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F O R Y O U
Collaboration leading to success
HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33 . SEPTEMBER 2019
4Introduction Dave Doerwald
6Distinguishing Yourself Through Expertise
8New CVD R&D Machine From Bernex
10Strong Antibacterial Eff ect in Enhanced Coatings
13Excellent BPP Coating Results
16The Keys to the Next 50 Years of Success
20Supporting Growth and Development
24Meet Us
Publisher IHI Hauzer Techno Coating B.V. PO Box 3057 . 5902 RB Venlo . The NetherlandsT +31 77 355 97 77 . [email protected]
hauzer.nl
Editor Jacqueline DoldersWriter Maartje Gorte
Design Creation Station, Roermond
CONTENT
2 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
13
No responsibility can be accepted for the correctness or completeness of the statements made, especially in the case of external contributions. The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily refl ect those of IHI Hauzer Techno Coating B.V. We reserve the right to make technical changes. Reprinting or
reproduction of any kind is prohibited. Exceptions to this rule are possible only with the prior written permission of the publisher.
© IHI Hauzer Techno Coating B.V., all rights reserved.
4
16
10
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3 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Supporting Research
“Hauzer’s daughter company Bernex is launching new
equipment to make chemical vapour deposition (CVD) coating
research easier, more eff ective and more cost effi cient for its
customers. A small, fl exible reactor that is specifi cally developed
for R&D, to create stable coating recipes without having to
take a full-size reactor out of production. Bernex is world-
class in collaborative coating development, and now they have
developed a machine that they themselves would like to use –
and probably will – to help their customers do coating R&D.”
Taking the Fuel Cell Coating on the Road
“Previously, we had presented good laboratory test results
for the durability of the Hauzer coatings for bipolar plates.
In this edition, we show the performance of our coatings in
more realistic application testing conditions. These data were
provided by customers and research institutes, showing the
“In my fi rst Hauzer For You, I am pleased to introduce stories that match the Hauzer mission of
realising innovative solutions in partnerships. Good collaborations on all levels. Even in a market that
is currently infl uenced by a worldwide decline of the general business climate, we are continuing
to invest in technology and our customers and are looking positively to the future.”
INNOVATING TOGETHER
INTRODUCTION
4
performance of the coatings within small fuel cell stacks and
the expected lifetimes of the fuel cells under various kinds of
loads. Our coatings are meeting the market demands and we
are positive about how the market will develop further.”
Working Closely With Our Customers
“The highlights of this magazine are the customer stories.
German tool company HORN recently purchased a next-
generation Hauzer HiPIMS machine as future-proof technology.
Together, we set up the machine to be Industry 4.0-ready. SAM
Coating, also from Germany, used the fl exibility of Hauzer
coating machines to fi nd their competitive advantage and
build a reputation for ta-C expertise. Last but not least, we are
looking to start new partnerships. Our antibacterial coatings
are at a great stage to start developing specifi c applications with
customers in the deco markets. Do get in touch!”
Dave Doerwald
CEO
HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 334
HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 335
SAM Coating is a growing coating service provider in Germany that specialises in
ta-C coatings for the tool market. Its founder and managing director, Andreas Schneider,
has a long and satisfi ed history with Hauzer. In this Hauzer For You, he shares the journey
SAM Coating made from two-person start-up to well-established authority.
DISTINGUISHING YOURSELFTHROUGH EXPERTISE
CUSTOMER SUPPORT RELIABILITY & QUALITY OPERATING EXCELLENCE
From a Flexible Start to a Solid Reputation for Ta-C
Andreas: “When I founded SAM Coating in 2011, I was not
sure at all with which coatings we could enter the job coating
market. From my previous experience, I knew that ta-C
would off er a signifi cant benefi t in the tool market. But would
customers accept an unknown product from an unknown
provider?” For that reason, the fi rst coating machine SAM
Coating purchased was a Hauzer Flexicoat® 850. This machine
can deposit carbon-based coatings such as ta-C, W-DLC and
DLC, as well as diff erent nitride coatings.
