Nanotechnology Degree Programs are Available Due to More and More Companies Utilizing Nanotechnology for Products

More and more universities around the world are starting to offer a degree in nanotechnology.  The increase in companies that utilize nanotechnology to create products, such as pharmaceutical or electronic companies, has brought about awareness of the need for more nanotechnology educational programs.  Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend, Indiana has decided to create a nanotechnology program for students.  Ivy Tech is developing the two year program to prepare students for any technical career that utilizes nanotechnology, such as cleanroom equipment operators or technicians. Click here to read the full article about South Bends developing nanotechnology program.

Rising Latex Prices Impacting Other Industries

The rising costs of raw latex materials is impacting more than just latex glove customers. See how these rising costs are impacting the price customers are paying in another industry. Click here to read more.

In our industry, rising cost is one of many reasons we recomend that our customers use latex alternatives such as Nitrile or PVC.

Want a Live Peek Inside one of NASA’s Cleanrooms?

Here in the Valutek office, we’ve made a fascinating discovery – a live feed from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where technicians are working on the next Mars rover, dubbed “Curiosity.”

Today, around noon, about 12 technicians crowded around the vehicle, taking photos, discussing important things (we assume, maybe they were making lunch plans) and inspecting parts. They were of course sporting cleanroom apparel, including coveralls, hoods, booties and face masks.

The Web site that features the live feed explains, “Technicians assembling and testing the Mars Science Laboratory, aka Curiosity, are covered head-to-toe in “bunny suits.” These white smocks, booties and facemasks help protect against Earthly contaminants hitching a ride to Mars.” The site also features videos explaining how the rover is made, how it navigates and other interesting facts about their work.

The site was presumably designed for school children, to stimulate their interest in space and science, but we think it’s pretty cool, too! Have a look at the live feed of the NASA cleanroom for yourself by clicking here.

With our own “Curiosity” now piqued, we searched for other controlled environments willing to let anyone with an Internet connection watch their technicians work. And we came across the University of Alberta’s Nano Fab.

This site really lets your inner voyeur have fun by providing a floor plan of their cleanroom, including the Gowning and Inspection rooms, and Sputtering and Bonding areas. Simply click on your room of choice, and viola! We caught a glimpse of some operators changing into their cleanroom apparel, and even using proper gowning techniques. Watch the live feed from the University of Alberta’s NanoFab by clicking here.

Valutek is Hiring!

Think you got what it takes to be a part of the Valutek team? Right now, Valutek is hiring for a Quality Assurance Manager.

Overview 

The Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for oversight and management of Valutek’s contract manufacturing partners in Asia. The Quality Assurance Manager’s primary tasks are: (1) managing relationships with current contract manufacturing partners to insure that product quality and delivery timelines meet Valutek specifications, (2) identifying and selecting new contract manufacturing partners to establish primary, secondary and alternative manufacturers for all core products, (3) managing contract manufacturers partner’s pricing to meet established profit margins goals, and (4) providing technical expertise, information and product knowledge to Valutek team and its customers. The position oversees two Quality Auditors who work directly with the contractor manufacturers in implementing Valutek’s quality assurance programs. The Quality Assurance Manager reports to the VP of Finance/Operations in the US. The Quality Assurance Manager will work closely with the VP of Finance/Operations overseeing Valutek’s two consolidation centers in Asia.

Develop and Implement Quality Control Systems

• Implementing and maintaining quality systems and programs to ensure compliance with company and customer defined quality standards
• Establishing processes to ensure that all products shipped from contract manufacturers meet Valutek Product Specifications prior to shipment
• Reviewing and maintaining Product Specification sheets to ensure that they are accurate, up-to-date and meet or exceed current product standards
• Break product costing into component costing (i.e. raw materials, labor, packaging, energy, etc.)
• Tracking and reporting any QC Issues and corrective actions

 Identify, Select and Manage Contractor Manufacturing Partners

• Identifying, selecting and managing contract manufactures throughout Asia
• Ensuring that vendors meet or exceed Valutek standards with respect to quality, price and delivery.
• Negotiating contracts with contract manufacturers
• Establishing Primary, Secondary and Alternative vendors for all key products
• Develop and implement a system to evaluate vendor performance in meeting company goals to include Quarterly Business Reviews that you will conduct.

