SAES Getters

SAES Getters S.p.A. is the parent company of an Italian industrial group built around advanced materials and enabling technologies for demanding industrial and medical applications. Established in Florence in 1940 as S.A.E.S. (Società Apparecchi Elettrici e Scientifici), the company originated with engineer Ernesto Gabbrielli's work on getter technology. Getters are reactive materials used to absorb residual gases, helping maintain vacuum conditions or control the atmosphere inside sealed devices. SAES initially made time clocks and barium-magnesium-aluminium alloys, then moved its headquarters to Milan and expanded into electrical resistance heaters and getter components. The business developed rapidly after Paolo della Porta joined the company in 1949 and assumed management in 1952. Its research laboratory produced ring-shaped barium-aluminium getters and helped the company enter the television cathode-ray-tube market. A 1957 patent covering getters for black-and-white and color television tubes supported industrial-scale production and established a major commercial franchise. During the 1960s and 1970s, SAES broadened its metallurgy and vacuum capabilities. It introduced non-evaporable getter materials, including zirconium-aluminium and later zirconium-vanadium-iron alloys, as well as non-evaporable getter pumps, gas purifiers, and related devices. International expansion included commercial and manufacturing operations in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Japan, and other European and Asian markets. The company changed its name from S.A.E.S. to SAES Getters in 1978. During the 1980s it pursued vertical integration through new production and engineering companies, expanded its barium-getter operations, established manufacturing capability in China, and acquired businesses in the United States. It listed on the Italian stock exchange in 1986 and later acquired Cryolab, a Californian company that became SAES Pure Gas and strengthened the group's position in gas purification for semiconductor manufacturing. In 1996 SAES became the first Italian company to list on Nasdaq, although it requested delisting in 2003. As display technologies changed during the 1990s, SAES moved beyond traditional television getters and developed mercury dispensers for LCD backlight systems. In the 2000s, the group deliberately diversified toward advanced materials rather than remaining dependent on declining cathode-ray-tube and LCD-backlight markets. Its portfolio expanded into microelectromechanical systems, deposited getter materials for silicon wafers, ultra-pure gas purification, shape-memory alloys, medical components, and functional polymer composites. The shape-memory-alloy business was built through acquisitions and partnerships involving NiTiNol materials and medical devices, while polymer research produced getter-containing materials and functional compounds for OLEDs, implantable devices, packaging, batteries, and supercapacitors. SAES Getters' technical base includes vacuum metallurgy, powder metallurgy, solid-state chemistry, shape-memory-alloy engineering, physical vapor deposition, ultra-pure gas purification, and polymer-matrix composite chemistry. Its products are generally components, materials, systems, or process technologies embedded in customers' equipment rather than consumer-facing goods. The group has organized its activities around industrial applications, shape-memory alloys, and business development. It has also participated in research collaborations, including ETC, founded in 2010 with the Italian National Research Council to pursue organic light-emitting transistor technology, and Actuator Solutions, a 50-50 German joint venture formed with Alfmeier in 2011 to develop shape-memory-alloy-wire actuators. The supplied reference does not establish a current corporate owner, website, executive roster beyond historically documented leaders, or present operating status.

