Tag Archives: Clean Rooms

April 3, 2008 — /SAN DIEGO, CA/ — PURE Bioscience (NASDAQ: PURE) today announces a partnership with privately-held Rockline Industries, Inc. for North American distribution of PURE’s ready-to-use “Powered by SDC” disinfectant product and for the development and North American distribution of wipes products as well as new disinfectant, sanitizer, and preservative products containing PURE’s patented antimicrobial, silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC).

Under the agreement, Rockline Industries will market bottled, ready-to-use “Powered by SDC” disinfectant to retailers under those stores’ private label brands. Rockline Industries will also market the disinfectant under both Rockline Industries’ own private label brand and PURE’s KinderGuardTM brand. Each bottle of SDC-based disinfectant sold by Rockline Industries will feature PURE’s “Powered by SDC” logo. In addition, PURE has granted Rockline Industries the exclusive right to develop and commercialize wet wipes containing SDC for similar markets. Although specific terms were not disclosed, PURE noted that Rockline Industries must meet performance criteria and milestones to maintain exclusivity and contract rights.

Michael L. Krall, president and CEO of PURE Bioscience, states, “Rockline is an industry leader in new products and high-quality manufacturing, and is the leading contract wet wipe manufacturer in the United States. The variety of new products that Rockline can bring to market with SDC as an ingredient is a major market expansion opportunity for PURE. We are proud to be partnering with such a well-established company, and we are confident that Rockline will successfully increase acceptance and use of SDC as the antimicrobial of choice in commercial and consumer markets.”

Susan Braun, product manager for Rockline Industries, Inc., comments, “Rockline prides itself on introducing game-changing innovations to our customers, which is one of the reasons we are thrilled to be involved with PURE and its revolutionary technology. As corporations and consumers seek safer and environmentally conscious products without sacrificing quality or effectiveness, we believe that the time is right to present the perfect antimicrobial solution

April 3, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — NEWINGTON, CT — MALIBU, a joint venture of Schuco International KG and German energy giant E.ON, is building a $135 million production facility for manufacturing large-scale photovoltaic modules based on state-of-the-art thin film technology. This project promises to be highly significant for the future of environmentally friendly solar power. The foundation stone laying ceremony took place in Magdeburg, Germany, on February 7, 2008.

Starting in fall 2008, the plant is to begin producing photovoltaic modules measuring 5.7 square meters (over 61 square feet), in formats of up to 2.20 x 2.60 square meters, with an output of up to 460 watts. The annual output of these systems amounts to 40 megawatts. The centerpiece of the plant is a machine made by the US company Applied Materials, the world’s leading manufacturer of products based on this technology.

Thanks to the size of these modules – the largest ever built – photovoltaic technology now becomes a particularly attractive alternative for the metal and glass facades of large corporate and government office buildings. Generated without negative impact on the environment, electricity produced in this way for cooling, ventilation, shade, and heating is also extremely economical. Furthermore, the new modules can be perfectly integrated into the glass elements of the facade, thus opening up entirely new possibilities for architects.

E.ON is one of the world’s largest energy producers, with sales in 2006 of around EUR68 billion and a staff of 82,000 employees. Schuco is Europe’s market leader for system-supported construction, with over 50 years of experience in aluminum, steel, plastic, and solar systems for corporate and residential architecture. Schuco has 4,700 employees and 12,000 partners in 77 countries. The company’s US point of contact is Schuco USA L.P., which produces and markets aluminum systems for building envelopes and solar power systems.

Visit www.eon.com
www.schuco-usa.com

April 1, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — WEST CHESTER, PA — VWR International, LLC, a leading global laboratory supply company, today announces that it has acquired Jencons (Scientific) Limited, a UK scientific laboratory supply distributor.

Jencons is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of laboratory equipment and consumables with 110 employees. Based in the UK, the company also has operations in Ireland, Kenya, and North America. The Company has annual revenues of approximately $46 million.

Manuel Brocke-Benz, VWR senior vice president and managing director of european operations, says, “Jencons’ product line is an ideal complement to VWR’s expertise in chemicals, consumables, and life science products. Their emphasis on instrumentation and equipment will enhance our product and service offerings to our customers in the UK and Ireland and provide an even more attractive platform for our suppliers.”

