5,000 largest cleanrooms represent 95 percent of U.S. investment

Northbrook, IL–Of the more than 16,000 cleanrooms operating in the United States, 5,000 represent 95 percent of all U.S. investment, according to a recent report published by The McIlvaine Company. The 5,000 locations have been identified in the report`s database, which also identifies the class of cleanroom and numbers of cleanrooms for each facility.

The report identified 16,500 cleanrooms–defined as in excess of 500 ft2 with air quality of Class 100,00 or better. However, using the most liberal definition of cleanrooms, the number is closer to approximately 100,000.

Not surprisingly, the largest sector is electronics, which has the largest number of cleanrooms (5,000). The next largest is medical and hospital (3,500), followed by biotech and pharmaceutical (3,000). Representing only 1,000 rooms is the aerospace and automobile category, including parts suppliers to the auto industry. A miscellaneous sector–food, micromechanical systems and other industries–operates some 4,000 cleanrooms, according to the report. A closer look confirms that the industry is highly concentrated: 80 percent of the total investment in cleanrooms is in less than 1,500 large cleanrooms, defined as 10,000 ft2 of Class 1,000 or better space. (The report includes Class 1 rooms down to only 2,000 ft2 in size.) The electronics industry operates 900 of these larger cleanrooms; pharmaceutical and biotechnology, 200. The other segments are much smaller, none having more than 100 large cleanrooms.

Geographically, six states contain 45 percent of all cleanroom space, most in California, followed by Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Arizona. In recent years, Oregon, New Mexico and Washington State have expanded their cleanroom base substantially.