Hydrocarbon-alcohol cleaning: Rosenberger, Richard Geiss GmbH and Vapic work hand in hand

A huge requirement for degreasing

The amount of degreasing work required is enormous: In business year 2025 alone, Rosenberger cleaned two billion components at its Fridolfing plant, with more than 130 million connectors for high-frequency technology passing through its various degreasing systems every month. Demand for test instruments for AI chips, which Rosenberger also develops and produces in Fridolfing, is currently booming. Degreasing activities at the site run at full tilt around the clock, six days a week, in 6/24 mode.

No need for a PCE retrofit

Placing the new hydrocarbon-alcohol system into service proved more complicated than originally planned. “Together with Richard Geiss GmbH and Vapic, we managed to develop a stable process that leaves nothing to be desired. The dedicated efforts of everyone involved have paid off completely. We can now achieve the same quality and surface tension with the hydrocarbon-alcohol solution as with a PCE (perchloroethylene) system,” Mühlberger explains. Given that Rosenberger supplies its components not just to the automotive sector but also to the aerospace, telecom and medical technology industries, the degrees of cleanliness required from the degreasing process are especially high.

A sensitive system

“We knew in advance that the degreasing process used at Rosenberger, with its mix of hydrocarbons and modified alcohols, would be more sensitive than conventional degreasing with PCE in the previously installed systems. So we had to invest all the more energy into continuous process monitoring and optimization,” reports Lech Andrzejewski-Eser, Field Service Representative for Surface Cleaning at Richard Geiss GmbH.

A daily exchange of information

At the height of the analysis phase, the team headed by Markus Obermayer, Rosenberger’s Project Manager for Process Optimization, reported the readings taken from the solvent bath to the experts at Richard Geiss GmbH on a daily basis. “The reply would come straight away: ‘Okay, add 150 or 200 ml of stabilizer now.’ We’ve now optimized this process so that the stabilizer is admixed at fixed intervals spread throughout the day,” says Obermayer. A key piece of equipment constantly in use at Rosenberger throughout this phase was a quick-testing kit for performing on-site analyses of the solvent bath based on ISOCLEAN RG 59. This testing kit is a case equipped with all the needed measuring instruments and test reagents, along with instructions for independent on-site solvent monitoring. “Our team knows the testing process by heart by now, given that we’ve also been monitoring our PCE systems with a three-stage testing kit from Richard Geiss for many years,” explains Obermayer.

Safety in the degreasing process

The all-around service palette offered by Richard Geiss GmbH was a great help to Markus Obermayer and Helmut Mühlberger during the process-analysis phase for the new hydrocarbon-alcohol system: The specialists at the Geiss laboratory continually examined the samples from the solvent bath, provided the right recommendations for stabilizer admixtures and monitored the degreasing process’ safety.

Contract cleaning service

Besides relying on Richard Geiss GmbH’s comprehensive support for system installation and cleaning at the Fridolfing site, Rosenberger also draws upon the firm’s contract-cleaning services. “That really helps us a lot. It’s a solution that offers us enormous security, especially when it comes to bought-in parts that we don’t produce ourselves in Fridolfing but instead partly source from external manufacturers in Asia. Because Richard Geiss GmbH can adapt its own degreasing process in Offingen much faster than we can in Fridolfing to newly arising — and above all constantly changing — component-related challenges,” Mühlberger explains.

A stricter approval process

Optimizing the processes of parts manufacturing and degreasing also affects Rosenberger’s procurement procedures: “We’ve tightened our purchasing regulations. Suppliers now have to document which oils were used to manufacture their components. Only then do they receive approval from us,” explains Mühlberger.

Retrofitting the system

The system manufacturer Vapic was naturally also fully involved in the optimization process and made several changes to the system technology. “In the original configuration, some components were still very PCE-oriented. That was intentional, because we wanted to keep a hybrid solution open as a back door. But we quickly realized that it’s actually better to bypass the absorber and the activated carbon unit completely,” says Mühlberger. Vapic also made adjustments to the water separator and to the supply tanks.

A clear focus is essential

What all those involved take away from the project: If the degreasing process is to work with hydrocarbon and alcohol, then the system must be 100% tailored to this solution from the very outset. “Anything else simply makes no sense,” explains Michel Lubinsky-Fischer, Sales Manager for Surface and Textile Cleaning at Richard Geiss GmbH. The project at Rosenberger is a prime example of outstanding teamwork and genuine partnership. “We’ve impressively demonstrated that we really do stay true to the four pillars of our RG4Chemicals brand — supply, support, disposal and guaranteed quality — in our everyday work,” says Lubinsky-Fischer.

Planning underway

The shared experiences gained by Rosenberger, Geiss and Vapic from the current system project have created a new sense of confidence, also with regard to the oldest PCE system in Fridolfing, which is scheduled for replacement in 2027. “We’ve gained so much process expertise that we plan to run the new system with ISOCLEAN RG 59 from Geiss as well,” says Markus Obermayer.

Expertise built over time

Rosenberger Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH & Co. KG has taken decades to develop its expertise in optimal surface processing. Helmut Mühlberger has been with the company for 40 years and headed the Surface Technology department for more than 15 years before becoming Group Leader for Parts Manufacturing. Also for more than 15 years now, Rosenberger in Fridolfing has relied on the quality products, expertise and comprehensive service of the Richard Geiss company. “Back then, we switched completely from fresh products to distillates in the cleaning process and deliberately chose Richard Geiss GmbH as a regional partner, one that has truly provided us with all-around service ever since,” says Mühlberger. The professionals at Geiss handle the supply of distillates, the disposal of used material, the performance of regular laboratory analyses and the training of personnel.

By Ingo Jensen.

About Rosenberger Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH & Co. KG

Rosenberger Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned, medium-sized industrial company founded in 1958. It is currently one of the world’s leading providers of standardized and customized connectivity solutions for high frequency, high-voltage and fiber-optic technology. Renowned high-tech companies in mobile communications and telecom, data technology, medical electronics, industrial electronics, industrial measurement technology, aerospace and automotive electronics rely on the precision and quality of its products. Rosenberger is certified to the standards IATF 16949:2016, DIN EN 9100, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Of the more than 15,000 employees of the Rosenberger Group, around 3,500 are stationed at the main plant in Fridolfing/Tittmoning (Upper Bavaria), while the rest work at additional manufacturing, assembly and development sites and at Rosenberger sales offices in Europe, Asia, and North and South America.

About Richard Geiss GmbH

Richard Geiss GmbH is one of Europe’s leading specialists in the field of solvent recovery, based in Offingen in the district of Günzburg. The company produces high-purity distillates from solvent waste by distillative processing. Richard Geiss GmbH supplies solvents for industrial surface cleaning, textile cleaning, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Contract cleaning rounds off the range of services as the fourth business area. Richard Geiss GmbH employs approximately 110 people in Offingen. The company has an approved processing capacity of 50,000 tons of solvents per year, which are processed into high-purity distillates and is certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001 as well as being a waste management specialist. Richard Geiss GmbH was founded in 1959 by Richard Geiss and today Bastian Geiss manages the family business in its third generation.

Info:

Richard Geiss GmbH
Lüßhof 100, 89362 Offingen, Telefon 08224-807-0, info@geiss-gmbh.de, www.geiss-gmbh.de

Press contact:

Fabian Baur, Product Management
Tel. 08224-807-78, fabian.baur@geiss-gmbh.de