NEWS RELEASE                                   APRIL 2011

Cleanroom, Gloves, Wipes, Garment Revenues to Reach $6.4 Billion This Year

The market for cleanroom consumables will rise to over $6.4 billion this year driven by the investment in new semiconductor and solar panel facilities in Asia. This reflects the latest revision in World Cleanroom Markets, an online continually updated report published by the McIlvaine Company.

The biggest investment will be for wipes. Revenues for this category which includes not only wet and dry wiping materials but also swabs will rise to $776 million this year.  It should be noted that the total wipes market is $ billions per year.  The wipes used in cleanrooms have special features such as structural integrity which prevents particulate shedding.

 

The markets for disposable clothing and reusable clothing will both be in excess of $600 million. However, when one combines the reusable clothing revenues with the laundry or processing revenues, the total gowning investment is over $1.9 billion per year.  Many laundries lease garments and, therefore, generate revenues reflecting both the garment sale and the laundering.

In general, the semiconductor industry uses reusable garments while the pharmaceutical industry uses disposable garments.  Hospitals and other facilities concerned about viruses and bacteria also prefer the disposable garments.  The semiconductor industry is more concerned about particulate and has found that high quality reusable garments meet their needs.

Every item which will be used in a clearnoom has to be evaluated and the design changed to prevent contamination.  Special paper, furniture, chemicals, mops and other consumables are all custom designed for the cleanroom industry.

There are a number of trends and developments which need to be constantly assessed.  They include:

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      • New developments in fabrics for wipes and garments
      • Growth of cleanroom activity in Asia
      • The use of automation and mini-environments which eliminate the need for people in the cleanroom
      • The development of nanotechnology and the need for cleanrooms for applications where they were not previously utilized

For more information on World Cleanroom Markets, click on:  http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/cleanroom.html