The dry ice blasting market - Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

Dry Ice Blasting is a chemical-free and water-free cleaning method. Its technology is based on the use of dry ice particles which are projected onto the surface to be cleaned with a flow of compressed air. The combination of intense cold and mechanical shock then causes the dirt layer to detach and leaves no trace after the operation.

The special feature of this cleaning is that it has several advantages over other methods.  In fact, cryogenic cleaning is:

• non-polluting;
• non-abrasive;
• non-toxic;
• does not generate secondary waste;
• respects the environment;
• faster.

Cryogenic cleaning is used as an alternative to cleaning with chemical detergents, cleaning with glass beads or synthetic granules or cleaning with pressure water. Moreover, because of its ecological properties, but also because of its efficiency, it is interesting for many industrial sectors.

In fact, its fields of application are numerous, and include the chemical, construction, airport, railway, automotive, food, etc. industry.

In Italy, the cryogenic cleaning market is part of the wider sector of specialised industrial cleaning, which is growing and should keep growing in the coming years. This market is constantly attracting new operators and the number of companies created in the sector has grown by 37.5% from 2012 to 2018.

The market is divided into the sale or rental of equipment and the provision of cleaning services. There are companies of very different sizes on the market, with SMEs offering cleaning services alongside established national cleaning machine brands such as Cryos and Mec. Furthermore, due to a high barrier to market entry, the technology is not yet widespread, but has high growth potential.