Manage Product Delivery and Cost of Goods

• Establishing and managing consolidated shipments from Asian contract manufacturers
• Review and maintain vendor pricing levels and meet company gross margin goals
• Consistently looking for ways to lower product costs with existing vendors or by recruiting new vendors
• Working with contract manufacturers to ensure timely production and delivery of products
• Developing systems and reports to track performance of supply chain against established standards.

Disseminate Technical Expertise and Knowledge

• Providing product training to the Valutek team
• Moderating the Cleanroom Forum website
• Writing monthly technical articles for the Cleanroom WIKI, GSFCC.org
• Contributing articles and technical insights to Valutek blog and other social media channels

 Minimum Requirements:

• 7 years experience in quality management with a least 4 in a leadership position
• Bachelor’s Degree required preferably in Quality Control, Supply Chain Management or related field.
• Knowledge and experience using ERP/MRP programs required, NetSuite experience is a plus.
• Fluent in reading, comprehending and writing both English and Mandarin.
• 3 years working with Asian-based contract manufacturers  

 Qualifications / Additional Skills / Aptitude:

• Ability to develop, train and mentor direct reports
• Drive and ambition to solve problems effectively, creatively and in a timely manner
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet customer deadlines
• Strong negotiating skills when dealing with vendors
• Ability to work well with other departments and members of the management team to achieve company goals
• Excellent grammar, verbal, and written skills.
• Strong Excel skills and the ability to construct complex spreadsheets as needed to manage Valutek’s supply chain  
• High energy level, comfortable performing multifaceted projects in conjunction with day-to-day activities.
• Resourceful, well organized, highly dependable, efficient and detailed oriented.
• Ability to establish credibility and be decisive but be able to recognize and support the organization’s values and priorities.
• Be a productive and supportive team player who gets results
• Ability to work in an entrepreneurial environment with minimal supervision.

 Travel:

• Frequent travel will be required to identify, select, and manage contract manufacturing partners in Asia as well as occasional travel to the US for management meetings

Send resumes and inquiries to

Kirk Mathers
VP of Finance
kmathers@valutek.com

About Valutek

Valutek is a high-growth firm that provides cleanroom products to leading high-technology companies located primarily in the North America. Valutek is the first company to offer all critical environment supplies from one source, and the only company to offer independent testing. More at www.valutek.com.

Valutek’s Cleanroom Gloves Blow-Out Starts … NOW!

Right now, Valutek is offering dozens of gloves products, including nylon, latex, PVC and nitrile, at rock-bottom prices (some start at just $9.95 per case!).

Download the full list of discounted glove products right now

Act now and you can order a case of Latex Powder-Free Gloves for $40.95, or a case of Nitrile Powder-Free Bagged Gloves for $55.95.

But act fast, these deals are only available as supplies last. Find out more about the big cleanroom gloves sale by clicking here, or find out more about all of Valutek’s products, incluing adhesive mats, wipers, cleanroom paper and more, by visiting http://www.valutek.com/.

Learn more about all of Valutek’s cleanroom gloves products here.

More info on Valutek’s controlled environment latex gloves.

Valutek’s Latex Cleanroom Gloves provide excellent protection against contamination and chemicals such as alkalies, acids, alcohols and ketones. (For those allergic to latex, Valutek offers alternatives such as nitrile and PVC.)

Valutek’s controlled environment latex gloves offerings include 9-inch and 12-inch Powder-Free Cleanroom Gloves, either bagged or boxed, as well as a 9” Powdered Latex Glove.

Valutek’s Boxed Disposable Latex gloves are an excellent all-purpose glove for non-critical environments. They are disposable and lightweight, powder-free and chlorinated. They are ambidextrous and have textured fingertips for improved grip.

Valutek’s Bagged Disposable Latex gloves are bagged and vacuum-sealed to reduce contamination and improve cleanliness. They are processed in a controlled environment and are powder-free and lightweight.

Quality Control
Valutek controls the specifications of its critical environment gloves from inception to delivery in its distribution centers. Beginning with the acquisition of raw material, Valutek selects 100% virgin vinyl, latex and nitrile, which is converted into gloves through a series of industry-standard processes. This guarantees that all Valutek gloves exceed your quality specifications.

Congrats to Valutek’s New Vice President of Sales and Marketing!

We are proud to congratulate Gary Coraggio on his promotion to Vice President of Sales and Marketing  for the Phoenix headquarters of Valutek!

Gary Coraggio joined the Valutek team in 2010 as the Sales and Marketing Director. In the past, he has successfully managed multi-million-dollar sales teams on local and international levels. He brought to Valutek his 15 years of sales and marketing experience in the health care industry.

