Tendency from flat to rotatable glass sputter solutions persists

Over 54.000 visitors gathered information on trends and innovations in the glass industry during the international glasstec exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 24 to 28 October. According to the organizers exhibitors and visitors were enthused and the glass sector looks to the future with optimism - many new and exciting developments in solar thermal systems, photovoltaics and laser technology have been presented by manufacturers from mainly Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Spain, US and China.

Amongst those Bekaert demonstrated its solutions in Rotatable Sputter Products for architectural & automotive glass, as well as its latest technology developments for display glass, which enable display coaters to take their coater efficiency to a new level. ‘Altogether we are pleased to see that the trend from flat towards rotatable solutions for glass sputtering is growing stronger’ explains Remy Rochard, General Manager Industrial Coatings at Bekaert. Glass coaters worldwide are growing towards upgrading their existing coaters to rotatable technology. The various application possibilities, the new rotatable sputter target materials and the development of an innovative sputter hardware, has boosted the rise of this breakthrough technology.

‘We were the very first in the market to offer rotatable solutions and are glad to see that many other suppliers are taking this direction now, which confirms our vision and technology leadership.’ Mr. Rochard states. ‘We continue to invest yearly a substantial amount of our total turnover in R&D and are experiencing the results of this through more efficient production, improved solutions and higher quality. At the same time we are also taking our customer support to a higher level as our business concerns mostly customized and integrated solutions.’

“We strive to offer our customers value-added and customized solutions through strong interpersonal relationships. That is why we are very pleased with the quality contacts we made at glasstec, including existing and new potential customers. It was encouraging to see the many opportunities and positive developments in our industry.’ concludes Mr Rochard.

Contact details Bekaert for readers

For more information, please contact Mrs. Ann Lacrès, Marketing Manager Sputter Products at Bekaert, at: +32 (0)9 381 61 61, e-mail: ann.lacres@bekaert.com. Visit the website at www.bekaert.com/bac

About Bekaert Sputter Products

Sputtering is a vacuum coating process and one of the core methods for depositing thin films on glass. Bekaert works closely with its customers to enable them to upgrade from planar to rotatable technology and offers lower cost of ownership through longer production runs, faster coating deposition and a more complete use of coating material. Bekaert has built its experience in the sputtering technology field through its own plastic foil coating for window film and industrial applications. Bekaert was the first to bring rotatable targets to market and has successfully partnered with customers to develop the most advanced and complete sputter equipment to effectively use these targets for glass coating lines worldwide.

Industrial customers who execute a coating process for applications such as architectural and automotive glass (including Low-E and solar control films, and anti-reflective coatings), display glass and photovoltaic glass, can significantly benefit from adopting Bekaert’s sputter solutions and technology. Customers can also rely on Bekaert’s world-class customer support and leading research and development.

About Bekaert

Bekaert (www.bekaert.com) pursues a long-term profitable growth strategy based on its two core competencies: advanced metal transformation and advanced materials and coatings. Bekaert wants to strengthen its position on a global basis as market and technology leader in its field. The company offers its customers high added value due to a wide range of high technology products, solutions and services.

Bekaert (Euronext Brussel: BEKB), based in Europe and present in 120 countries, has its headquarters in Belgium. The company employs 17,000 people and generates revenue of € 3 billion.