About Jencons Scientific

Founded in 1946 as a family owned and operated business, Jencons (Scientific) Ltd. is a distributor of laboratory equipment and consumables. Following the acquisition of the Prior Laboratory Supplies Ltd business in the UK in 1997, the company continued to build on its technical strength in equipment and instrumentation sales and more recently opened facilities in Dublin, Ireland and Nairobi, Kenya. Jencons launched its liquid handling range in 1962 and today distributes these products globally.

Visit www.jencons.co.uk

About VWR International, LLC

VWR International is a leading global laboratory supply company with worldwide sales of $3.5 billion. VWR International’s business is highly diversified across products and services, geographic regions, and customer segments. The company offers products from a wide range of manufacturers to a large number of customers primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. VWR International’s principal customers are major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, industrial, and government organizations as well as universities and schools. The company distributes a diversified product mix, including chemicals; glassware and plasticware; equipment and instruments; furniture; protective apparel; production and safety products; and other life science and laboratory products and supplies. It supports its customers by providing storeroom management, product procurement, supply chain systems integration, technical services, and laboratory benchtop delivery. VWR International maintains operations in over 20 countries and employs over 6,500 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in West Chester, PA.

Visit www.vwr.com

April 1, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — WILMINGTON, DE — To support its growth strategy in safety and protection products, DuPont (NYSE:DD) today announces its intent to purchase the industrial apparel line of Cardinal Health’s Scientific and Production Products business, which manufactures and markets a variety of products used in cleanrooms and other controlled environments.

Terms were not disclosed.

The agreement includes the transfer of the existing inventory and intellectual property related to industrial garments including the Micro-CleanR brand. It will allow DuPont, already a leading manufacturer of fabrics and garments for industrial safety and emergency response, to provide a broader offering for the marketplace. Cardinal Health will retain its hospital apparel product line along with its industrial gloves offering.

“This acquisition builds on DuPont’s long-standing role as a premier provider of innovative technologies that help protect people and critical processes,” says Mark P. Vergnano, group vice president, DuPont Safety and Protection. “It also enhances DuPont’s industrial garment portfolio, allowing us to grow our offering to customers with an expanded range of consumables for controlled environments, including life sciences and electronics manufacturing sites.”

The acquisition is part of the DuPont safety and protection strategy to expand the company’s presence in consumables in the controlled environment market space. It also complements the company’s current offering, making DuPont a leading source for a variety of products, including disposable garments and accessories, cleanroom wipes, and disinfectants.

According to industry estimates, the life sciences consumables segment totals approximately $1 billion globally, including garments, wipes, and disinfectants, among others. The estimated demand for disposable and reusable garments alone is $280 million globally.

Other products DuPont offers that help protect critical products and processes as well as enhance worker safety include:

  • DuPont TyvekR, Tyvek IsoCleanTM, SuprelR LS, and ProCleanR apparel
  • DuPont RelyOnTM disinfectants to reduce the exposure to, and spread of, viruses
  • DuPont SontaraR wipes to help reduce contaminants in manufacturing and other areas where they can destroy product efficacy or safety

Cleanrooms and other controlled environments are used to manufacture products that are highly sensitive to contamination, so they require special controls that minimize the release of particles, microorganisms, or chemicals. Contaminants may come from a variety of sources, including human activities, materials, or even from the air flow into the environment.

This transaction will enable DuPont to offer a broad range of cleanroom garments to help minimize human impact, as well as wipes and disinfectants to aid in controlling surface contamination in cleanrooms and controlled environments.

DuPont is committed to protecting people. From first responders to industrial workers, DuPont provides protective apparel solutions to meet safety needs. The DuPont Safety and Protection segment includes DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems, DuPont Nonwovens, DuPont Building Innovations, DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise, and DuPont Safety Resources. In 2007, the segment’s revenues totaled $5.6 billion.

About DuPont

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

Visit www.dupont.com

April 1, 2008 — /EXTON, PA/ — NETZSCH Fine Particle Technology, LLC announces the opening of a pharmaceutical lab equipment testing facility at the organization’s headquarters in Exton, PA. NETZSCH invites members of the pharmaceutical industry to test their processes on the MiniVac and MicroCer deaerating, grinding, and dispersion lab-sized equipment within the 4,000-square-foot facility with the one-on-one support of a NETZSCH technician. An additional 1,200-square-foot area is dedicated to pharmaceutical assembly and factory acceptance testing.