Since those early days, manufacturers and users of mills,
inserts and drills have realised the benefi ts of ta-C-coated
tools for qualities such as tool lifetime and friction reduction.
“Business for SAM is increasing very fast,” says Andreas,
“especially for tools used to treat aluminium, copper and glass-
fi bre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) or carbon-fi bre-reinforced
plastic (CFRP). Increasingly, ta-C is becoming synonymous with
SAM, a fact I am very proud of. That convinces me the hard work
over the years was worth it.”
SAM and Hauzer – an Excellent Match
Before founding his own company, Andreas worked for a large
automotive group as an R&D engineer in coating technology.
That is where he fi rst came across Hauzer. Andreas: “In the 11
years since then, I have always had an excellent collaboration
with Hauzer, regardless of which department I dealt with.
The robust technology of Hauzer machines makes it an easy
decision to go with Hauzer, now and in the future. By the way, it
was Dave Doerwald, CEO of Hauzer, and Jeroen Landsbergen,
the former Hauzer CEO, who sold me my fi rst machines when
they worked in the Sales department.”
“Our recent investment is a new Hauzer machine with CARC+
technology,” continues Andreas. “Customers are increasingly
asking if we can provide nitride coatings. I am convinced that
6 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Andreas Schneider
Managing Director of SAM Coating
this technology will be the basis for us to deliver better quality
to the market than our competitors.”
Expanding in the Community
When SAM Coating fi rst started, the local municipality helped
arrange a suitable location. Since then, business has been
good for SAM Coating. They moved into a larger building in
June 2019. “We have grown from two people in 2011 to 15 in
2019,” says Andreas. “And we will likely grow to 20 within the
next year. Our new building, again realised with support from
the local municipality, has the capacity to meet that growth.”
The new building was set up with sustainability and energy-
independence in mind. Andreas: “We lease a solar panel park
in the new neighbourhood, and we will have additional solar
panels on the roof. Any oversupply of generated energy will
be stored in a battery storage system. The exhaust heat from
our coating machines is stored in house to support the heating
system in winter and to generate cold water in summer. Our
fi rst estimations are that these energy production, storage
and recycling features can deliver 75% of the energy we need.”
Focusing on Quality and Service
In a customer-driven business such as coating services, the
requested products and coatings are highly infl uenced by
market trends. For that reason, SAM Coating is always keeping
an eye on future developments. Andreas: “Understanding the
latest trends on the worldwide market is very helpful. As usual,
some trends make me happy, while others worry me slightly.
Still, which products we off er is not the most important thing
to me. What matters much more is maintaining the excellent
quality of our products and our support service. That is how we
can stand out from our competitors.”
HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 337
NEW, SMALL-SCALE CVD R&D MACHINE
FROM BERNEX
MARKET DEVELOPMENT LEADING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
IHI Bernex AG, world leaders in chemical vapour deposition (CVD) coating machines and
a fellow IHI Group company, is introducing a new small-scale R&D system at the 2019
EMO trade show in Hannover: the CVD LabTube. This highly fl exible machine has a small
reaction chamber, making it ideal for focused, effi cient coating research.
8 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Meeting the Needs of Innovative
Companies and Research Institutes
Most companies that buy a full-size
CVD coating machine intend to use it
for production, whether for their own
tools or components or as a coating
service provider. Since the markets
for cutting tools, aerospace, extrusion
dies, precision components and
medical implants are very application-
driven, Bernex customers usually buy a
machine that is set up to the specifi -
cations of the exact coating types they
need. “We know, however, that some
customers use our full-scale CVD
machines to do their own coating
research,” says Hristo Strakov, Head
of Technology at Bernex. “For these
customers, we have developed our small
R&D machine.”
R&D Is Easier With the Right Tools
Conducting coating research on an
industrial-scale CVD machine has a
number of disadvantages. It is rather
expensive in terms of energy and
materials and takes an entire machine
out of production. The critical downside,
from an R&D perspective, is that the
conditions in a big reactor may vary
considerably during initial test cycles.
