WHAT`S NEW IN CLEANROOMS…
Ciba Corning, manufacturer of the ACS180, an automated immune diagnostic system, has recently expanded its Walpole, MA facility from 125,000 ft2 to 395,000 ft2 to accommodate new manufacturing and R&D buildings including a 10,000 ft2 cleanroom area. The addition also features a storage system that can accommodate hundreds of specialty items used by the company to manufacture stainless steel hardware used in the medical industry. Lista International Corp., a local manufacturer of modular storage cabinets and workspace systems for the cleanrooms industry, provided the new storage system.
Empak Electronics, (Colorado Springs, CO), a precision plastics molder and producer of wafer shipping, process, transport and wafer isolation products for the semiconductor and disk industries, announced the opening of its on-site product testing laboratory, including Class 1 cleanroom space. The lab was designed to generate advanced wafer-level data on the performance of the company`s products in a wide range of end-use environments. The new 20- ¥ 16-ft Class 1 clean space and a 6- ¥ 8-ft Class 100 gowning area are used in conjunction with environmental and vacuum chambers, shock and vibration testers, surface analyzer and robotics to simulate product handling in the fab, providing the company with a key information resource for itself and its customers. The new facility is equipped for high tolerance/precision injection molding in cleanroom environments. Service and support departments include a polymer analysis lab, application and test lab, post-production cleaning technology, engineering staff, tool room and maintenance support.
To enhance its cleanroom testing capabilities, Dryden Engineering Co., Inc., (Fremont, CA), has moved its corporate headquarters from Santa Clara, CA to larger facilities in Fremont, CA. The move triples square footage of the firm`s Class 1/10 facilities for testing products for compatibility with cleanroom operations and provides expanded inventory warehousing capabilities for cleanroom supplies in Northern California and the six other geographic areas serviced by the company`s regional offices.
B&W Projects, Inc., (Santa Clara, CA), a provider of integrated solutions in microcontamination and environmental controls to the semiconductor industry, has signed a contract with Tower Semiconductor Ltd. to advise on the project management of Tower`s 60,000 ft2, billion dollar, 8-in. submicron fab under design on its site in Migdal Haemek in Northern Israel. The ballroom-style Class 1,000 cleanroom includes minienvironments for use in sub-Class 1 processing.
B&W also has announced a contract with Harmonic Lightwaves (Santa Clara, CA) for complete design and construction management of a new 3,000-ft2 Class 100 cleanroom in Sunnyvale, CA. The company will be responsible for scope definition, conceptual design, design development, as well as detailed design and engineering assistance during construction.
Black & Veatch (Kansas City, MO) will complete engineering, procurement and construction on a $7 million plus expansion of a processed meat plant owned by Armour Swift-Eckrich (Kansas City, KS). Included in the project is a 30,000 ft2 addition to the process area and new and expanded employee and utility areas. B&V constructed the new facilities in accordance with current USDA regulations and recommendations, which include separation of cooked and uncooked goods personnel throughout the plant.
Clestra Cleanroom, Inc., (N. Syracuse, NY), specializing in the design, fabrication, installation, testing, balancing, certifying and maintenance of cleanrooms for the semiconductor, electronic, industrial device, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, has completed a Class 10 cleanroom facility for Span Instruments Co., Inc. (Plano, TX). Span Instruments is a designer and manufacturer of gauges, transducers, controllers, scales and gas inventory management systems for the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage processing industries. According to company president George Yurch, the new facility will be used for the manufacture of ultra high purity transducers. Also, Span`s imminent merger with Tylan General, announced in February, is expected to generate additional demand. Clestra Cleanroom designed, manufactured and installed the 350-ft2 modular facility consisting of Class 100 gownrooms and Class 10 manufacturing production cleanrooms. Featured are the company`s patented Doublewall system and 2-in. T-Grid ceiling system, as well as two AdvancAir III HVAC environmental control units. The facility was designed with a raised floor and ducted supply with plenum return. The project–Clestra`s second for Span Instruments` Plano, TX campus–incorporated a fast-track project schedule of approximately 14 weeks, engineering through certification. A complete virtual tour of the new Span transducer manufacturing facility is available through the Internet at Span`s Home Page (http://www.spanusa.com).
Hodess Building Co. (Rumford, RI) recently announced a contract to design and build a 37,000-ft2 expansion to Lockheed Sanders` corporate microelectronics facility in Nashua, NH. Hodess, a firm specializing in high technology construction for the microelectronics, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has built a variety of healthcare, institutional and multi-residential facilities. The project includes renovations to Lockheed Sanders` existing microelectronics center, as well as relocation and installation of equipment from other sites. Lockheed Sanders is creating a Corporate Microelectronics Center for Excellence at its Nashua, NH site. Part of the project was creation of a 32,000 ft2 cleanroom space for existing general use. The first section, 15,000 ft2 was completed in six weeks; the second section, 17,000 ft2, in eight weeks, for a total completion time of 14 weeks.
