The construction of the new clean room at Vaisala's headquarters in Vantaa was completed in summer 2004. The manufacturing processes of sensors, which are part of Vaisala's core technology, require tight control of temperature and humidity conditions. The new state-of-the-art facility meets these requirements and is one of the few privately owned clean rooms in Finland. The new clean room ensures that Vaisala continues to provide high-technology products that enable reliable and accurate measurements.

The new facility replaces the old Vaisala clean room which was opened in 1981. This clean room  was originally built to manufacture integrated circuits and humidity sensors for Vaisala radiosondes and measurement instruments. Since the 1990's, due to the development of the Vaisala sensor technology, the production has concentrated on humidity and barometric pressure sensors.

In 2002, the need for additional space and modernization lead to the decision to invest in a new facility. The construction work was completed in 2003 and the 500 m2 clean room was ready for use in summer 2004. The total investment was EUR 6.5 million.

Approximately 900,000 sensors are produced annually in the clean room. The majority of these sensors are used in Vaisala radiosondes, and the rest in Vaisala's humidity, barometric pressure and carbon dioxide products. The clean room complies with the ISO 6 and ISO 5 standards.

What is a clean room?

 Clean room is an area where air quality, temperature and humidity are carefully regulated to ensure that sensitive equipment is protected from any possible contamination. The International Standards Organization (ISO) has set standards for the number of particles allowed per cubic foot of air. The ISO 5 and ISO 6 standards mean that in any cubic foot of air there are no more than 100 (ISO 5) or 1,000 (ISO 6) particles larger than 0.5 microns. The air is continuously filtered to remove any dust particles or other impurities which could damage any highly sensitive materials being produced or worked with. According to the ISO 5 standard the air is circulated/changed 400 times per hour and with the ISO 6 100 times/hour. All staff working in the clean room must wear special protective clothing to ensure that no fibers, hair or skin contaminate the room.

The Vaisala Group is a successful international technology company that develops and manufactures electronic measurement systems and equipment for meteorology, environmental sciences, traffic safety and industry. Vaisala employs over 1,100 professionals and achieved net sales of EUR 189.2 million in 2003. Vaisala serves customers throughout the world. In 2003, exports accounted for 96.6% of net sales. Vaisala's A-series shares are quoted on the Helsinki Exchanges (HEX).