Hristo: “If you get the perfect coating on
some samples and an imperfect coating
on others, it is hard to know what you
did right. If you use a small-scale R&D
machine, you don’t have any of these
drawbacks. First, each CVD reaction
trial is aff ordable. Second, there is no
loss of production capacity. And fi nally,
the conditions in the reactor are evenly
controlled.”
This meets the stated needs of existing
customers, whose R&D departments
are mostly concerned about proof of
concept in the initial stages. The sooner a
working proof of concept is established,
the quicker they can establish their
intellectual property.
Of course, a positive aspect of doing
R&D on an industrial-scale Bernex CVD
production unit is that the coating recipe
is adjusted and optimised at the scale
intended for use. With a small R&D
machine, a scaling step is necessary.
Nevertheless, that is easily compensated
by the extra time and cost savings.
The Flexibility to Experiment
Bernex designed the R&D machine to be
highly fl exible and capable of working
with many diff erent elements. “This
includes chemicals that aren’t available
on regular CVD machines,” says Hristo.
“You can start your coatings from scratch
and really play with materials and
structures. That is what we do, at Bernex
R&D.”
Bernex is known worldwide for their skill
in developing customer-specifi c CVD
coatings for a very wide range of chal-
lenging applications. Hristo: “Developing
Available After EMO
Bernex expects most of the
interest for the new CVD LabTube
equipment to come from the
R&D departments of industry
players. Additionally, it is ideal for
universities and research institutes.
Both will benefi t from working at
this smaller scale to generate a
higher return on investment for
coating enhancements. The new
machine is available from EMO 2019
onwards. If you would like to know
more, visit Bernex in hall 3, stand
E12 at EMO, visit www.ihi-bernex.
com or contact Hristo Strakov
VISIT US AT EMO
HANNOVERHALL 3
BOOTH E12
ready-for-production coating technology
has been a main pillar of our R&D
strategy. Not only in collaboration with our
esteemed customers, but also for inter-
nal IHI Group applications. Developing
coatings is a very demanding and
precise process, that takes a lot of know-
ledge of material properties and
technology. This CVD LabTube equipment
was conceived and built to our own
demanding specifi cations as R&D
department, and we are excited to
share this advancement in CVD process
development with our customers.”
9 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 32
Anywhere crowds of people gather, touch-based contamination contributes to the spread of bacterial
infections. Coatings with antibacterial eff ect could have an important public health benefi t: think of door
handles, bathroom taps and other high-touch elements in schools, hospitals, airports and even homes. “The
new test results for Hauzer’s antibacterial coatings are excellent,” says Huub Vercoulen, Deco Sales Manager.
“Some eliminated all applied bacteria even after a single hour. We are now looking for customers
interested in jointly developing an antibacterial coating for their specifi c application.”
STRONG ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT IN ENHANCED
COATINGS
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
10 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Antibacterial in Rose Gold, Nickel and Black
Silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) ions have long been known
to have an antibacterial eff ect. Hauzer R&D developed a
coating architecture able to release these ions. The fi rst three
enhanced coatings are rose gold, nickel-like and black. These
coatings are deposited either by Hauzer Advanced Controlled
Arc evaporation (ACA) or unbalanced magnetron sputtering
(UBM) and contain Ag or Cu in diff erent concentrations.
Gram+ and Gram- Bacteria
Bacteria can be classifi ed into Gram positive and Gram
negative, based on important diff erences in their cell walls.
Huub: “We previously tested whether Gram- bacteria
Escherichia coli could survive for 24 hours on enhanced
Hauzer coatings. Now, our testing partners Manchester
Metropolitan University (MMU) assessed the antibacterial
eff ect after 1, 3, 8 and 24 hours. They also tested
Staphylococcus aureus, which are Gram+ and can exist in
antibiotic-resistant form known as MRSA. Together, these
bacteria are a good model for unwashed hands, since they
live on skin and in faecal matter.”
The testing methodology is based on BS ISO 22196:2011 (Measurement
of antibacterial activity on plastics and other non-porous surfaces).
