FHI Tech Stories: Interflow focuses on modular clean rooms and operating rooms

Chip manufacturers, chip machine manufacturers and their suppliers use high-quality cleanrooms to safely develop and produce microchips, machines and their components. Operating rooms are also increasingly becoming high-tech environments. Interflow is a specialist in both markets and, in addition to cleanrooms and modern operating rooms, also supplies advanced laminar air flow units for laboratories, among other things. In this episode of FHI Tech Stories, we speak with Bart-Jan Freriks, director at Interflow.

Interflow, which employs almost a hundred people, has been active since 1974. Once started as a specialist in laminar air flow techniques, Interflow has grown over the years into a company with numerous activities. Freriks: “We build cleanrooms, such as operating rooms, and we make laminar air flow cabinets (LAF), the 'safe workbenches'. The latter includes a microbiological safety cabinet, such as those you often saw in the background during interviews with virologists during the corona crisis. We also provide services, such as validating cleanrooms, management and service. Because these cabinets or clean spaces must be checked periodically to determine whether they still meet the standards. We have a separate validation team for that. We also carry out repairs and modifications to cleanrooms and LAF cabinets via our service team.”

As a specialist, Interflow delivers total solutions to the customer, according to the director, making it unique: “If you look at cleanrooms and operating theatres: we design, build, validate and maintain them. That starts with the customer's first sketch. We guide the customer in the requirements package. In some cases, the customer already has an advisor and we connect to that. Ultimately, we make the design and set out with the customer. Then you ask questions such as how logistical flows will run in the cleanroom, what special equipment should be in it, what classification should it be given and how do you arrange sustainable air control, for example. Ultimately, we deliver a cleanroom or operating theatre with all the necessary reports. We do this for both the high-tech world, such as the semiconductor industry, and the medical and pharmaceutical world. Thanks to this integral approach and years of experience, we can also guarantee performance.”

According to Interflow, it is the only company in the Netherlands with this complete package in-house. Freriks: “We are one of the few in this market that can offer this complete package and dares to give guarantees. We make the LAF cabinets, walls and ceilings in our own factory.”

Rental and modular towards the future

Interflow's strategy for the coming years is focused on offering modular concepts, says the Interflow director: "In five years, we will be a bit bigger and offer more modular solutions. We have also started renting out clean rooms. This way, a customer who wants to renovate his existing clean room can continue his normal activities in the temporary clean room. With the modular solution, we are realizing a clean room of a thousand square meters for a supplier of ASML in less than six months at an attractive budget. Ultimately, we expect that the demand for a rental or rental/purchase model will increase further, with the option to expand or modify clean rooms modularly. And we want to move towards a point where you can configure a LAF cabinet yourself on our website, just like a new car at the dealer."

As a member of the Laboratory Technology sector, Interflow can be found at several trade fairs and events. “We were at WoTS last year and this year we are participating in LabNL. WoTS was a great success,” says the director. “As Interflow, we have built a stand as a mini cleanroom with our air flow units in it. For LabNL, I can only reveal that the trends will return safely and sustainably.”

Because the company is also taking steps in the area of sustainability: “We supply clean rooms all electric, also for temporary solutions. There is a world of technology behind that, such as heat pumps and electric boilers. We also offer a take-back guarantee for our walls and ceilings to stimulate circularity. Moreover, our customer can get a tax benefit for that from the MIA.”

The Interflow director has a few ideas for the other activities provided by FHI: “I originally come from the aerospace industry. There, the trade association NAG applied a certain coherence around certain themes. They organised theme meetings or even studies. In these, competitors, together with customers and suppliers, took on the challenge of how to tackle a certain theme, such as sustainability, the shortage of electricity on the grid or the merging of different standards. That is something I still miss a bit at FHI: bringing together diverse parties and then putting them to work. Working visits with members are also interesting, both at home and abroad. And perhaps participation in trade missions is also useful, because our scope is also international. Even investment missions to entice parties to invest in the Netherlands can be attractive to FHI members.”

Register now for a visit to LabNL.