The coatings produced by Oerlikon Balzers aim to improve the performance and service life of, for example, metallic precision components by reducing friction and supplying additional hardness.

With the support of Prince Franz Josef II and Swiss industrialist Emil Georg Bührle, Professor Max Auwärter founded Gerätebauanstalt Balzers.

The objective was to make the then largely unknown and little-researched vacuum thin film technology usable on an industrial scale.

Since no systems and equipment for the production of thin-film coatings were available at the time, the company developed and produced them in-house.

Its products and services are used in various applications in various industries They also serve the automotive and transportation, aerospace, medical, food and packaging, energy, consumer goods and engineering sectors worldwide.