His achievements at Valutek include implementing the company’s first Customer Loyalty program, and emphasizing first-class customer service.

“Having Gary take on an expanded leadership role at the Phoenix office frees up my time, so that I can spend more energy on face-to-face contact with national customers, and on R&D,” says Greg Heiland, CEO. “I am proud to appoint him to manage the daily operations and eager to see even more successful sales and marketing campaigns implemented.”

Want to know more about Gary and the rest of the Valutek team? Click here.

Related blogs:

Valutek Works to Be a Good Corporate Citizen

 

ABOUT VALUTEK

Valutek has been servicing the cleanroom and controlled-environment needs for thousands of customers in the pharmaceutical, electronic and biomedical industries since 1988. Its one-source cleanroom supplies shopping model eliminates the need to coordinate multiple manufacturers, invoices and contacts. Valutek offers its customers the best experience possible with best-in-class products and superior customer service. Valutek is headquartered in Phoenix, and is a globally trusted brand providing its customers control, convenience and value. Valutek can be reached at http://www.valutek.com; 800-763-1250 (North America); or 604-310-6111 (Asia).

Cleanroom Adhesive Mats: Get the most for your money by using them correctly

Every product and procedure in the cleanroom serves a very specific purpose. Do you know why you remove each mat sheet by starting at the edges and pulling inward toward to the middle? Do you know why you must store tacky mats horizontally and not vertically? Maybe you don’t know that’s the correct way to use adhesive mats – and that’s ok! At Valutek we are here to help.

We want to make sure you get the most for your money when it comes our (and even others’) cleanroom consumables. Educating yourself on the proper way to use and store your cleanroom supplies will improve their performance and save you money. This week, we introduced a new video series on adhesive mats, which includes short instructional and educational clips.

First, you will learn how to properly store adhesive mats to avoid damaging the film and rendering the mat unusable. Next, you will learn how to properly place an adhesive mat on the floor to ensure you are not creating a safe harbor for contaminates to reside. Finally, you will learn how to properly remove each sheet to avoid spreading the captured particles back out into the environment.

Watch Now: How to Properly Place a Cleanroom Adhesive Mat

Watch Now: How to Correctly Remove an Adhesive Mat Sheet

Learn … and Then Save!

In tandem with our new video series, Valutek is running a discount promo on adhesive mats! For a limited time, get 15% off select MacroTek adhesive mats, and 20% off select MicroTek mats. Click here to find out more about how you can save on cleanroom adhesive “tacky” mats.

View the full press release on the Adhesive Mats Video Series release

Want More Instruction and Educational Cleanroom Videos?

How Does an Environment Determine a Pre-Wetted Wiper Substrate and Chemistry?

Why Use a Pre-Wetted Wiper?

What Are the Advantages of a Pre-Wetted Wiper?

The Importance of Selecting the Right Cleanroom Glove

How to Put On a Cleanroom Facemask

Related Blogs:

Adhesive Mat Q&A: Why do I need to place the mat with its tab toward the entrance?

Send Valutek Your Best April Fool’s Day Prank for a Chance to Win an iPod!

It’s April Fool’s Day, and you know what that means: being on the alert for pranks, hoaxes and general foolishness from your friends and co-workers.

Whether you’ve plotted a fantastic prank, or you’ve been on the receiving end of a fantastic prank, Valutek wants to hear about it!

Submit your best April Fool’s Day prank for a chance to win a brand-new iPod Nano Multi-Touch! All submissions must be made by 5 p.m. on April 27, 2011, to be considered. The winning prank will be announced on this blog on April 28, 2011. Good luck!

For more about the contest and to submit your prank, click here.

ABOUT VALUTEK

The Outfitter of Cleanroom Operators — What is the No. 1 goal in a critical environment? To produce consistent and high-quality product and research, right? And that starts with a cleanroom’s operators. You operate your controlled environment to ensure consistency of your product and research, and getting your operators to perform at their highest level is a very demanding task.

At Valutek, we get that.

With 23 years in the controlled environment industry, we know that a cleanroom can be a very uncomfortable place to work: it’s cold, it’s sterile and it’s hard work. We know what operators care about when it comes to consumables: comfort, fit and function. We also know what matters to you: cost, quality and compliance. By using Valutek for all of your cleanroom consumable needs – from apparel to gloves, wipers to mops – operators can get back to concentrating on their critical tasks, not focusing on an uncomfortable garment. 