SAES Getters began in Florence in 1940 under the name S.A.E.S., an acronym for Società Apparecchi Elettrici e Scientifici. Its founding impetus was Ernesto Gabbrielli's method for producing getters with nickel lids that protected barium-based materials from oxidation. The early company also made time clocks, alloys, and electrical resistance heaters. The Della Porta and Canale families joined the shareholder base in 1946, and Paolo della Porta entered the business in 1949 before taking management responsibility in 1952. Research became central to the company's development. SAES produced ring-shaped barium-aluminium getters and, in 1957, patented getter technology for television cathode-ray tubes. This supported large-scale production for black-and-white and color television and made the company an international supplier. In the 1960s and 1970s, it introduced non-evaporable getters and getter pumps. These systems absorbed gases without the evaporation process required by conventional barium getters and were suited to demanding vacuum and ultra-high-vacuum applications. The company also developed new alloys, including zirconium-aluminium and zirconium-vanadium-iron materials, and extended its work into gas purification and analysis. Internationalization accelerated through subsidiaries and representatives in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and other markets. SAES Getters USA, founded in 1977 in Colorado Springs, added manufacturing capacity for porous non-evaporable getters and served growing demand, including from the US military sector. In 1978 the company adopted the name SAES Getters and had reached approximately 300 employees. During the 1980s it pursued vertical integration, establishing SAES Metallurgia, SAES Engineering, and SAES Gemedis. These activities were later combined into SAES Advanced Technologies. The group also established or supplied production facilities in China and made US acquisitions in cathode-tube getter businesses. SAES Getters listed in Italy in 1986, using the resulting financial resources to support expansion and acquisitions. Its purchase of Cryolab in California, later renamed SAES Pure Gas, added gas-purification products aimed especially at semiconductor manufacturing. In 1996 the company inaugurated a new headquarters in Lainate and became the first Italian company to list on Nasdaq. It left Nasdaq in 2003. During the same broad period, the company adapted to the transition from cathode-ray tubes to flat displays by developing mercury dispensers for LCD backlights. The 2000s brought a strategic shift toward a diversified advanced-materials group. SAES developed getter deposition on silicon wafers for vacuum MEMS and expanded its gas-purification operations, including palladium membrane technology. It entered shape-memory alloys through acquisitions of German and US companies and related NiTiNol activities. These materials supported industrial actuators and implantable medical devices. In 2011, SAES and Alfmeier formed Actuator Solutions, an equal-share German joint venture for shape-memory-alloy-wire actuators; the venture later received a German Innovation Award in 2014. Another major research direction was the integration of getter functionality into polymer matrices. Beginning with dispensable absorbers for OLEDs, the platform expanded toward functional compounds and coatings with gas-management, optical, mechanical, and surface-modifying properties. Applications identified by the group included implantable medical devices, food and specialty packaging, lithium batteries, and supercapacitors. In 2010 SAES also became the majority shareholder in ETC, established with Italy's National Research Council to research organic light-emitting transistor technology. The company's technology portfolio is based on advanced alloys, inorganic materials, thin metal films, polymer composites, vacuum and powder metallurgy, solid-state chemistry, physical vapor deposition, shape-memory effects, and ultra-pure gas purification. Its business model is predominantly B2B: SAES supplies specialized materials, components, and systems that are incorporated into customers' semiconductor, electronic, photonic, medical, industrial, aerospace, defense, and energy products. The supplied reference does not provide enough information to confirm the group's current ownership, leadership, website, or active status after the historical developments described above.

• 2014

  German Innovation Award received

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  Actuator Solutions won the German Innovation Award in the medium-sized company category.

• 2011

  Actuator Solutions joint venture established

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  SAES Getters and Alfmeier formed an equal-share German venture for shape-memory-alloy-wire actuators.

• 2010

  ETC research company established

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  SAES and Italy's National Research Council established ETC to pursue organic light-emitting transistor research.

• 2003

  Nasdaq delisting

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  The company requested withdrawal of its Nasdaq listing.

• 1996

  Lainate headquarters inaugurated and Nasdaq listing begins

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  The group opened its Lainate headquarters and became the first Italian company to list on Nasdaq.

• 1986

  Italian stock-market listing

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  SAES Getters was listed on the Italian stock exchange, supporting acquisitions and international expansion.

• 1978

  Name changed to SAES Getters

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted the SAES Getters name as its international operations and production structure expanded.

• 1967

  Non-evaporable getter configuration presented

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  At a Rome residual-gases symposium, SAES presented a metallic tape coated with zirconium-aluminium getter alloy, supporting later non-evaporable getter products and pumps.

• 1957

  Television-tube getter patent

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  SAES filed a patent for getters used in black-and-white and color television cathode-ray tubes.

• 1940

  Company founded in Florence

  [1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  S.A.E.S. was established in Florence following Ernesto Gabbrielli's getter-production innovation.

A research-driven B2B advanced-materials and vacuum-technology specialist. SAES Getters positions its value around proprietary metallurgy, solid-state chemistry, vacuum engineering, gas purification, shape-memory alloys, thin-film deposition, and functional polymers. Its products serve as enabling components in high-reliability industrial, semiconductor, electronic, photonic, aerospace, energy, and medical systems.

