As a cleanroom location, GEMÜ Switzerland is the GEMÜ Group’s service and competence center for high-quality plastic solutions with cleanroom requirements. With its high-purity products made of technical and fluoroplastics for the semiconductor, medical and pharmaceutical, food and biotech sectors, the company is experiencing continuous growth and is planning to expand its capacity in an additional plant. As a medium-term interim solution until the new production facility is completed, Cleanroom has been set up in a rented hall with an area of over 500 m².
Expansion of the production facility in Emmen
At the Emmen production site, valves and assemblies for the pharmaceutical industry, microelectronics, solar and semiconductor industries as well as for medical technology are manufactured under clean conditions in accordance with ISO 8 to ISO 6 on an area of over 5,300 square meters. Due to the growth strategy of the GEMÜ Group, the plant is reaching its capacity limits and an extensive expansion of the production site is planned.
The first stage of the plant expansion is scheduled for completion in 2030, by which time GEMÜ will have to provide an interim solution for the increased space requirements in cleanroom production. An additional hall has been rented in the immediate vicinity of the site, in which a further 500 square meters Cleanroom have been created in accordance with ISO 8. The newly installed cleanroom system should ideally be relocated to the new site at a later date and consists of a modular design that can be converted flexibly and non-destructively.
Adrian Schilling, Operations Manager at GEMÜ GmbH in Emmen, explains the planning for the coming years:
“We needed a medium-term solution to expand our production capacities for the next few years before we can move into the new premises of the existing plant. For this purpose, we have rented a hall in which the manufactured valves and assemblies for the semiconductor industry are assembled and packaged under ISO 8 clean room conditions. For our customers with their applications and requirements, no compromises can be made when it comes to the cleanliness of production. That is why we have created a perfect interim solution, so to speak, in the rented hall. Ideally, we want to continue using the cleanroom system in the future plant, which is why we looked for a flexible modular system that can be dismantled and reused.
Self-supporting Cleanroom with 16-meter-long truss girders
Schilling Engineering’s Cleanroom corresponds to GEMÜ’s modern production environment. Over a length of 35 meters and a width of 16 meters, a continuous area without supports has been created, which allows for a very flexible design of the workstations and tests. The self-supporting construction of this size was realized with 16-metre-long truss girders, which the cleanroom specialist prefabricated in its factory in Wutöschingen, Baden-Württemberg, and delivered to Emmen in one piece by special transport.
Fully glazed recirculating air walls that cover the entire front, illuminated LED doors with intuitive user guidance and lighting consisting of flush-mounted integrated LED strips reinforce the modern impression. Adrian Schilling is visibly satisfied with the function and appearance of the new cleanroom system:
“The system precisely meets our requirements and wishes. We planned the technical concept and design of the cleanroom system in close consultation with the Schilling sales team and project managers. The plans were implemented one-to-one and our production started without any problems. We were impressed by the complete solution and the quality of the cleanroom. I am also pleased that the Cleanroom looks really great. A customer visit is twice as much fun this way, as you can show the customer everything in detail from the outside without having to enter Cleanroom. We still had deficits here in the past.”
Clean room class ISO 8 is achieved with a total of 27 clean air units, which draw in fresh air directly from the hall and feed it into an energy-efficient air circulation system. Air conditioning is provided by a chiller installed outside the hall.
The cleanroom system is controlled via the CRControl multifunctional tool, which is used to control and monitor all functions in the Cleanroom, the doors and the air conditioning technology. ISO monitoring is also integrated into the control system. Secure remote maintenance via the Internet has been set up to provide fast and flexible assistance in the event of a fault.
Staff induction for 60 employees
Up to 60 employees work in three shifts in the new Cleanroom. Staff enter Cleanroom wearing a smock, cleanroom shoes and a hood. A 35 m² airlock area was planned for fast and ergonomic entry. The interlock equipment and furniture were also supplied by Schilling Engineering. The personnel interlocks are equipped with full glass doors with LED visualization. The coloring of the interlocked doors indicates to the staff when a door can be opened.
In addition to the personnel airlock, a 12 m² material airlock was installed, which offers space for up to six Euro pallets and can be accessed and loaded via automatic sliding doors.
Nine months from order to commissioning
The entire cleanroom system was planned, manufactured, installed and qualified within just a few months. The move to the new facility was completed without delay. Adrian Schilling is delighted with the successful progress of the project:
“The timing of the project was very good. As all the necessary services came from a single source, coordination was easy. It took us nine months from placing the order to final commissioning. We were very satisfied with this and were right on schedule”
