In 1962 the Swedish Royal Air Administration Board invited representatives from SAAB, Ericsson, AGA, petroleum companies, and others to a conference at Linköping to discuss questions regarding cleanroom technique. The reason was that commissions of inquiry and materials examination had showed contaminations of all kinds, shapes and sizes in hydraulic, instrumental and engine systems. Could these small particles and contaminations affect function and durability? The conference, mentioned above, contacts with the association A2C2 (USA) as well as the manual “Cleanliness for materials handling” are some of the events that initiated the idea of a Swedish association for cleanroom technique.

To discuss the need of a society for matters regarding clean room technique nine men assembled in Stockholm autumn 1966. A Swedish R3 committee was founded and an interimistic board was elected in 1969. Next year Norway, Denmark, and Finland joined the committee. The Nordic R3 Association was formed at a meeting at Sandefjord, Norway, in spring 1970. Initially the aviation and mechanic industries were those with the main issues regarding cleanroom technique, hence these two areas formed the base of the society. The clean room technical problems within the aviation and mechanic industries formed the base. Gradually the clean room technique within the pharmaceutical industry became of dominant interest for the association. In the 1990ies the aspect broadened and representatives for food stuff, microbiology and micro electronics joined in. The forming of IKL intensified the cooperation with international organisations, which is why we in 2005 decided to change the name to R3 Nordic – the Nordic Association of Cleanroom Technology.

We are really looking forward to the development within the new cleanroom technique.