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Our History and Milestones

Passion for surface solutions: from our beginnings in 1946 until today

1946 - 2021: From an idea to a global technology leader.

For 75 years, Oerlikon Balzers has stood for pioneering developments and global technology leadership in thin-film coatings. We live our passion for surface solutions with a unique combination of sustainability, innovative drive, entrepreneurial spirit and tradition. This benefits our customers – and our environment – yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Explore 75 years of Oerlikon Balzers

Balzers' first PVD hard coating for tools, BALINIT® A, was officially "born" on September 1st 1978. Since then, Oerlikon Balzers has been an unprecedented success story, ranging from pioneering the world of coatings to being a market leader.

Timeline

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Opening of the first automotive competence centre in Europe

In a Grand Opening Ceremony with numerous guests of honour and customers, Oerlikon Balzers opened their first European competence centre for coatings in the automotive sector. The new plant in Veľká Ida near the major Slovakian city of Košice is part of the Oerlikon Balzers overall strategy for the automotive market.

EMO 2015: Oerlikon Balzers presents BALINIT ALTENSA, the PVD coating for ultrafast gear cutting

Extreme cutting speeds, maximised productivity, perceptibly longer service lives – these are the results of real-world tests with the BALINIT ALTENSA AlCrN-based coating developed by Oerlikon Balzers to advance seminal trends in automotive and mechanical engineering applications. With BALINIT ALTENSA, first presented at EMO 2015 in Milan/Italy, automakers and suppliers have already reported exceptional results in a wide range of gear-cutting applications.

EMO 2015: Oerlikon Balzers presents the highly productive INNOVENTA mega coating system

The new INNOVENTA mega redefines productivity benchmarks as well. Now the largest coating system in the portfolio, it achieves extremely high throughputs with tools such as milling cutters or drills: average batch times of less than five hours are typical. It can accommodate workpieces with heights of one metre or more and a swing diameter of 96 cm. With permissible load weights of up to 3000 kg, it is an ideal platform for coating bulky moulds or sawblades. The INNOVENTA mega can handle the entire repertoire of BALINIT coatings as well as tailor-made coating designs for a wide range of applications. Rapid commissioning, simple operability, and a high level of reproducibility are further features. On the bottom line, the INNOVENTA mega ideally complements Balzers' more compact INNOVA and INGENIA systems.

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