Designed for small-batch trials, NETZSCH’s MiniVac and MicroCer are ideal for pharmaceutical researchers working with high-quality, high-cost materials to achieve precise, repeatable results that can be scaled up to NETZSCH’s full-size production machines.

The MiniVac removes micronized gases and trapped air from liquids, pastes, and masses having a wide range of viscosities using the VTR (Vacuum Thin-Film Rotation) principle. It is capable of operating continuously without a feed pump.

The MicroCer provides metal-free grinding of high-quality products. Its centrifugal separation system enables the use of the smallest grinding media from 0.05 to 0.8 mm for grinding down to the nanometer range.

“NETZSCH’s experience in the pharmaceutical industry helped us develop the highest quality products to meet the demanding needs of the business,” says Harry Way, technical director for NETZSCH. “Our new testing facility gives pharmaceutical professionals the opportunity to test their own processes on our equipment and see the advantage for themselves.”

About NETZSCH

NETZSCH Fine Particle Technology, LLC, an affiliated company of the Germany-based NETZSCH Feinmahltechnik GmbH, provides customized grinding, mixing, dispersing, kneading, deaeration, classifying, press, and laboratory solutions for the paint and coating, pigment, pharmaceutical, food processing, ceramics, agricultural, minerals processing, cosmetics, and R&D markets. More than 130 years of experience, targeted development, and daily contact with customers, combined with process engineering know-how and an extensive machine and plant program, make NETZSCH one of the world’s leading suppliers.

Visit http://grinding.netzschusa.com

April 1, 2008 — /SAN JOSE, CA/ — The global semiconductor materials market grew 14 percent in 2007 and is forecasted to grow over 11 percent in 2008 according to the latest materials forecast from SEMI. While the semiconductor industry grew three percent in 2007 to reach the $256 billion published by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the global semiconductor materials market grew 14 percent in 2007 to reach a record $42 billion.

Growth was seen in both the wafer fabrication materials and packaging sectors with increases of 17 percent ($25 billion) and nine percent ($17 billion) respectively. Japan continues to dominate worldwide semiconductor materials consumption at 22 percent share due to its large wafer fab and packaging base. Taiwan has held onto the number two spot in terms of consumption of semiconductor materials for the past four years driven by strong growth in wafer foundries and packaging subcontractors. The Rest of World region (ROW), which aggregates Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, other areas of Southeast Asia, and smaller global markets, claims the third largest materials market due to packaging materials. The semiconductor materials market in China is growing at the fastest rate given the new capacity coming on-line from a previously small base.

“As the semiconductor companies continue to ship record amounts of units, demand for materials is increasing as well,” says Dan Tracy, senior director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. “Heightened demand in addition to the tight supply for various gases, silicon, and the widespread adoption of advanced packaging technologies are resulting in very strong revenue growth for semiconductor materials suppliers.”

The Material Market Data Subscription (MMDS) from SEMI provides current revenue data along with two years of historical data and a three-year forecast. A year subscription includes four quarterly updates for the material segments reports revenue for seven market regions (North America, Europe, ROW, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China). The report also features detailed historical data for silicon shipments and revenues for photoresist, photoresist ancillaries, process gases, and leadframes.

About SEMI

SEMI is a global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display, and photovoltaic industries. SEMI member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster, and more economical products that improve lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets, and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.

Visit www.semi.org

Purdue University researchers have reported a new technology for potential biosafety and food safety applications that can simultaneously screen thousands of samples of food or water for several dangerous food-borne pathogens within a couple of hours.

The technique also can estimate the amount of microbes present and whether they pose an active health risk. This could help neutralize potential threats and improve food processing techniques, says Arun Bhunia, a professor of food science at Purdue University.

“For food safety and biosecurity purposes, you need a quick test—a first line of defense—to be able to tell if there is something pathogenic in the food or water,” Bhunia says.

The detection method employs live mammalian cells that release a measurable amount of a signaling chemical when harmed. According to Bhunia, optical equipment and computer software can then be used to analyze the chemical to estimate the amount of harmful microbes present, which is important because there is an effective dose or threshold that many toxins or pathogens need to pass before setting off a red flag for addressing the problem.

