Oerlikon Balzers

Oerlikon Balzers is a commercial brand focused on thin-film coatings and surface technologies. Its history began in 1946, when Professor Max Auwärter founded Gerätebauanstalt Balzers with support from Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein and Swiss industrialist Emil Georg Bührle. The company’s own history describes more than 75 years of work in thin-film coatings and identifies its development as a progression from an original idea to a global technology business. In 1976, Balzers AG was integrated into the Oerlikon Group. The brand’s offer includes coating solutions for industrial tools and production processes, as well as coating equipment and systems used in technical research. Examples on its current website include BALINIT coatings for drilling, progressive die stamping, and plastics processing. These solutions are presented around practical manufacturing outcomes such as reducing wear and friction, increasing tool life, limiting sticking, and supporting reliable high-volume production. The site also describes BALIQ coatings and coating systems such as DOMINO pica and DOMINO kila flex. Oerlikon Balzers serves international markets. Its website offers country and language selections across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and its application examples cover both commercial manufacturing and academic research. Customer stories describe PVD coating systems being used by universities for work in tribology, materials science, surface engineering, sensor technologies, and energy harvesting. Oerlikon Balzers belongs to the Oerlikon Group. Its positioning combines applied surface engineering with product and process development for customers. The company emphasizes innovation, sustainability, entrepreneurial spirit, and tradition. The supplied evidence establishes its founding, integration into Oerlikon, selected technology milestones, product families, and international reach; it does not identify current executives or establish a separately traded listing for Oerlikon Balzers itself.

Oerlikon Balzers traces its origins to 1946, when Professor Max Auwärter founded Gerätebauanstalt Balzers. The official company history credits Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein and Swiss industrialist Emil Georg Bührle with supporting the founding. The company’s historical account presents the business as having developed from an initial idea into a global technology leader in thin-film coatings, and says it has pursued surface solutions for more than 75 years. A major structural change came in 1976, when Balzers AG was integrated into the Oerlikon Group. The supplied history page records several later technology and product milestones. In 1991, the company introduced BALINIT C, described as a WC/C carbon coating. In 2006, it achieved a technological breakthrough with its proprietary and patented P3e technology, which enabled deposition of hard aluminium-oxide coatings at coating temperatures clearly below 600°C. In 2016, it launched BALINIT FORMERA and FORMERA PLUS for AHSS forming applications. The company marked 75 years of Oerlikon Balzers in 2021. Its official history also notes that BALIQ coatings were first introduced ten years before the 2023 anniversary reference to the “Smooth Revolution,” placing their introduction in 2013. These milestones illustrate the brand’s development through coating chemistry, deposition technology, and applications for industrial forming and tooling. The current website presents Oerlikon Balzers as an international coatings and surface-technology business. Its showcased applications include plastics processing, progressive die stamping, and drilling. The BALINIT DYLYN PRO example concerns PET blow molds and aims to reduce friction and sticking under demanding operating conditions. BALINIT MAYURA is presented for high-strength stainless-steel stamping, while BALINIT OPTURA is a TiAlN-based PVD coating for drilling steel and cast iron. The brand’s work also extends to coating equipment and research applications. Customer stories describe the DOMINO kila flex system in materials-technology research at TU Dortmund and the DOMINO pica PVD system at the University of Bayreuth. The Bayreuth case covers research in tribology and surface technology, with coatings explored for mechanical-component contacts, sensor technologies, and triboelectric nanogenerators. Together, the supplied history and customer examples show a business spanning coating products, coating processes, and systems used in industrial and academic settings.

• 2021

  75th anniversary

• 2016

  BALINIT FORMERA and FORMERA PLUS launched

• 2013

  First BALIQ coatings introduced

• 2006

  P3e technology breakthrough

• 1991

  BALINIT C introduced

• 1976

  Balzers AG integrated into the Oerlikon Group

• 1946

  Gerätebauanstalt Balzers founded

A global surface-technology brand applying thin-film coatings and coating systems to industrial production and technical research, with emphasis on performance, reliability, innovation, and sustainable surface solutions.

• BALINIT OPTURA

  A TiAlN-based PVD coating presented for drilling steel and cast iron.

• BALINIT MAYURA

  A coating presented for progressive die stamping of high-strength stainless steel.

• BALINIT DYLYN PRO

  A coating solution featured for PET blow molds and demanding plastics-processing conditions.

• BALINIT FORMERA / FORMERA PLUS

  Coating solutions launched for AHSS forming applications.

• DOMINO pica and DOMINO kila flex

  PVD coating systems described in university research and development examples.

• 1976

  Integration of Balzers AG into the Oerlikon GroupOther

1. 1Coatings and Surface Technologies | Oerlikon Balzersoerlikon.com
2. 2History and Milestones | Oerlikon Balzersoerlikon.com
3. 3Customer Success Story University of Dortmund | Oerlikon Balzersoerlikon.com
4. 4PVD Technology for Science: The University of Bayreuth Explores New Frontiers with Oerlikon | Oerlikon Balzersoerlikon.com