Contec celebrates 25 years of critical cleaning

Product line consists of wipes, mops, wall washing systems, swabs and disinfectants for the pharmaceutical, life sciences, microelectronics, automotive, and aerospace manufacturing sectors

Contec is celebrating a big milestone this year – 25 years of bringing critical cleaning solutions to customers all over the world.

In 1988 Jack McBride and Jim Smith started Contec in the relatively early years of the cleanroom manufacturing market. Today, Contec’s product line consists of knitted, woven and nonwoven wipes, presaturated wipes, sterile and non-sterile wipes, mops, wall washing systems, swabs and disinfectants for the pharmaceutical, life sciences, microelectronics, automotive, and aerospace manufacturing sectors.

\'I look back at where we were 25 years ago and it’s an amazing feeling to see where we are today,\' says McBride, CEO of Contec. \'When we started, we were confident in our ability to grow a business in this new market, but we never dreamed it would grow to this level.

\'The evolution of the company has been a thrill for all of us and it is especially exciting to see jobs being created and careers being made here. The fact that so many of our customers are still with us is a true testament in our commitment to them and our products.\'

Milestones include:

• October 1988: Jack McBride and Jim Smith found Contec, Inc.
• June 1992: PROSAT presaturated wipes for the cleanroom industry are launched.
• July 1995: Saturation facility opens dedicated primarily to automotive wipe manufacturing.
• April 1996: Edgeless Mop and VertiKlean Mop are introduced.
• March 1997: Manufacturing begins at Contec’s new Spartanburg, SC facility.
• September 1999: ISO 9001 certification achieved.
• May 2000: Partnership with Socomore of Vannes, France begins. Socomore manufactures and markets Contec’s SATWipes to the European automotive, aerospace and industrial markets.
• February 2004: Contec’s Athletix Products business – wipes and cleaning solutions for the sports, health club and fitness markets –  is launched.
• June 2006: Contec opens its manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China. This plant manufactures wipes, mops and other products for our customers in Asia and Australia.
• April 2007: EasyCurve mop and VertiKlean MAX mop are introduced.
• March 2008: Contec purchases Sporicidin International. The Rockville, MD company created Sporicidin Brand EPA registered disinfectants and cleaning solutions.
• July 2009: Contec acquires Anticon Products, the cleanroom division of Milliken & Company.
• October 2011: Contec’s China facility expands. Facility now has unique capabilities for the Asian market and serves as our Electronics Technology Center.
• April 2013: Contec moves all warehousing and distribution to a new location in Spartanburg, SC. This new facility offers approximately 170,000 more square feet for product storage and distribution, more office space, and an area for future manufacturing.
• October 2013: Contec partners with BioMed Protect to bring Peridox, the industry’s only disinfectant with a 3 minute sporicide claim, to the cleanroom market.

Contec prides itself on bringing custom solutions to critical problems. In every continent around the world, Contec’s customers are developing new technologies in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities which bring unique cleaning challenges. Most of our products have been developed by listening to specific customer problems and creating products to meet these requirements.

\'We have prospered through the years because of our customers,\' says Smith, Vice President of Contec. \'Our customer feedback and their needs brought about many of our most popular products. We listen to what they have to say, what they need and develop a solution.\'

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