Wetzlar, Germany  -- Leica Microsystems has opened a cleanroom at its Weilburg, Germany, facility. Replacing the previous cleanroom in Wetzlar, the new facility will also bring together the assembly lines previously maintained at two locations.

The 594 m² cleanroom will be used for system assembly and integration, and for customer acceptance tests. The sensitive entrance, packaging and system integration areas correspond to class 10,000; and the 328 m² assembly is class 100,000.

The company believes that combining the cleanrooms and centralizing assembly in Weilburg will enable a more flexible, efficient use of manpower, reduce throughput time, improve quality and lower contamination risks.

To further enhance the use of qualified personnel Leica has begun to systematically qualify its workforce. Over half of the employees in Weilburg are either engineers or technical specialists. Thirteen people have already transferred from Wetzlar, and more are expected to follow.