MMU researchers inoculated E. coli or S. aureus bacteria onto the
coating and sandwiched it with a piece of polyethylene to ensure the
cells are evenly spread across the surface. After 0, 1, 3, 8 and 24 hours
of incubation, any E. coli or S. aureus that were still alive were recovered
from the surface and spread onto agar to grow into bacterial colonies,
allowing for the calculation of colony-forming units per ml (CFU/ml).
MMU METHODOLOGY TO TEST ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY
HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 3311
cfu
/mL
102
101
104
103
105
107
106
E. coli test results
Black (
UBM) +
Ag
Black (
UBM) +
Cu
Nickel (A
CA) - unm
odified
Nickel (A
CA) + A
g 1Nick
el (ACA) +
Ag 2
Uncoat
ed stain
less st
eel
**** **** ** * *
Rose go
ld (ACA) +
Ag
0 1 3 8 24
Time points (hours)cf
u/m
L
102
101
104
103
105
107
106
S. aureus test results
Black (
UBM) +
Ag
Black (
UBM) +
Cu
Rose go
ld (ACA) +
Ag
Nickel (A
CA) - unm
odified
Nickel (A
CA) + A
g 1Nick
el (ACA) +
Ag 2
Uncoat
ed stain
less st
eel
**** **** *
0 1 3 8 24
*
Time points (hours)
Excellent Antibacterial Properties
Compared to an uncoated stainless-steel sample or an
unmodifi ed nickel coating, all enhanced coatings showed
an antibacterial eff ect. Ivan Kolev, Hauzer Process Manager:
“Both black coatings were extremely eff ective: 100% kill rate
in only an hour. The rose gold coating eradicated E. coli within
4 to 8 hours and S. aureus within 9 to 24 hours. The Ni-like
coatings showed least effi cacy, although still better than the
uncoated or unmodifi ed samples. Nickel coating 1 achieved
full eradication of both bacteria within 9 to 24 hours, whilst
nickel coating 2 managed to decrease the population of
S. aureus by 3 orders of magnitude after 24 hours.” The
performance diff erence between the two enhanced nickel
coatings is a result of the diff erent level of doping. This
indicates that there is an optimum dopant level.
Depending on the coating type and dopant added, there
can be a marginal colour shift as measured with the L*a*b
colour scale. This can be compensated by readjusting process
parameters.
Seeking Development Partners
With these excellent test results, it is now time to start developing
applications for these antibacterial coatings. Please contact
Huub Vercoulen ([email protected] or +31 6 462 01 462) to
discuss your specifi cations. Huub: “Are you interested in off ering
an antibacterial eff ect as a selling point for decorative coatings?
Producing door handles or bathroom fi xtures that help control
infection? Or coatings for antibacterial jewellery, keyboards
or other innovative products? This market is only just getting
started.”
12 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
MARKET DEVELOPMENT LEADING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
The automotive market is rapidly moving towards full electrifi cation. Hydrogen technology, with its zero
emissions, fully electric drive trains and excellent scaling possibilities, off ers great potential for the transport
sector. The annual production level in 2030 is already expected to be at 1 million passenger vehicles per
year, so this is an important time to consider investing in this industry. Recent test results show the excellent
performance of Hauzer coatings in test fuel cell stacks, supporting our technology in this market.
EXCELLENT BPP COATING RESULTS
1313 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Bipolar Plate Coating
A 100 kW automotive fuel cell stack, the type that will power a
passenger vehicle, has about 400 bipolar plates (BPPs). A good,
low-cost solution is for these BPPs to be made out of stainless
steel and covered with a protective carbon coating. With the
expected annual production in 2030, that adds up to 50 million
m2 of coated steel per year.
Fuel cell stacks with a minimum acceptable lifetime last >5000
operating hours before losing 20% of their power or cell voltage.
To achieve this, the coating cannot be a limiting factor. Previously,
Hauzer BPP coatings showed excellent performance in initial
short-term corrosion current tests. In this edition of Hauzer
ICR
/ m
Ω c
m2
2
1
0
4
3
5
7
8
9
10
6
Interfacial contact resistance (ICR) before and after AST
Hauzer coating An
Hauzer coating Ca
Gold An Gold Ca
ICR before AST ICR after AST
5.98 5.915.60
6.376.626.51
5.61
7.45
For You, three diff erent parties share the results of industrial
tests of the Hauzer BPP coatings in functional fuel cell stacks:
a renowned test institute, a fuel cell stack developer and a
tier-1 automotive company. These tests have a longer duration,
from 300 to 1000 hours, and more reliably predict the coating’s
performance across the full lifetime of a fuel cell.
