A clean record - The history of kolb Cleaning Technology

1988

kolb founders — Three young men have a vision of what's coming in the future: Wolfgang Kolb, Manfred Killian and Georg Pollmann (from left) found the electronics assembly service provider Kolb Fertigungstechnik GmbH in Willich.

Production in the cellar — The first soldering "line": Three hand soldering irons. The first production facility is built in the cellar of Pollmann's parents' house. Admittedly, this does not yet look like one of the global electronics cleaning industry leaders.

1990

Rapid growth: The company moves to a production hall with offices in the Münchheide II industrial estate in Willich. Design of the first official company logo, logically (keyword: future) with a microchip as a symbol.

ContraFlux detergent 1990 — Start of cooperation with Ing. G. Linker GmbH for the development and production of the first aqueous detergents for the electronics industry. Start product: ContraFlux^® flux remover, e.g. for solder carriers.

1991

AirFlow technology icon — Manual cleaning with solvents? No thanks: With the invention of **kolb** AirFlow^® technology, mechanical cleaning of solder frames and carriers, using water, air and solvent-free cleaning agents is possible for the first time.

kolb AF03 cleaning system — Market entry of cleaning technology products: Initially only intended and constructed for in-house use, the first commercial delivery of a RB1 system takes place - later successfully in the program as **kolb** AF03 for over 25 years.

1994

kolb AF04 cleaning system — While the industry continues to clean production tools by hand: Presentation of the first semi-automatic three-chamber system RB4 - later successfully in the portfolio as **kolb** AF04 for more than 25 years.

Detergent portfolio — While the market still swears by solvents, the **kolb** range of aqueous detergents is being expanded to include a paste and adhesive remover (PastEx^®) and the first additives to improve cleaning performances.

1995

kolb PowerSpray icon — Development of the **kolb** PowerSpray^® pressure spray technology and thus entry into the market segment of aqueous fine cleaning of sensitive production tools such as printer screens and printer stencils.

Fair booth 1995 — Green becomes cyan: The cleaning technology department becomes its own business division and gets its own logo. The first trade fair appearances for systems and detergents follow - initially at cooperation stands.

1996

kolb headquarters — Moving into the new headquarters in a Willich industrial estate. Why Willich again? Düsseldorf airport - 18 km, Düsseldorf main station - 22 km, Duisburg port - 35 km, Krefeld main station - 20 km, Venlo (NL) - 45 km

kolb RB5D cleaning system — Delivery of the first semi-automatic PowerSpray^® three-chamber cleaning systems RB5D and RB6D for screen stencils - already equipped with a fine filter system for cleaner regeneration and hot air drying.

1998

kolb RB M7 cleaning system — Development of large-scale systems for maintenance cleaning, especially for the volume cleaning of components (coolers, filters, heat exchangers, containers etc.) from flux management systems of almost all manufacturers.

kolb RB10D cleaning system — Image left: RBM7 - large cleaning system with crane. Image right: RB10D - the first all-round system for maintenance cleaning: For contaminated condensate filters, carriers / masks, ESD boxes, LP magazines, pallets etc.

2000

kolb MultiEx 2P — Market launch of the first MultiEx^® cleaner. **kolb** MultiEx^® 2P is an alkaline broadband two-phase detergent, especially for the removal of SMD adhesives, paste and flux and thus the first **kolb** detergent for PCBA cleaning.

2001

kolb PS08 cleaning system — Double premiere: Development of the first fully automatic single-chamber system (PS08), and thus also the first system for PCBA cleaning and therefore entry into ultra-fine cleaning of sensitive electronic products.

2002

kolb AF09 cleaning system — Market launch of the modular AF09 maintenance cleaning system (with up to four chambers) with innovative hybrid technology for cleaning condensate filters, solder frames etc. as well as external piping and cyclones.

MediumWipe diagram — Development of the resource-saving MediumWipe^® process for PowerSpray^® systems, in which residual medium is blown off the goods to be cleaned and out of the cleaning circuit and returned to the cleaning tank.

2003 / 2004

kolb PS04 maintenance cleaning system — Market launch of the PS04 all-round system for maintenance cleaning with a large process chamber (W 850, D 750, H 580 mm) for carriers, filters, ESD boxes and tools. First use of the vertical, space-saving airlock door.

kolb PS07 stencil cleaning system — Presentation of the first self-sufficient, water-free operable single-chamber cleaning system PS07 for stencils with 4-step process (cleaning, MediumWipe^®, rinsing, drying). Also the prototype for the planned series platform.

2005

kolb PS03 stencil cleaning system — Introduction of the single-chamber platform design, which enables high-end technology on the smallest possible footprint. Launch of the PS09 PCBA cleaning system and the self-sufficient PS03 entry-level stencil cleaner.

kolb MultiEx N7 detergent — Launch of TernarySequence^® (TS) detergent technology (multiple regeneration of the cleaner with very simple filtration) with the product MultiEx^® N7-TS, which can also be used as rinsing medium.

2006

kolb AA500 water processing system — Pioneer also here: start of the development of water treatment and disposal technologies specifically for sewage of cleaning systems in the electronics industry. First commercial plant: the AA500 water processing system

kolb Australia subsidiary — Due to the rapidly growing export business, the first **kolb** foreign subsidiary is founded in Bankstown, Australia, in cooperation with Suba Engineering PTY Ltd., specifically for the South-East Asia business region.

