of the magnets attracting visitors to the leading international trade fair. "Demand for expertise in industrial parts and surface cleaning has never been higher than during this year," reports Ramtin Randjbar-Moshtaghin. "The presentations by experts from the scientific, research, and industrial communities were offered with simultaneous interpreting (German<>English) and generated a total footfall of 3,060 from trade fair visitors aiming to establish or deepen their knowledge of parts cleaning." The record attendance shows that there is a great need for information ranging from the basics of classic parts cleaning to ultra-fine cleaning and high-purity applications. "And the p2c.EXPERTFORUM offers companies a training and education resource for their employees that is unparalleled in terms of value for money," adds Juliane Schulze.

Presentation of the 4th FiT2clean award

The presentation of the 4th FiT2clean award proved to be a highlight of the last day of the trade fair. This year, BO-INNO GmbH won the Innovation Award of the Industrial Parts Cleaning Association (FiT) with a smart data tracker that records and stores key process parameters in real time. Nägele Mechanik GmbH and SAFECHEM Europe GmbH took second and third places, respectively. The award is presented annually by the FiT for innovative solutions and outstanding achievements in response to current challenges in industrial parts cleaning.

The next parts2clean will take place from October 5 to 7, 2027 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Center.