Thoma Metallveredelung implements new non-galvanic coating process

Thoma Metallveredelung GmbH has been developing innovative coatings for over 99 years and attaches great importance to sustainability. The Bavarian-Swabian company is always open to new challenges and tasks, especially in the field of new coating technologies. One such task from a customer prompted Thoma to take an intensive look at a new technology in extreme high-speed laser cladding, or EHLA for short, back in 2018. The company commissioned initial trials at a leading research institute and also supported a master's thesis, which also produced promising results. Interest in the technology was so great that Thoma entered into an overarching cooperation with customers and a research institute to introduce the technology. This led to the decision in 2020 to invest in a 6-meter EHLA system, which was delivered, installed and successfully tested in 2021.

Currently, Thoma is investing in a new measurement laboratory in order to be able to perform microsection analyses and evaluations for coatings and coating systems applied with the EHLA technology. The future challenge is now to develop special powder and material combinations for layer development as well as different layer thicknesses and geometries as required by customers. Thoma has already entered into cooperation and development projects with various customers and has analyzed coatings that have been applied. In this way, new knowledge is continuously being gained and the company's competence lead is being further expanded. In the long term, Thoma sees the investment in the EHLA system as an excellent addition to its existing range of electroplated coatings and expects the technology to prove a valuable part of its offering in the long term. At the same time, the company is looking forward to expanding its portfolio and entering new markets with this technology.