BEYOND SURFACES

Technology & Innovation 30-year anniversary of oerlikon Balzers in limoges In October 2019 Oerlikon Balzers celebrated the 30 th anniversary of its customer center in Limoges, France, with numerous guests of honor and customers. Limoges is known as Oerlikon Balzers’ competence center for motorsports, where precision components of high-performance engines are coated to an exacting standard. Oerlikon Balzers’ success in the motorsports industry over more than 25 years is due mainly to the high-performance DLC coating BALINIT CAVIDUR. With its low friction, very high wear resistance and long service life, it has set the global standard for valve train components. BAlIQ CARBoS — even better than diamond-like-Carbon (dlC) When racing cars and motorcycles are pushed to their performance limits, critical components must withstand extreme loads. Then the hour strikes for BALIQ CARBOS and BALIQ CARBOS STAR, two coatings that Oerlikon Balzers has developed specif- ically for applications with extreme contact pressure and high sliding speeds. They are therefore ideal for high-performance engines in motor sports. Link to the video: youtu.be/reDFar141o4 for at least five race weekends,” he explains. So the coatings have to ensure that these engines run longer and more reliably, and get the maximum out of the allowed amount of fuel. “That’s what racing today is all about, saving cost and fuel!” his personal dream car: a nissan gTR Motorsports is a world of its own, but also a very small one. “We work for almost all professional racing teams, and therefore for direct competitors. So my colleagues in Limoges and I know some of the best-kept secrets of the motorsports world. We’re very proud of this because it shows how much the motorsports teams trust us.” Marc Hervé says of himself in all mod- esty: “What I do is an absolute niche not only at Oerlikon Balzers. There are not many Marc Hervés in the world.” We believe him on that without hesita- tion. In any case, he has managed to infect us with his enthusiasm. At the end of the interview, there is only one question left: What kind of car does someone drive who deals with the fastest cars in the world every day, and also occasionally drives a Porsche or Ferrari on the race track himself? Marc grins: a Skoda Superb! And he puts it into perspective: “But one day I’m going to buy my dream car, a Nissan GTR, and I want to pick it up myself in Japan! Until then, I’ll have to wait a bit, because I promised my wife that we’ll pay off the house first — but somehow she always finds a new renovation project!” 10