• Vacuum components

  Evaporable getters and dispensers

  Getter materials and dispenser components based on reactive alloys that absorb residual gases in sealed devices. The company's early expertise centered on barium-based getter systems, including products used in television cathode-ray tubes and other vacuum devices. Related mercury dispensers were later developed for LCD backlight systems.

• Vacuum systems · 1967

  Non-evaporable getters and pumps

  Non-evaporable getter materials and pumps maintain high or ultra-high vacuum without requiring evaporation during operation. SAES developed zirconium-aluminium and zirconium-vanadium-iron alloys and applied them to porous getter structures, pumps, and other vacuum-management products for scientific and industrial equipment.

• Industrial gas purification

  SAES Pure Gas purification systems

  Gas purification products and analysis capabilities for producing ultra-high-purity gases. The business, strengthened by the acquisition of Cryolab, served semiconductor manufacturing and other applications in which impurity levels can need to be controlled below parts-per-billion thresholds. The group also developed palladium membrane purification technology.

• Advanced materials and medical devices

  Shape-memory alloys and NiTiNol products

  Shape-memory-alloy materials, wires, springs, and finished or semi-finished components based principally on nickel-titanium systems. Their shape-memory and superelastic properties support implantable medical devices, industrial actuators, and other engineered applications. SAES built this activity through German and US acquisitions and internal production capabilities.

• Microelectromechanical-system materials

  Getter-coated MEMS wafers

  Getter materials deposited on silicon wafers for vacuum MEMS cap wafers. The deposited layer helps establish and preserve a controlled gas environment inside sealed MEMS cavities, supporting sensors, gyroscopes, and related miniaturized devices.

• Functional polymers · 2013

  Functional polymer composites

  Polymer-matrix materials that incorporate getter properties and may also provide optical, mechanical, surface, or gas-interaction functions. SAES developed these materials for OLEDs, implantable devices, food and specialty packaging, lithium batteries, and supercapacitors.

• 2011

  Formation of Actuator SolutionsM&A

  Background

  SAES sought to strengthen its international position in shape-memory-alloy actuators.

  Action taken

  It formed a 50-50 joint venture in Germany with Alfmeier for development, manufacture, and marketing of wire-based shape-memory-alloy actuators.

  Aftermath

  The venture later received a German Innovation Award in 2014.

  Source

• 2003

  Withdrawal from NasdaqOther

  Background

  SAES Getters had been listed on Nasdaq since 1996 as the first Italian company to obtain such a listing.

  Action taken

  The company requested delisting from Nasdaq.

  Aftermath

  The supplied reference does not explain the financial or strategic consequences of the delisting.

  Source

• 2000

  Diversification into advanced materialsStrategy

  Background

  The decline of important legacy markets, especially cathode-ray-tube television getters and LCD backlight products, increased the need to broaden the group's technology base.

  Action taken

  SAES expanded into shape-memory alloys, MEMS materials, gas purification, medical components, and functional polymer technologies while retaining its vacuum and getter capabilities.

  Aftermath

  The group became a more diversified supplier of materials, components, and systems for industrial and medical applications.

  Source

• 2014

  Actuator Solutions receives German Innovation Award[1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The shape-memory-alloy actuator joint venture received the German Innovation Award in the medium-sized company category.

• 2011

  Actuator Solutions joint venture formed[1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  SAES Getters and German company Alfmeier created an equal-share German joint venture to develop, manufacture, and market actuators based on shape-memory-alloy wire.

• 2010

  SAES Getters establishes ETC research company[1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  SAES Getters became the majority shareholder in ETC, a collaboration with Italy's National Research Council focused on organic light-emitting transistor technology.

• 2000

  SAES Getters expands into shape-memory alloys and medical applications[1]SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  The group developed its shape-memory-alloy platform through acquisitions involving Memry and related NiTiNol capabilities, broadening the company from vacuum and getter products into medical devices and industrial actuators.

1. 1SAES Gettersen.wikipedia.org