Steady-state and Dynamic Load Tests
Two test conditions are important to determine BPP coating
quality: steady-state load and dynamic load. Steady-state
conditions represent driving behaviour in heavy-duty fuel cell
vehicles such as trucks. These vehicles tend to have constant
Accelerated Corrosion Test
A corrosion current test, as was previously done on Hauzer
BPP coatings under short-term laboratory conditions, provides
important information. The US Department of Energy (DoE) set
the benchmark for contact resistance of BPPs throughout the
lifetime of a fuel cell to 10mΩ*cm2 or less. Increased contact
resistance and deteriorated conductivity of the coating might
occur as an eff ect of corrosion. For this reason, corrosion tests
can be done by monitoring this value over time.
ZBT, a well-known German institute for fuel cell development,
created the Accelerated Stress in-situ corrosion Test (AST). The
acceleration comes from using a dynamic load and high-humidity
conditions, which are more corrosion-promoting. That means
that with only 500 hours of testing, they can already predict fuel
cell performance for automotive applications. The ZBT AST is
currently the benchmark for the industry.
The Hauzer coating passed the AST by staying well below the
DoE cut-off value during the test. That is evidence that fuel cell
lifetime will be determined by other factors than the coating.
driving speeds, which delivers a constant load on the fuel cell.
Dynamic load conditions better refl ect the driving behaviour in
passenger cars – they constantly speed up, slow down, stop and
go, resulting in continuous modulation of the voltage and current
in the fuel cell stack.
14 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Ce
ll v
olt
ag
e (
V)
0.0
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Test duration (hours)
Testing static and dynamic load levels
Constant load: 1.2 A/cm2 Dynamic load: 0.9 A/cm2 (average)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900Ave
rag
e c
ell v
olt
ag
e (
V)
0.4
0.2
0
0.8
0.6
Testing dierent load levels
Current density: 0.9 A/cm2
Current density: 0.63 A/cm2
Current density: 0.36 A/cm2
Test duration (hours)
Testing Various Load Levels
The automotive industry is interested in testing a range of load
profi les to simulate diff erences in driving styles. It is easy to
imagine that a sportier driver, a more economical driver and
someone who regularly takes trips with his caravan will have
diff erent load profi les. A large automotive company, who started
developing fuel cell stacks in 2002 and are among the largest
companies in Europe investing in fuel cells, tested just this. The
test was 900 hours under three load levels: 0.36 A/cm2, 0.63 A/
cm2 and 0.9 A/cm2. As can be expected, higher loads led to slightly
faster cell voltage degradation. As in the ZBT test, the contact
resistance of the coating stayed well below the DOE target of
10mΩ*cm2 during the test. The fuel cell lifetime for each tested
load level is therefore expected to meet the 5000h standard.
Scaling Up for the Market
With these latest results, scaling up to worldwide
production capacity at low cost and high coating quality
is one step closer. Are you interested in joining this
automotive revolution as coating provider or fuel cell
stack developer? Hauzer is already doing long-term
collaborations for coating development, small-scale
samples and projects. At low volumes of BPPs, Hauzer
can help you get started through our coating partners.
As the developer and builder of high-quality coating
machines, Hauzer can also help you scale up with our batch
production machines (200,000-500,000 BPPs per year) or
even build extensive production capacity of up to 10 million
BPPs per year with our inline coating systems. For more
information, please contact Joris Ummels, Sales Manager
New Business ([email protected] or +31 77 850 78 30).
