Betech is the exclusive UK mainland distributor for Clean-Geartech, supplying hygienic gearboxes, geared motors and electric motors designed specifically for demanding washdown and hygiene-critical applications.
Clean-Geartech products are engineered for industries including food and beverage, meat and poultry processing, fish and seafood, fresh produce, pharmaceuticals and other hygienic processing environments where conventional painted motors and gearboxes may be unsuitable. Whether you need a stainless steel gearbox for a food processing line, an IP69K rated electric motor, a hygienic geared motor or a replacement gearbox for a washdown application, Betech can help you select the appropriate Clean-Geartech solution for your operating environment.
The Clean-Geartech range includes gearboxes produced either in smooth bodied aluminium or stainless steel, as well as stainless steel electric motors and coated aluminium hygienic motors. The range is continually reviewed and developed to provide customers with greater choice when selecting reliable, corrosion-resistant and easy-to-clean power transmission solutions for demanding hygienic applications.
Up to 40mm hollow bore · 675Nm Torque · IEC or NEMA input
High tech fully stainless steel housing ensures the combination of high efficiency and corrosion resistance. Available with IEC or NEMA Inputs.
Up to 35mm hollow bore · 350Nm Torque
Entry level hygienic gearbox. Smooth bodied aluminum casing allows easy cleaning. Optional stainless steel bore and IP69K level protection.
Up to 35mm hollow bore · 350Nm Torque
The best solution for corrosion resistance. Fully constructed in AISI 316L stainless steel. Twin Viton seals for IP69K level protection.
Up to 42mm hollow bore – 650Nm Torque
Traditional AISI 304 stainless steel square design worm gearbox. Strong and modular housing. Entirely smooth for easy cleaning.
Up to IEC 100 Frame / 3kW / 2,4,6 Pole
Fully AISI 316L stainless steel motors for extreme conditions. IE4 efficiency and IP69K ingress protection. Available as B14, B5 or B3 mount.
Up to IEC 90 Frame / 2.2kW / 2,4,6 Pole
Clean-Geartech motors and gearboxes are best suited to any application where they will be subjected to washdown routines, such as those in food and beverage.
In fresh cut fruit and vegetable production, Clean-Geartech geared motors will be used on conveyors, cutting systems, pumps and packaging machines.
Full stainless steel geared motors are the best choice for meat processing applications, where they will be subjected to very strict washdown routines with powerful detergents to control bacteria.
In fishing and seafood, geared motors will be exposed to extreme conditions, such as salt, humidity and intensive washdown. Stainless steel geared motors could be found on tank aeration systems.
Clean-Geartech is the hygienic-design business unit of Hydro-Mec S.p.A., an Italian manufacturer of electric motors and gearboxes based in Sovizzo, near Vicenza, with manufacturing facilities in nearby Altavilla Vicentina. Clean-Geartech specialises in hygienic electric motors, gearboxes and geared motors designed for demanding washdown environments where hygiene, corrosion resistance and ease of cleaning are critical.
Unlike conventional motors and gearboxes that may rely on basic protective coatings or modifications, Clean-Geartech products are designed from the outset with hygiene and washdown performance in mind. Their smooth, easy-to-clean surfaces and sealed construction help minimise areas where water, cleaning chemicals and contaminants can accumulate, making them particularly suited to demanding applications in food and beverage, meat and poultry processing, fish and seafood, marine, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Clean-Geartech’s focus is on combining high-quality power transmission products with responsive technical support, providing solutions for applications where standard motors and gearboxes may not provide the required level of protection or cleanability.
Betech has been supplying Clean-Geartech products in the UK since 2020 and has visited the manufacturer’s facilities near Vicenza. This first-hand relationship gives our team a strong understanding of the products, their construction and the applications for which they are designed.
What goes wrong with a standard unit. Put a conventional painted motor or gearbox on a line that gets washed down and eventually it tends to fail in one of two ways, both of which can be expensive.
Either water finds its way past the seals and into the windings, and the unit stops — usually mid-shift, often taking the line with it. Or the unit survives and the product does not: paint lifts from a housing that has been thermally cycled and then hit with hot detergent, flakes into open product, and you have a contamination event, a batch written off and a conversation with your auditor.
What Clean-Geartech do about it. Clean-Geartech products are specifically designed to prevent water ingress and resist corrosion. Motors and gearbox housings alike are smooth, radiused and sealed. The motors are totally enclosed and non-ventilated, so there is no fan pulling plant air through the unit and no air path to clog. And the stainless steel units carry no coating at all, so there is nothing that can flake; the aluminium units use a bonded high-resistance coating rather than conventional paint.
Hygiene is the reason you specify it. Uptime is the reason it pays for itself.
