Capacity-expansion in Austria stands for general growth in Europe
Balzers, Liechtenstein – April 23, 2014 – Oerlikon Balzers, the technology leader in high-quality surface solutions, has opened a second coating center in Austria. By taking this step, the Coating Segment of the Oerlikon Group is creating the capacity it needs to meet the growing demand in Europe for innovative coating solutions for tools. "The large number of new technologies that we have recently introduced is also fueling our growth in the traditional tool market," says the Segment's CEO, Dr. Hans Brändle.
The new coating center is in Ohlsdorf, a town in Upper Austria that is located between Salzburg and Linz. It specializes in coating solutions for shaft tools and indexable inserts. “In selecting the location, Oerlikon Balzers has positioned itself in the middle of an economically growing region,” said Dr. Roland Herb, Head of Business Line Tools at Oerlikon Balzers. “As a result, we can also significantly reduce service and throughput times for major customers who make machinery, tools and molds as well as automotive suppliers in the region.”
The added capacity in Austria is the latest step that the Segment has taken in the ongoing expansion of its global network of coating centers. Last year alone, Oerlikon Balzers opened three new centers in the United States, China and the Philippines. With a network that now consists of 94 coating centers in 34 countries, the Segment is the world's technology leader for coating services. The Segment's solutions enable the productivity of cutting, punching and pressing tools to be increased as well as their service life extended. The technological spectrum covers a large range of services, including thin-film physical vapor deposition (PVD), pulsed plasma diffusion (PPD) and various polishing and regrinding services. It has also been enhanced with embedded PVD for design parts (ePD), a process used to metalize plastic components.
At the end of January 2014, the acquisition of Metco, the coating business for thermal spraying at Sulzer, was announced. As a result of this transaction, the Oerlikon Segment will become the global technology leader in surface solutions.