2007

Legal and physical separation from Kolb Fertigungstechnik GmbH as **kolb** Cleaning Technology GmbH with shareholders (from left) Christian Linker (authorized signatory), Georg Pollmann (CEO) and Christian Ortmann (CFO).

Market launch of the PS07 TWIN, the world's first cleaning system that can clean two stencils simultaneously, and the AF20, the first fully automatic single-chamber system with AirFlow^® technology from **kolb**.

2008 / 2009

Development of the PSB "OneBox" compact platform for two- and three-tank systems to provide the best possible cleaning quality with the highest possible economic efficiency on the smallest possible footprint.

Introduction of the compact AA200 wastewater treatment system (forerunner of WPSD-IU SYMBIO-modules) for the treatment of heavy metals containing rinse water to be disposed of indirectly into the public sewer system.

2010

Introduction of the PSB500 (for PCBAs) and PSB400 (for carriers and tools) systems: From 2010 the OneBox product portfolio develops into the world's best-selling batch system series in the electronics manufacturing industry.

2011

Prototyping at kolb — Start of in-house production of stainless steel cleaning chambers (larger than those available on the market) and introduction of completely virtual prototype construction, thus drastically reducing development times.

kolb AF30 cleaning system — Market launch of the 300 compact class for smaller companies or for use in mass production where one stencil cleaning system is installed per printer. Market launch of the AF30 maintenance cleaning system.

2012

kolb PSB100 hybrid cleaning system — Introducing the PSB500 H70, the world's first batch cleaning system with a 700x710 mm process chamber that can clean 540 Eurocards! Presentation of the PSB100 hybrid all-rounder for ultra-fine, fine and tools cleaning.

Wash center Siemens Amberg — Market launch of the AirFlow^® mass cleaner AF60 for condensate filters and tools. General contractor for the construction of the washing center for SMD tools with three AF60s at the Siemens electronics plant in Amberg.

2013

kolb logistics center — As an innovation leader and one of the most successful companies in the electronics cleaning industry, **kolb** celebrates its 25th anniversary and opens its 1200 m² logistics and torso production center.

kolb PS300 hybrid cleaning compact system — Presentation of the PSB500 H90, the batch system with the world's largest (970x955x900 mm) process chamber for cleaning of 830 Eurocards. Introduction of the PS300 2HD hybrid compact system for stencils and PCBAs.

2014

kolb PSB700 H90 Schablonenreinigungssystem — Market launch of the PSB700 H90 with 8-fold rotor system and CWA^® high-performance compressor drying: the world's first cleaning system for 4 stencils up to 800x940x40 mm. Cycle time: approx. 4 minutes per stencil.

kolb industrial parts cleaning offer — Development of systems for industrial parts cleaning of bulk material, turned, milled or complex parts from grease, oil, chips, etc. Presentation of the product segment at the parts2clean trade fair in Stuttgart (Germany).

2015

kolb USA / China subsidiaries — Foundation of **kolb** Cleaning Technology USA LLC. for North and South America and **kolb** Asia Pacific Pty Ltd. opens a branch in Shanghai. **kolb** is now represented by sales partners and its own companies in 52 countries.

2016

kolb WPCL rinse water recycling module — Market presentation of integrable recycling and disposal modules for **kolb** PSB systems - for reuse (WPCL modules) of rinsing water or for in¡direct discharge into the local wastewater network (WPSD modules).

kolb quick change unit for H70 systems — Market launch of quick-loading units (a world first) for PCBA cleaning systems, which reduce loading and unloading times to a minimum, as the loaded units can be completely pulled out and pushed in.

2017

Ortmann takes over as CEO 2017 — Global premiere of the innovative, Industry 4.0-capable AQUBE^® system family. Christian Ortmann takes over as CEO from Georg Pollmann, who continues to be responsible for the technical area as CVO.

Launch of new chemistry packaging — Presentation of the PSE system family: Economy systems based on the PS series, which has been successful since 2010. New packaging design for chemical products, change of canister color to corporate color cyan.

2018

kolb TS+ longlife detergent pH buffering

kolb AQUBE MV8 stencil cleaning system — 30 years of **kolb**: 2,312 systems on the market, 34 machine models, 53 cleaner and additive products on offer. Market launch of the AQUBE^® MV8 sTWIN, the world's first sequential cleaning double chamber system.

kolb US rep meeting — Market launch of TS+ detergent technology for twice as high pH buffering as comparable products on the market. **kolb** USA establishes its new nationwide representative network for the USA and Canada.

2019

kolb Technology Days visual — As part of the space expansion, **kolb** Campus Knowledge Center is founded to build up and transfer knowledge to customers, partners, employees and interested parties from the industry. 1st event: **kolb** TECHNOLOGY DAYS.

Start of a research cooperation with the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences. Various departments conduct research with kolb process experts on innovative processes in the field of cleaning and water management.

2020

kolb digital enforcement — While the coronavirus pandemic keeps the world in its grip: Internal launch of multiple projects to further digitalize processes and applications and to further develop machine software and automation.

Further university cooperation in the area of research: together with Fontys University Venlo (NL), relevant kolb departments are conducting research in the area of sustainable production / neutral climate footprint.