If anyone had doubts about the strength and vitality of the contamination control industry, they should surely have been put to rest by the tremendous turnout and energy generated by the CleanRooms Europe Conference & Exhibition held last month in Stuttgart, Germany. It was truly a milestone event for the industry, attracting over 2,600 registered attendees, more than any previous CleanRooms Europe event and nearly doubling the attendance at the last show in Stuttgart.
Of particular note was the international scope of both the attendance and the exhibition floor, representing some 62 countries around the globe. In fact, more than a third of the total attendees traveled from outside Germany and over 13 percent were from non-European Union countries including nations in Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Africa.
For me, however, it was not only extremely encouraging to see the record turnout from the user community but also to have had such strong support for the event from the European contamination control industry. As I discussed with quite a few individuals during the show, it’s become crystal clear to me over the years that without a cohesive and vibrant community of contamination control companies and individuals actively promoting and advancing the cause, the entire science and business of contamination control suffers—becoming lost, unappreciated, and undervalued in this or that vertical user industry.
Certainly that is the purpose of our franchise of information vehicles including the magazine, the CleanRooms shows, our web site, e-newsletters, and other offerings. Not to be too self-serving, but we here at CleanRooms recognize that we play an important role in representing this community (its technology, standards, commitment to quality) and in ensuring that its accomplishments and the value of its products are understood and appreciated. But it’s a partnership arrangement, and we need the enthusiastic support of the industry to be successful.
At the same time, we at CleanRooms have to deliver on our side of the deal, continuing to work to improve our events and media products for both our readers and attendees as well as our advertisers and exhibitors. I assure you that this is our plan and our promise. CleanRooms Europe was a great start to the new year and I thank everyone who supported it by either exhibiting or attending. All of us at CleanRooms look forward to bringing you other and even better events and information products going forward.
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John Haystead,
Publisher & Editor