CFM Technologies, Inc., (West Chester, PA) a manufacturer of wet processing equipment for the semiconductor and flat panel display industries, announced the completion of a capacity expansion project at its manufacturing facility. The expansion increases system production capacity to meet growing demand for CFM`s Full-Flow product by 150 percent. The facility contains a Class 10 applications laboratory for reliability testing and product and process development using the company`s recently introduced dual-vessel, 100-wafer tool. The company also announced completion of a new 38,000-ft2 headquarters facility, which houses a comprehensive training facility, as well as engineering, service and support, sales and marketing, and administration. CFM Technologies` systems provide contamination control and processing capabilities using a totally enclosed processing chamber. Its Direct-Displace IPA vapor drying technology eliminates watermarks and other drying defects.
NOW Technologies, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) has relocated to a larger, more advanced manufacturing facility. The new Class 10/100 70,000-ft2 building features expanded cleanroom manufacturing facilities, advanced container film cleaning technology and automated bottle-handling systems. Also added were a Class 10/100 QA laboratory and engineering development lab, specialized machining shop and ancillary product cleaning systems.
Veco International (Farmington Hills, MI) has completed a 40,000-ft2 parenteral facility for SoloPak Pharmaceuticals in Elk Grove Village, IL. Veco, services the pharmaceutical, biotechnical and medical device industries, provided turnkey design, construction management and validation services for SoloPak`s new facility. Particular emphasis was placed on compliance to cGMPs and the most recent interpretation of FDA guidelines. Mike Millin, project manager for Veco International, states: “The changing nature of managed healthcare requires maximum flexibility to be designed into any new facility. This was our goal for SoloPak`s new facility.” Phase 1 of the project calls for the installation of a single high-speed syringe assembly and fill line. Because the facility design is modular, a key objective was to ensure that the installation of future fill lines proceeds with minimal disruption to ongoing operations already completed in Phase 1. Facility layout in general–specifically the aseptic core–was designed to optimize product, personnel and material flows.
Silicon Valley Chemlabs, Inc. (SVC), a developer and manufacturer of environmentally safe chemicals for semiconductor wafer fabrication and other industrial applications, has moved to new corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA. The newly renovated 30,000-ft2 facility provides for a 500 percent increase in manufacturing and warehouse space and features three newly equipped cleanroom laboratories for R&D, customer demonstration and product evaluation; product analysis and quality control; and high volume product packaging. Dr. Javad J. Sahbari, SVC`s president, said the need for larger and improved facilities was spurred by demand for the firm`s new-generation photolithography chemicals, coupled with SVD`s desire to offer a higher level of customer support. The company supplies aqueous-based photoresist strippers and cleaners to manufacturers of semiconductor wafers, disk drive heads and flat panel displays. Advanced production equipment includes SVC`s new Semitool batch processor and field-emission scanning electron microscope.
Olin Microelectronic Materials (Norwalk, CT), a supplier of specialty chemicals, chemical management services and microelectronic packaging systems to semiconductor makers, announced it has made the first in a series of investments in Singapore. The company is completing a new state-of-the-art analytical laboratory at the facilities of Drex-Chem Technologies, Olin`s distributor in Singapore. The new lab, which was scheduled to begin operation in May, features a Class 10,000 cleanroom with a Class 100 spectrometer.
Shipley Co. has contracted JMC Environmental Systems, a division of JM Coull Inc. (Concord, MA) to manage the design and construction of a new Class 1 cleanroom facility, an addition to Shipley`s existing ultra high purity production facility in Marlborough, MA. Shipley`s facility, scheduled for completion this month, will be used for development and applications research on the photoresist chemicals used in the manufacture of 0.2-µm chips. JMC`s design partner, Lockwood Greene (Spartanburg, SC) is working with JMC to provide architectural and engineering services on the project. The Class 1 cleanroom will have one-half-degree tolerance in temperature, a one-percent tolerance in relative humidity and an ultra stable process table, and throughout the construction process, materials will be chosen for their ability to minimize outgassing.
Atlas Environments Limited (Manchester, England) a specialist in the design and installation of medical and biotech ultraclean sterile facilities, recently completed a quarter-million-pound state-of-the-art facility for the storage and process of human skin for the treatment of burn victims. The Stephen Kirby Skin Bank at Queen Mary`s University Hospital, Roehampton, is a suite of ultra-clean sterile rooms in which the processing of donor skin and tissue culture for epidermal autografts takes place under sterile conditions to prevent airborne particulate contamination. Technicians at the Bank takes skin from the back and legs of donors following death, carefully screen and treat the skin and store it for use in treating burn victims. Since opening in November, 1995, the Bank has received skin from 17 donors, and the lives of two patients in the Burns Unit at Queen Mary`s have already been saved, according to Barry Powell, Consultant in Burns, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Unit. n