EH Group, a fuel cell stack developer Hauzer has been working
with since 2017, uses advanced designs for their compact fuel
cell stacks. They put BPPs with Hauzer coatings to the test, in
both a steady-state and accelerated dynamic load test. Fuel
cell voltage decrease in the 500h test is only 0.3%, indicating a
fuel cell lifetime far exceeding 5000h, since end of life is defi ned
at 80% cell voltage. As expected, the 300h dynamic load test
shows a faster decrease in cell voltage over time, but the fuel cell
lifetime is still expected to be suffi cient. In other words, in both
tests, the Hauzer coatings performed very well.
15 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
LEADING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
A Hauzer machine with the latest in HiPIMS technology
was recently delivered to German tool manufacturer
HORN. The company was founded by Paul Horn 50 years
ago in Tübingen. Today, HORN is a family-run company
of 1500 employees, serving customers around the
world. Bastian Gaedike, Coating Engineer, discusses
the HORN vision of technology and how that may
shape the next 50 years of the company.
THE KEYS TO THE NEXT
50 YEARS OF SUCCES
16 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
Connecting the Industry 4.0 Dots
It is one of HORN’s strategic drivers to
link up all their machines and enable
them to communicate with each other.
“Companies that want to grow need to
be more effi cient with human labour,”
says Bastian. “But the cutting tool
coating process contains so many steps
you can only do by hand. Preparing tools,
clamping them, cleaning them – the
parts we coat are so diff erent in shapes
and sizes that no robot is sophisticated
enough. What we can save human
labour on are things like production
planning, monitoring and entering
recipes. We want our machines to talk
to each other directly, so our valuable
operators can do more important work.”
17 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
The OPC UA communication protocol is a worldwide
standard for machine communication, developed by the OPC
Foundation. It is both a programming language and a glossary
of what a machine can do. Companion specifications (CS) are
available for niche markets, such as the Surface Technology
CS that covers coating machines.
Software companies such as the German neogramm work as
connecting partners for machine networks, making sure all
the machines involved speak OPC UA. Christos Lithoxopoulos,
Business Development Manager at neogramm: “In the future,
everything will speak OPC UA. We will get to a point where
you can plug in a production machine and it will send its
definitions automatically. The way your desktop printer does
now: when you plug it into the USB port, your computer
automatically knows that it ’s a colour printer that can print
on both sides, with this particular size range. That’s what’s
missing in the industry right now, and that’s what OPC UA can
change. It provides the interoperability that is key to today’s
smart factories.”
Example of an OPC UA network connection
MACHINES TALKING TO MACHINES
The HORN network uses the OPC UA
communication standard, an important
worldwide standard for Industry 4.0.
The starting goal is upgrading their
coating machines to communicate
using the OPC UA companion
specification for surface technology,
before expanding to include the entire
production process. “First, we are setting
up the infrastructure and OPC UA,” says
Bastian. “Then, we will connect all the
places where people work, through
terminals. This whole process should
be completed next year. After that, we
can automate the production planning.”
HiPIMS for the Future
HORN is known around the world
for their expertise in HiPIMS, with its
smooth, hard coatings and flexible
applications. “HiPIMS is the coating
technology for the future,” says Bastian.
“We work with really sharp cutting edges,
and those are not easy to coat. If you
want to keep them sharp while using
older technology, the coating often
breaks under the stress. HiPIMS gives
better stress profiles inside the material.”
In addition, HiPIMS has very low
stickiness, which prevents smearing
of the substrate on the cutting tool.
Stainless steel, a commonly cut material,
tends to smear easily. “And this is even
18 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
more important for new materials,”
says Bastian. “The aerospace and
medical industry use materials such
as nickel-chrome alloys and titanium
alloys – and these all smear worse than
stainless steel. HiPIMS is the technology
of choice for these growing industries.”
Connecting the Hauzer Flexicoat
HORN’s new Hauzer Flexicoat® is also set
up for HiPIMS, with a next-generation
power supply that allows them to
program pulse trains with pulse width
modulation. The sophisticated pulse
train control makes it possible to give the
coatings additional properties and even
better residual stress profiles. “With
other manufacturers,” says Bastian, “you
get a machine that is already set. With
Hauzer, you can order a machine with
all the upgrades and power supplies and
flexibility you want. We really appreciate
that in this machine. Initially, we will use
it for R&D, and later for production
as well.” The Hauzer Flexicoat® is the
first HORN coating machine set up to
communicate with the HORN network.