Most of the cost difference across the Clean-Geartech range is material, and most specification mistakes come from picking the wrong one. Two things decide it: the chemistry of your detergent, and the temperature and pressure of the wash.
| What your clean-down actually involves | Motor | Gearbox |
|---|---|---|
| Dry running, or an occasional wipe-down | A standard painted IEC motor — Motovario or TECO | A standard worm or helical gearbox |
| Cold or hot water washdown, mild detergent, routine sanitisation | APM Series, coated aluminium | VFD Series, aluminium |
| High-pressure hot water, aggressive acid or alkaline detergents, open-product zones | SPM Series, AISI 316L | VFN Series worm or BVN Series bevel helical, AISI 316L |
If you are not sure which line you sit on, tell us the detergent you use and how often the line is cleaned down. Chemistry and temperature decide this — not the industry you are in. A dry-goods bakery and an open-product fish line are both “food”, and they need different equipment.
One upgrade worth knowing about. The VFD aluminium and VFN stainless casings share a design that is interchangeable with several other common worm gearbox brands. If you have a painted worm gearbox corroding on a wash-down line, you can very often swap it for a Clean-Geartech unit without re-engineering the mounting. Send us the make and model and we will check it.
IP69K is the ingress protection rating for high pressure, high temperature washdown. Tested to EN 60529 and ISO 20653, it means the enclosure resists a close-range water jet of up to 100 bar at up to 80°C.
That is a materially harder test than IP66. An IP66 motor will survive rain and general hosing, but regular high pressure, hot water cleaning routines will almost certainly reduce its lifespan, either through electrical failure as a result of ingress, or the motor having to be removed from the line due to paint failure.
Where it applies in this range. The APM and SPM motors are IP69K as standard. Gearboxes are IP66 seals as standard, with IP69K viton seals available on most gearbox types, using Clean-Geartech’s twin shielded seal arrangement. If your clean-down routine uses a high pressure lance and involves hot, aggressive detergents, specify the IP69K seal option on the gearbox. When a stainless steel gearbox is requested, Betech will specify this seal type and also food grade lubrication as standard.
Frequently asked questions
A hygienic motor is designed so that it can be cleaned, rather than simply protected from water. It has no cooling fins, no fan and no fan cowl, no exposed fastener heads and no flat surfaces where water or product can sit. Surfaces are smooth and radiused so a wash-down removes contamination instead of pushing it into a crevice. Clean-Geartech motors are hygienic motors in this sense; a sealed standard motor with a high IP rating is not.
IP69K is the ingress protection rating for high-pressure, high-temperature washdown. Under EN 60529 and ISO 20653 it means the enclosure resists a close-range water jet at up to 100 bar and up to 80°C. It is a stricter test than IP66 or IP67, and it is the rating to look for if your line is cleaned with a hot pressure lance.
The main difference is the material. The APM series has a smooth aluminium body with a high-resistance protective coating and suits routine washdown with water and mild detergent. The SPM series is fully constructed in AISI 316L stainless steel and suits high-pressure hot water and aggressive acid or alkaline detergents. Both are IP69K and both are fan-less. The aluminum series comes at a lower cost, so the question is how harsh your clean-down chemistry is, not which is better.
Not as standard. Most of the gearboxes are supplied with IP66 seals as standard, with IP69K viton seals available as an option using a twin shielded seal arrangement. The APM and SPM motors are IP69K as standard. If you are specifying a geared motor for high-pressure hot washdown, ask for the IP69K seal option on the gearbox.
Most Clean-Geartech products are NSF certified. NSF International is a global public health and safety organization that tests, audits and certifies products, systems and services for the food, water and consumer goods industries. Gearboxes are always available with the option of food grade lubricant. Unless specified otherwise, Betech will select food grade oil for all stainless steel gearboxes.
Yes, Clean-Geartech motors are inverter rated and do not need a separate forced-cooling fan, which matters in a hygienic area because a bolt-on blower reintroduces exactly the fan, cowl and air path the design removed. They are typically rated for a 2.5:1 inverter turndown based on constant torque. We supply various variable speed drives alongside them and can specify the pair together.
Often, yes. The VFD and VFN casings share a design that is interchangeable with several other common worm gearbox brands, so an existing painted unit on a wash-down line can frequently be swapped without re-engineering the mounting. Send us the make, model and ratio and we will confirm whether it fits.
No. They produce bevel helical, inline helical and shaft mounted gearboxes (coming for 2027) ensuring that many application types can be covered, and that many non hygienic design units from other manufacturers can be replaced. Tell us what is on the machine now and we will tell you what replaces it.
SPM stainless steel motors are IE4. APM aluminium motors are available in IE3 or IE4 depending on rating.
Contact
Betech 100pt Ltd
Four Square Buildings, Thomas Street
Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, WF16 0LS
Telephone: 01924 411921
Email: sales@betech.co.uk
Opening hours: 8:00 to 17:00
