Our story
"Daily passion, curiosity about the world, constant pursuit of innovation and quality are the fundamental foundations of every industrial adventure."
- Adriano Montanelli -
The initial foundations
At the end of the 19th century, Rinaldo Montanelli began trading and processing metal wire and hardware accessories.
Establishment of a new company
At the end of the 1930s, his son Luigi Montanelli established Ilro who brought his father's business to an industrial dimension, introducing a wide range of products deriving from metal wire.
Oriented towards the future
The first filters for abating industrial fumes were produced in the late 1850s.
Defim, metal wire derivatives
In 1974, Defim was founded as a company whose core business was processing metal wire, producing various products for different sectors: bottle-holder cages, screens, conveyor belts, cages for poultry farms and industrial mesh. The filter sleeve business and operations were then transferred to the newly-incorporated company.
The birth of the brand CleanAir
In the 1980s, the CleanAir brand was introduced to distinguish the family of filtration supports, better known as filter sleeve cages.
The first automated electrophoresis treatment system was fitted
Throughout this period, the first automatic system availing of electrodeposition technology through anaphoresis was created internally, introducing the first and only high-strength treatment on the market.
CleanAir specialises and expands
In 2003, the CleanAir industry project was born. The brand permanently split from Defim SpA to develop companies fully dedicated to the filtration industry. In the same year, CleanAir Inc. opened in the United States as the brand underwent its initial restyling, replacing the blue rectangle with a yellow sun.
Global expansion continues
In 2006, new partnerships were established and the companies CleanAir Europe based in Italy and CleanAir Tech based in India (not far from Mumbai) were founded to serve and assist local markets. The brand underwent further renewal with the added slogan: "where the sun never sets", backdropped by the sky.
Development of the anaphoresis treatment
In the same year, R&D into the evolution of anaphoresis treatment began, leading to the 2008 conversion of the internal catalytic system to the current EcoHPC process.
Revamp of CleanAir’s commercial strength and image
In 2011 – following the internationalisation of CleanAir – came new partnerships, the continued development of new products and processes, a strengthening of the internal sales force and a further brand change with the transformation of the sun into the world and greater evidence of the web platform.
Optimisation and efficiency
The corporate structure, sales network, production process and the search for new products and treatments were redefined and optimised. To showcase the steps forward, a new stylisation of the brand was introduced, recalling the decade-long experience and tradition of the company, whilst denoting a strong innovative drive towards current and future challenges.
The plant moves to Bulciago
A new production process, totally managed within the company, allows for complete control of all production phases and product quality overall. CleanAir Europe creates production lines entirely made and designed in-house, with fully-automatic machines capable of creating all types of filter sleeve supports.
Renewal of the Eco HPC logo
The evolution of the logo’s design for the cataphoresis painting process continues with this latest renewal.
Implementation of nanotechnology
Continuous research characterises CleanAir’s evolution. R&D enabled the introduction of nanotechnology that improved the characteristics of the cages in all working environments. The pigment was replaced whilst the logo was updated to reflect the new paint.
Our primary goal
Even today, the company continues to present a winning offer to the industrial dust filtration sector. The company’s success is due to the ability of its most important figures to aim for quality whilst also opening up to the market, with a constant view to always reducing the environmental impact and only selling products of undisputed quality.
The first antistatic basket on the market
We have introduced, thanks to the Eco Atex project, an important innovation in the production of baskets. Thanks to an innovative design and treatment, cages acquire better safety conditions (for example an anti-static feature), a longer duration of use, as well as the use of fewer resources and consequently reducing the production of waste.
Introduction to EcoSmart cage technology
The EcoSmart basket is equipped with a beacon that can be read using NFC technology available on the latest generation mobile devices.
Introduction to EcoTurbo cage technology
he EcoTurbo device for metal cages in air pulse cleaning technology-based bag filters allows for simultaneous improvement in dust collector energy consumption, filtration and bag filter cleaning efficiency, and the lifespan of the installed devices in a sustainability-driven approach.