HORN had previously developed the
requirements for their Industry 4.0
network in collaboration with system
integrator and OPC UA specialists
neogramm. Now, neogramm and Hauzer
did a deep-dive into the Hauzer Flexicoat
machine database interface, to equip
Hauzer machines with OPC UA as well.
That made it easy to set up HORN’s
new Flexicoat machine to communicate
seamlessly in the network.
The Next 50 Years
When asked for HORN’s vision for the
future, Bastian quotes HORN CEO Lothar
Horn: “If you’re having visions, you need
to go see a doctor.” HORN, it turns out,
has more of a philosophy than a vision.
Bastian: “We think the future will be
almost the same as the past. What was
important in the last 50 years will also
be important in the next. Customer
satisfaction. The best quality. The
fastest delivery time. That’s what made
us strong, and that’s what will keep us
successful in the future. As long as you
keep looking at your customers and
what they are doing, you are looking
in the right place. Of course, there are
some interesting developments going
on, such as e-mobility. How will we
handle the new materials that come
with that? Our industry never gets
boring. People are always thinking of
new materials to cut.”
HORN Technology Days
To keep the HORN customers informed
of all the developments in the cutting tool
manufacturing and coating business,
HORN organises their Technology Days
event every other year. “The most recent
one was just held in June,” says Bastian.
“Although this one was special because
of our 50th anniversary, the Technology
Days are generally well visited anyway.
This year, we had around 4700 visitors.
About half of them were international
customers, the other half from Germany.
People come from far away: for instance,
150 of the participants were from the
US. I was pretty happy, because the R&D
and production departments could really
show our customers what we do.”Bastian Gaedike, Coating Engineer at HORN
HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 3319
SUPPORTING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Company-wide Educational Plan
“Within Hauzer, we always strive to support people who want to
improve their skills,” says Petra. “That way, they can better serve
our customers and develop our technology. It is also a sign of
our appreciation and support.” During the Hauzer performance
and development cycle, employees and their managers
formulate the training needs and desires they see for the
company, teams and individual employees. After these needs
and desires are checked for synergy and overlap, the board sets
the budget and the approved educational plan is announced.
“That normally happens in July,” says Petra, “so the new plan
has just been announced!” Of course, the need for training may
shift throughout the year, so adjustments are always possible.
Sharing Critical Expertise
Another interesting way Hauzer employees invest in their
development is internal training, where colleagues or teams
train each other. Petra: “All our Technicians are trained in-house,
The Hauzer strategy to create leading-edge coating technology can only become reality
by attracting and retaining a highly skilled workforce. That is why Hauzer invests in letting its
employees learn, take courses and develop themselves personally and professionally.
Petra Vermeeren, HR Advisor, says: “Hauzer operates at the very top in the
coating industry, so our employees are our strongest asset.”
Petra Vermeeren, HR Advisor
HIGHLY SKILLED WORKFORCE
20 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
“I am on exchange from Hauzer parent company IHI, where I
have been an R&D research engineer for 20 years and a R&D
manager for two. I will be with Hauzer for at least three years,
contributing my knowledge of plasma and material science
research.
I’m working half in tribo, half in deco. In tribo, fuel cells are
booming right now, because of the interest of automotive
companies in PVD. Hauzer has a promising solution, where
good performance and low mass production cost go together.
Deco is also very busy. The market is growing, and new colours
KENJI FUCHIGAMISENIOR PROCESS ENGINEER
to develop solid all-round skills. There are also technical
exchange meetings, where employees give a presentation
to their colleagues after working hours about a specific
topic. Hauzer employees are often absolutely world
class in their field, so sharing that specialist knowledge
is critical.”
Many Training Opportunities
In the last two years, 65 Hauzer employees have taken
a training course or session, out of the 115 total Hauzer
employees in Venlo. As several employees took multiple
courses, the total number of training participants in the
last two years even exceeds 115. Petra: “These figures only
include training sessions provided by external institutes.
All the internal training, such as exchange sessions or
technician training, is not even included in these data.