To find out more, visit www.valutek.com or call 800-763-1250 (North America); or 604-310-6111 (Asia).

Adhesive Mat Q&A: Why do I need to place the mat with its tab toward the entrance?

Here are Valutek, we are always happy to answer your critical environment consumables questions! This week, our team received an excellent inquiry from a cleanroom technician about placement of adhesive mats:

“On page 49 of your catalogue, [it is mentioned that] the tabbed corner should be closest to the door way. Any reason why?”

Each adhesive mat sheet has a small corner of non-adhesive material that is numbered, so that you can easily grab this tab and pull off one sheet at a time. Because this corner isn’t held to the sheet below it with adhesive, foot traffic can cause the corners to lift up from the sheet. Not only can this lead to a tripping hazard, but constant foot traffic over this non-adhesive area can lead to delamination of the sheet.  

If you are tiling your mats (“tiling” is when a cleanroom uses two smaller mats, such as an 18×36, placed side-by-side to cover a wide entrance instead of using one 36×36 mat – THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED as it creates a space between the two mats where contaminants can harbor), the tabbed edges should be placed closest to the entrance and at the outside corners. This is preferred for the same reason listed above – keeping the tabs out of foot traffic prevents delamination and tripping.

More Adhesive Mat Placement Tips:

The most important step in placing a cleanroom adhesive mat is floor prep. First, make sure the surface is clean, even and without cracks. If there is any surface irregularity, the mat will conform to that, and this causes delamination of the mat from the floor, and leads to pockets under the mat where contaminants can harbor. Delamination can also lead to a dangerous side effect: when the mat actually lifts up from the floor while it is being walked on by an operator. This can result in operator injury if he or she loses balance and falls.

Next, clean the surface thoroughly, making sure to remove residual adhesive from a previous mat. Any dirt or residual adhesive will cause the mat to adhere unevenly. Adhesive mat frames can be used to ensure the surface they are placed on is clean and smooth.

Make sure you are positioning your mat properly. The orientation of the mat is always lengthwise to maximize the area walked on by the operator. Do not place an 18-by-36 inch mat across the width of an entrance, because it will only capture one footprint. The recommended amount of footprints to capture is three.

Do not “tile” mats. Tiling is the term used when placing two smaller mats, usually 18-by-36 inch in size, side-by-side to make the mat area wide enough to fit the entrance width. This is wasteful and creates a space between where the mats meet in the middle where contaminants can harbor.

 Now you are ready to place the mat on the floor. Pull back the backing of the mat 6 inches, then firmly press this exposed area on the floor, starting in the middle and working outward to the edges. This helps removes bubbles and veins that may form as you are placing. Pull back another 6 inches and press outward, repeating the process until the entire mat is adhered to the floor.

Need advice on a cleanroom product or have a question? Don’t hesitate to call one our technical sales representatives at 800.763.1250.

Related Blog Posts:

Cleanroom Adhesive Mats: Get the most for your money by using them correctly

Got Wiper Questions? Valutek’s New Video Series Has Answers

What percentage of IPA should I use in my cleanroom? Are pre-wetted controlled environment wipers really more expensive than using dry wipes and mixing my own chemistry? What should I look for in a pre-wetted wiper?

The newest educational video series from Valutek tackles these questions and more, offering facts and professional advice from industry expert and author of Wiping Surfaces Clean, Dr. Howard Siegerman.

 Valutek’s Pre-Wetted Wipers educational video series features Dr. Siegerman as he discusses several helpful topics related to cleanroom wipers. In “Substrate and Chemistry of a Pre-Wetted Wiper,” Siegerman offers recommendations on the specific percentage of isopropyl alcohol suitable for several types of cleanrooms. Many controlled environment operators and managers may be surprised to learn that they are using too high a percentage of IPA in their cleanrooms.

In “Why Use a Pre-Wetted Wiper?,” Dr. Siegerman explains the misconceptions about pre-wetted wipes, including their cost as compared to using a dry wipe saturated by an operator using a squeeze bottle.

In “Advantages of a Pre-Wetted Wiper,” Dr. Siegerman discusses how using pre-wetted wipers in a critical environment helps maintain a set level of cleanliness in that environment, as the chemistry and saturation of each wipe is pre-determined to the cleanroom’s specifications.

Want even more great tips on cleanroom wipers? View all three videos at Valutek’s Web site, or on Valutek’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/valutekvideos.