A July 18 webinar will focus on “Successful Cleaning Processes without Heavily Regulated Solvents.”
The webinar is presented by the Product Quality Cleaning Workshops at Sam Houston State University, which is run by Professor Darren Williams and cleaning experts Barbara and Ed Kanegsberg from BFK Solutions.
The Kanegsberg and Dr. Williams will interview Olaf Tessarzyk, the CEO·of JCOM, on this important topic. The webinar will start at 10:00 a.m. CT. Register at https://shsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/5017177673110/WN_x7SbpajURiS1JIoFbQKJ5w
Information about the webinar:
Chlorinated solvents, brominated solvents, and blends containing PFAS are heavily regulated.
Manufacturers must have effective alternatives. Based on his experience in providing cleaning equipment and developing cleaning processes, the speaker will explain how attendees can use a process-driven approach to find the optimal technology.
Vacuum degreasing with non-halogenated solvents, aqueous cleaning, or a combination of the two may be the appropriate choice. The discussion will include specifics of cleaning equipment, cleaning agents, and process steps.
The program will include case studies describing how customers moved from trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, n-propyl bromide, and trans-DCE/PFAS blends to modern, non-hazardous cleaning technology. The speaker will outline the total cost of ownership for processes using aqueous and solvent-cleaning machines.
Speakers
Olaf Tessarzyk, CEO·JCOM
Olaf Tessarzyk has over 30 years of experience in financial management, private equity, operations, leadership in start-up, growth and restructuring of automation and technology focused companies.
The strong technological hands-on and entrepreneurial approach allowed him to successfully start up several technology-based companies profitably to over $ 50M in revenue with high EBITA in less than 5 years. His people centric approach paired with the successful long term strategy implementation record allows him to recruit top talent to fuel fast growth.
During COVID he restructured and grew an industrial and automation company organically and by acquisitions profitably, receiving several industry accolades.
He is currently working as the CEO of JCOM, a company he started in 2008. JCOM distributes Aqueous and Solvent standard as well as customer degreasers in North America. The focus is on turnkey solutions and successful customer applications.
Olaf holds a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor’s in Economics. He serves on boards and in advisory roles at a variety of US companies as well as acclaimed industry associations. He is the incoming Chairman of the YPO GOLD Chapter in San Diego 2024.
Living in Carlsbad, CA, he still flies on weekend as a SAR pilot – when time permits – to serve his community with the experience from his early career as a military test pilot and Squadron Commander in the German Army.
Barbara and Ed Kanegsberg, Consultants in Critical Cleaning·BFK Solutions
Barbara: In 1994, I founded BFK Solutions, and, to this day, it has been fun and challenging to be “The Cleaning Lady.” From aerospace to medical to metal stamping to nanotechnology, manufacturers face more and more cleaning challenges; the problems of the 1990s were only the beginning. Because cleaning involves lots of variables and interaction with surfaces, my “interdepartmental” background turns out to be useful – and I’m not afraid to tackle thorny projects.
Ed: I joined BFK Solutions just over a decade ago. Initially, part of me thought critical cleaning was unintelligible, something based on manufacturing mythology. Then, Barbara got me involved in editing the first edition of “Handbook for Critical Cleaning.” Her actual words were: “If you don’t help me edit this thing, I’m going to toss the computer with the manuscript out the window.” To avoid an unplanned capital expenditure, I began reading. I realized that critical cleaning is actually like rocket science. It’s rational; it can be explained to others. As a teacher, I enjoy helping you understand critical cleaning and seeing you achieve truly effective manufacturing.
Darren Williams, Leader of the Cleaning Research Group and Professor of Physical Chemistry·Sam Houston State University
Dr. Williams has been at SHSU since 2004, teaching Physical Chemistry, Spectroscopy, and Thermodynamics. He received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University and B.S. in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. He is originally from Fort Worth, TX.
Leader of the Cleaning Research Group, he has researched solvent blend and aqueous formulation models, azeotrope prediction models, and has performed several funded cleaning trials for industry and government agencies.
Dr. Williams is the author of the book Spectroscopy Theory in One Dimension, over two dozen research articles and book chapters covering a broad range of topics, such as computational chemistry methods for modeling molecular spectra, prediction of the spectral signatures of aged explosives, solvent substitution studies to reduce environmental impacts, contact angle methods for cleanliness verification, computational techniques for visible color prediction, and chemical education improvements in Physical Chemistry.