The technology can recognize very small amounts of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that kills one in five people infected and is the leading cause of food-borne illness. It also recognizes several species of Bacillus, a non-fatal but common cause of food poisoning, says Pratik Banerjee, a Purdue researcher and first author of a study published in the February issue of the journal Laboratory Investigation detailing the technology. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Purdue’s Center for Food Safety Engineering.


Purdue researcher Pratik Banerjee, at left, measures fluid as he and professor of food science Arun Bhunia work in the lab. Their technology uses common lab materials to quickly screen food and water samples for several food-borne pathogens and toxins. Photo by Tom Campbell/courtesy of Purdue Agricultural Communication.
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The cells are suspended in collagen gel and put into small wells within multi-well plates, which may allow them to be prepared in a central location and shipped to a processing location for on-site testing. This suspension of live mammalian cells within a collagen gel is unique, according to the researchers.

The technology tests for bacteria and toxins that attack cell membranes. For this reason, researchers used cells with high amounts of alkaline phosphatase, the signaling chemical released upon damage to the cell membrane. Researchers could conceivably employ other types of cells within this framework to detect additional types of pathogens.

Samples of food and water are added to biosensor wells before being incubated for 1 to 2 hours. To each well, a chemical is added that reacts with the biosensor’s alkaline phosphatase, yielding a yellow product quantified by a special camera and a computer. However, a precise calculation may be unnecessary sometimes.

“When a large amount of pathogen is present, you can literally see the color change taking place before your eyes,” Banerjee says.

According to the researchers, this technology can actively identify harmful pathogens but ignore those that are inactive, or harmless. Some comparable tests lack this ability and have a tendency to produce false alarms; the incubation period to grow out any living microbes is also rather long with such tests. The new technology also could help optimize processes to kill harmful microbes or deactivate toxins.

The cells currently only live between 4 to 6 days within the gel; Bhunia says this time span could be expanded to 2 weeks, the shelf life he deems necessary for commercial application.

SEMI has published eight new technical standards applicable to the semiconductor, flat-panel display, and MEMS manufacturing industries. The new standards, developed by technical experts from equipment and materials suppliers, device manufacturers, and other companies participating in the SEMI International Standards Program, are available for purchase in CD-ROM format or can be downloaded from the SEMI web site.

SEMI standards are published three times per year. The new standards, part of the March 2008 publication cycle, join more than 770 standards that have been published by SEMI during the past 34 years.

“These SEMI standards represent new ground the volunteers in the SEMI International Standards Program have broken over the years, including two new standards applicable to FPD manufacturing,” says Bettina Weiss, SEMI director of international standards. “As the FPD industry grows and technical requirements are defined earlier and in concert with suppliers and panel makers, these new specifications provide critical solutions to manufacturing challenges.”

The new standards include a test method for determining the leak integrity of gas delivery systems, a guide for design and materials for interfacing MEMS microfluidic systems, and environmental, health, and safety guidelines for FPD manufacturing.

The full list of SEMI standards recently released includes:

  • SEMI C64: SEMI Statistical Guidelines for Ship To Control
  • SEMI C65: Guideline for Trimethylsilane (3MS), 99.995% Quality
  • SEMI C66: Guidelines for Trimethylaluminium (TMAl), 99.5% Quality
  • SEMI D51: Specification for Handshake Method of Single Substrate for Handing Off/On Tool in FPD Production
  • SEMI F106: Test Method for Determination of Leak Integrity of Gas Delivery Systems by Helium Leak Detector
  • SEMI M72: Test Method for Determining Wafer Flatness Using the Moving Average Qualification Metric Based on Scanning Lithography
  • SEMI MS6: Guide for Design and Materials for Interfacing Microfluidic Systems
  • SEMI S26: Environmental, Health, and Safety Guideline for FPD Manufacturing System

The SEMI Standards Program, established in 1973, covers all aspects of semiconductor process equipment and materials, from wafer manufacturing to test, assembly, and packaging, in addition to the manufacture of flat-panel displays, photovoltaic systems, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). About 1,650 volunteers worldwide participate in the program, which is made up of 18 global technical committees. For more information on these and other standards, visit www.semi.org/standards.

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April 1, 2008

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