June 22, 2021 – Oerlikon Balzers, a leading surface solutions brand of the Oerlikon Group, has signed a ten-year contract with MTU Aero Engines to apply MTU’s owned erosion-resistant coating ERCoatnt on aerofoil components of next generation GTF aero engines used in the Airbus A320neo aircraft. The coating will help to further improve the efficiency of this engine. MTU Aero Engines is partnering with Pratt & Whitney on this engine.

With this long-term agreement, Oerlikon Balzers takes another major step forward in supplying advanced surface technologies and coatings for the aerospace industry. MTU Aero Engines, Germany’s leading aero-engine manufacturer, will profit from the industrialisation, know-how and expertise of a leading supplier of thin-film physical vapour deposition (PVD) and its equipment portfolio by enabling the delivery of consistent and repeatable product quality in a short period of time.

• Oerlikon Balzers further expands coating operations in Asia with first customer centre in Vietnam

This long term partnership between MTU Aero Engines and Oerlikon Balzers signals the intent to work closer together on future surface solutions. The collaboration between the two companies will leverage their respective competences and further contribute to improving the efficiency of the PW1100G-JM aero engines by providing erosion-resistant coatings for MTU’s high-pressure compressor aerofoils. Oerlikon Balzers’ INNOVENTA giga with arc evaporation technology will ensure high quality coatings of MTU’s components. It is the largest of the high-tech INNOVENTA coating systems and is an ideal platform for coating large components allowing accommodation of workpieces higher than 1.7 m with a substrate diameter of up to 0.7 m and a loading capacity of up to 3 000 kg.

“Oerlikon Balzers has proven to be a reliable partner for MTU during the initial phase of this coating project. Based on their technical capabilities as well as customer orientation, we are looking forward to establishing a strong and reliable supply chain within Europe and Asia. Additionally, our common goal is to further improve MTU’s owned ERCoatnt application. We are convinced, Oerlikon Balzers highly motivated team will fulfil this very demanding project during the development and serial production phase to our full satisfaction,” says Holger Auer, Director Procurement Airfoils, Castings and Indirect Material, MTU Aero Engines.

“This long-term contract is a clear sign of confidence that customers such as MTU Aero Engines have in our technologies. With our first-class, globally highly recognised coating solutions, we are pleased to be able to provide our expertise to improve engine and fuel efficiency, and thereby contribute to sustainability. This agreement underlines our commitment to further provide sustainable innovation as a leading supplier for surface solutions such as PVD, in the aerospace market,” says Dr. Markus Tacke, CEO, Oerlikon Surface Solutions Division.

Oerlikon Balzers has signed a ten-year contract with MTU Aero Engines. The collaboration between the two companies will leverage their respective competences and further contribute to improving the efficiency of the PW1100G-JM aero engines by providing erosion-resistant coatings for MTU’s high-pressure compressor aerofoils. 

About Oerlikon 

Oerlikon is a global innovation powerhouse for surface engineering, polymer processing and additive manufacturing. The Group’s solutions and comprehensive services, together with its advanced materials, improve and maximize the performance, function, design and sustainability of its customer’s products and manufacturing processes in key industries. Pioneering technology for decades, everything Oerlikon invents and does is guided by its passion to support customers’ goals and foster a sustainable world. Headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, the Group operates its business in two Divisions – Surface Solutions and Polymer Processing Solutions. It has a global footprint of more than 10 600 employees at 179 locations in 37 countries and generated sales of CHF 2.3 billion in 2020.

About Oerlikon Balzers

Oerlikon Balzers is one of the world’s leading brands and suppliers of surface technologies that significantly improve the performance and durability of precision components and tools for the metal and plastics processing industries. Extremely thin and exceptionally hard coatings, marketed under the BALINIT and BALIQ brand names, reduce friction and wear. The BALITHERM brand opens up a broad range of heat treatment services, whereas BALTONE comprises coatings that are available in a full range of elegant colours, perfectly suited for decorative applications. BALIMED ThinFilm coatings, with wear-resistant, biocompatible, antimicrobial and chemically inert properties, have been developed especially for medical applications. Under the BALIFOR technology brand the company has introduced technologies that provide tailor-made solutions for the automotive market, while ePD allows the metallisation of plastic parts with a chrome look.

Worldwide, more than 1,100 coating systems are in operation at Oerlikon Balzers facilities and customers’ sites. Equipment engineering and assembly of Balzers' systems are processed in Liechtenstein, in Langenthal (Switzerland) and in Bergisch Gladbach (Germany). Oerlikon Balzers operates a network of more than 110 coating centres in 36 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Oerlikon Balzers, Oerlikon Metco and Oerlikon AM are leading brands of the Surface Solutions Division of Oerlikon Group.