Oerlikon Balzers will introduce a new generation of wear-protective coatings called BAL.IQ at the EMO, the world’s leading metalworking trade fair to be held in Hannover, Germany. BAL.IQ significantly outperforms current coatings in many ways and can be modified to create tailored, user-specific applications. “BAL.IQ enables our customers to significantly boost productivity, process reliability and lower costs,” says Dr. Hans Brändle, the CEO of Oerlikon Balzers. “With this pioneering product, we have secured our position as an innovation leader for years to come.”

Coatings are already a driving force behind the productivity gains being achieved by the metalworking industry. Due to high productivity requirements, a broad variety of applications would not be possible without coatings. Compared with untreated tools, coated instruments last up to much longer and facilitate considerably higher cutting speeds. Oerlikon Balzers laid the industrial groundwork for these strides 35 years ago when it introduced the BALINIT coating generation. Just like such market pacesetters as the VW Golf and the Apple iPhone, BALINIT is setting standards in coating technology. “BALINIT has written a significant chapter in the success story our company has enjoyed in recent decades,” says Oerlikon Balzers CEO Brändle. “With BAL.IQ, we are setting another industry standard that complements BALINIT in applications that have not been explored before.”