All in all, this shows that we take the development
of our employees very seriously at Hauzer.”
and functions are always needed. Decorative coatings are
very technically challenging. The colours are easily affected
by process conditions and machine configurations, so the
process engineer plays an important role. My focus is on
trying to improve the development cycle by shortening it.
That is knowledge I will be able to take back to IHI. I started
three months ago but I already feel at home here. My family
has just come over and started to live with me in Düsseldorf,
where my son and daughter were accepted at an international
school and there is a strong Japanese community.”
21 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
“I worked for a northern German toolmaking company for
the last 10 years, as Head of R&D for materials and coatings. I
collaborated with customers to develop the best combination
of substrates, coatings and pre- and post-treatments for
cutting and forming tools. In addition, I was responsible for the
production department for PVD coatings and heat treatment in
Germany and for the processes at coating centers in Germany,
China and USA. That means I know the importance of reliability,
maintenance and uptime in good coating machines.
As an application specialist, I developed a lot of different
coatings on PVD machines. Now, at Hauzer, I get to actually
change and develop the machines themselves! I will be very
customer-focused in my new position, especially in terms of
coating performance, handling of the machine and using new
coating technologies for new applications. I chose Hauzer
because it is famous for the quality of its coating machines and
its knowledge and has a great team with great people.
I moved from Hamburg to the Netherlands border, but still live
in Germany. I studied at Aachen University, close to where I
now live, and I was happy to come back to the Rheinland.”
PHILIPP IMMICHDIRECTOR OF PROCESS ENGINEERING
“I’m not a new Hauzer employee: I joined Hauzer right
out of college. I was an Electrical Engineer at Hauzer for
12 years, and I learned much about machine building in
that time. I also spent a six-month period in Customer
Support in 2016. I recently became the first Hauzer
Senior System Engineer – a unique position that merges
electrical, software and mechanical engineering. I
had already started a traineeship at the Software
Engineering department in early 2018, to expand my
knowledge, so we all thought I would be a good fit for
this newly created position.
I am starting with parallel projects from all disciplines.
First some small projects to find out how we can develop
our technology more efficiently. Then we will move on to
larger projects. My new role is still taking shape, which
is the pragmatic way of working at Hauzer. The idea of
an integrating engineering position like mine is that we
can solve issues more collaboratively, communicate
better and be more effective.
One of the reasons why working at Hauzer is great is
that you have a lot of control over your own development
and career.”
RALPH LEENDERSSENIOR SYSTEM ENGINEER
22 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
“I worked at Philips almost my entire career, in service
engineering, project engineering, installation and
support; and both as team member and manager.
My most recent customer support position was Tier 3
support for x-ray systems, solving the really complex
customer problems. Then I took a position more outside
of customer support, as a plant manager making a
plant profi table again. I missed working with customers
directly and am glad I am now back to a customer
support position.
I joined Hauzer because I wanted to make a big career
step, going to a diff erent company, and help take
something to the next level. Hauzer is a great company
from a customer support perspective: since they
do all their development in-house, it is easier to do
improvements than when you use a supplier. I’m going
to lead a team of 10 people and want to see how we can
further improve our customer service to better meet
our customers’ needs. We will now have the capacity to
look into things like that. I am already very impressed
with the Hauzer portfolio and felt a click with the
people from the very fi rst moment.”
RENÉ VAN DER VEGTMANAGER CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Hauzer is often looking for new talent. Please check our website for
our current vacancies or contact our HR Advisor Petra Vermeeren.
[email protected] – +31 77 355 97 05 – Hauzer.nl/careers
CAREERS
23 HAUZER FOR YOU . NO. 33
EMO
September 16-21
Hannover
Germany
FCVC
September 26-28
Rugao
China
Aachener Colloquium
October 7-9
Aachen
Germany
Automotive Interiors Expo
October 22-24
Novi
USA
Aachener Colloquium China
November 13-19
Beijing
China
FC Expo
February 26-28, 2020
Tokyo
Japan
Meet us...Hauzer is looking forward to seeing you at the following exhibitions and conferences.