Balzers, Liechtenstein, August 8, 2012 – Oerlikon Balzers today announced the opening of its new coating center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the same time, Oerlikon Balzers has also opened two new sales representative offices in Penang and Johor Bahru. This expansion will enable the Coating Segment to meet an increasing demand for its coating solutions, especially in the emerging markets. Today, Oerlikon Balzers runs 88 coating centers in 33 countries worldwide.
Commenting on the opening of the new center, Hans Brändle, CEO Oerlikon Coating said "The opening of the new center in Kuala Lumpur marks an important milestone for us in our global coverage of high-performance coating solutions from Oerlikon Balzers. The focus in emerging markets is also turning increasingly towards the productivity of production processes. We are everywhere, where our customers are. In line with this principle, our unique network of 88 coating centers enables us to offer performance and productivity-enhancing coating solutions around the world."
The new Oerlikon Balzers center will focus on coating metalworking tools, such as those employed in the global automotive and mechanical engineering industries in general. There is also high demand for Oerlikon Balzers solutions in the field of electronics, where coated tools are needed to produce computer hard drives for instance.
In order to increase productivity, all modern production plants use coated tools. They are more wear-resistant, which means that they last longer: two qualities that impact positively on production costs. Statistics show that productivity in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia increased by 4.9 % year-on-year between 2011 and 2012 alone. This is not least among the factors driving the growing demand for Oerlikon Balzers high-performance coating solutions.
Oerlikon Balzers had operated a sales representative office in Malaysia since 2004, with orders being processed and delivered from nearby Singapore. The opening of the new center will improve service times considerably. The new location eliminates the previous time-consuming border formalities and allows Oerlikon Balzers to offer its Malaysian customers faster delivery times.
