Cleanroom opens in Ventspils, Latvia
Will be used for the manufacture of electronics and satellite technology components
The ISO class 7 cleanroom, the first in the Kurzeme region of Latvia, is located in the Ventspils High Technology Park (VHTP) and will be used by companies that operate in high technology fields such as electronics and satellite technologies.
The cleanroom is said to record very low levels of environmental pollutants such as dust, microbes and chemical vapours owing to a special air conditioning system, which maintains a stable temperature and constant level of humidity and cleanliness.
Ivars Eglajs, chairman of VHTP, said: “The creation of this cleanroom in Ventspils will clearly promote the competitiveness of companies of the Baltic region that operate in the fields of high technology.”
He added: “The cleanroom allows both companies and research centres to develop and manufacture more sophisticated products in new market niches as well as participate in joint projects of satellite design with the European Space Agency. We also plan to offer the cleanroom to students for practice and acquirement of skills.”
The VHTP cleanroom will mainly be used for the final assembly, contact welding, testing and packaging of electronic products and their components. It will also be used for completing satellite components and for carrying out certain processes in controlled conditions.
Three companies have already started to use the VHTP cleanroom facilities: Ventspils Elektronikas Fabrika will be testing specific electronic products; LEO Research Centre will develop satellite technology products; and VHTP will offer training courses. The cleanroom is also open to other firms both in Latvia and abroad.
The VHTP cleanroom has been created as part of a co-operation between Ventspils and Tartu in the Space Technology Research and Training project in partnership with Ventspils University College, Tartu University and Tartu Observatory. The Norwegian government funded the project in a bilateral financing arrangement.
The VHTP was opened in December 2006.