Last year, Cleangrad was so successful in building clean rooms for Pfizer’s Belgian anti-vaccine factory that it was chosen as the best supplier. Cleangrad, who was the finalist of the Financ Best Exporter of the Year competition in 2020, recently received an extremely prestigious award: Pfizer chose him as a global supplier in 2021. “We were not only selected as the best clean space supplier, Pfizer has also chosen us as its best supplier. In doing so, we beat companies from all over the world and also those that are significantly larger than us. We have proven that we are a company that ensures the highest level of quality in both the product and the entire service and that we have really great employees,” says Jernej Zupančič, director and co-owner of Cleangrad, who received an exceptional congratulations on his 20th birthday. business operations of the company.
Cleangrad is also a very varied year. Last Friday, a new modern 1,400-square-meter office building for administration, designers, salespeople and engineers was ceremoniously opened in Ljutomer. The investment is worth 2.5 million euros. They also celebrated their 20th anniversary.

How did they get the Pfizer award, how are they doing this year, and what is the current situation in the raw materials market?

Cleangrad manufactures clean as well as sterile facilities for pharmacists, hospitals and laboratories. These are rooms that need to withstand washing with aggressive cleaners such as hydrogen peroxide and be smooth and without edges, so there is less chance of accumulating viruses, and bacteria. They do everything themselves, from detailed clean room plans to clean room equipment and final assembly of the smallest detail. They make panels for partitions from aluminium, high-pressure decorative laminate (HPL), stainless steel and glass, and panels for walk-through and non-walk-through ceilings, glazing, interlock systems for alternating opening and closing doors when passing between rooms.
They produce furniture and equipment for clean rooms from stainless steel and laminate, as well as doors for clean rooms with an inflatable seal, and since last year, sliding doors for sterile rooms. For the latter, the Pomurje Chamber of Commerce recently awarded them a gold award for innovation and they will also compete for the national gold award.

They plan 20 million euros in revenue this year
Last year, they generated € 18.5 million in revenue and € 2.4 million in net profit. They have 222 employees. “This year we plan around 20 million euros in revenue and profit at least at the level of last year. We are overwhelmed with orders. We have occupied all the capacities for this year, and some orders for 2023 as well, “says the interlocutor.

With Pfizer for a few million euros in business
Last year, they worked hard for anti-vaccine manufacturers. Sterile facilities, i.e. facilities of the highest standard where vaccines and biologics are manufactured, have been built for Pfizer, MSD, Poonawalla Group, Serum Institute, Jannsen Pharmaceutical, Wacker Biotech.
That Cleangrad is the best manufacturer in the construction of sterile rooms in Europe, we reported in 2020, when we selected them as the finalist of the Exporter of the Year competition, this year we are accepting applications for this selection until July 8.

Quick response, quality product, good service
Covid forced the pharmacists to respond quickly, and Cleangrad followed. In November 2020, when the first coronavirus vaccination was launched in the UK, we reported that Cleangrad installers at Pfizer’s Puurs plant in Belgium, where they produce an anticoagulant, also occasionally work at night. At the factory in Ljutomer, they worked in two shifts and had working Saturdays and additionally employed 30 people. This quick response brought them a reward. But this was not the only criterion. “Pfizer has six criteria for choosing the best supplier, from how quickly you respond to their demands, to work diligently and accurately, to everything safely, to provide the same staff… In short, we have proven with the award that we not only have quality products but our overall service is excellent, ”says Mr Jernej Zupančič.

Source: Finance, Mateja Bertoncelj. The complete article in Slovene is available here.