History

The company founders Torsten Rosell and Henrik Ljungcrantz started Impact Coatings in 1997, as a spin off from Linköping University.

The basic idea was to develop PVD as a replacement to traditional wet plating. An upcoming need was identified for coating technology that is more cost-efficient and environment-friendly than the traditional methods. The company has since then developed deposition systems and deposition processes for mass-produced parts.

A selection of milestones achieved:

1997 Founded by Torsten Rosell and Henrik Ljungcrantz
2002 First InlineCoater™ shipment, for semiconductor application
2004 IPO (listed at Nasdaq First North Growth Market)
2007 First InlineCoater™ 300 shipment, for decorative eyewear coatings
2008 Technical approval of PVD coatings for fuel cells
2009 First InlineCoater™ 500 shipment, for decorative mobile phone coatings
2009 Development agreement with mobile phone company around MAXPHASE™ contact coatings
2010 First PlastiCoater™ 200 and PlastiCoater™ 400 delivered, for plastic metallization
2011 International launch of Silver MAXPHASE™ replacement of gold
2012 Ceramic MAXPHASE™ introduced as the best cost/performance solution for bipolar plates for fuel cells
2014 Lean PVD™ plastic metallization established in automotive industry for decorative trim parts
2015 Ceramic MAXPHASE™ selected for first production fuel cell for cars
2017 Technical approval and shipment of INLINECOATER™R for automotive lighting reflectors
2019 Technical approval and shipment of INLINECOATER™FC for fuel cell bipolar plates
2019 Joint development agreement (JDA) with Hyundai Motor Company on fuel cell coating solutions