What COTEC does

COTEC GmbH is a German specialist supplier of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) thin film technology, headquartered in Karlstein am Main near Frankfurt airport. Founded in 1997 in Bruchköbel and relocated to its current facility in 2008, the company has built a 25+ year track record in surface modification and functional coatings. COTEC operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC Technologies, Inc., a division of the Mitsui Chemicals Group, following an October 2020 acquisition. The company maintains in-house R&D labs, a synthesis lab, a high-purity SiO2 production plant with 100 metric tons of annual capacity commissioned in 2009, a fully automated DURALON production line (2012), and a pilot plant for oxide ceramic coating materials.

The company's product portfolio spans four interlocking categories: (1) high-purity PVD materials including oxides (HfO2, SiO2, TiO2, Y2O3, ZrO2, ITO), fluorides (CeF3, MgF2), and metals (Al, Cr, Ge) supplied as powders, granules, or tablets with material certificates; (2) the proprietary DURALON nanolayer coating system (8–10nm hydrophobic/oleophobic films) sold in variants including AFP Pro, USF, UltraTec, ASF, and SPC Neos; (3) automated HCS (Hydrophobic Coating System) production equipment with PLC controls and a 15-minute batch cycle for 3D parts; and (4) the ATS Abrasion Test System plus system accessories (filaments, ion sources, liners, quartz oscillators, thermal evaporation sources). The MATRIX 2.0/3.0 digital printing systems for progressive lenses and the 2023 industrial hydrophobic printing system extend the platform into digital printing.

COTEC runs a B2B direct sales model targeting industrial manufacturers and optical companies, with quote-based pricing on customized formulations and equipment configurations, and no public price list. The company serves seven industrial verticals, with ophthalmics flagged as the primary segment, followed by automotive, display technology, large-area coating, precision optics, special optics, and high-quality surface finishing. Distribution is global, supported by a multilingual website (English, German, Simplified Chinese), social media presence, and a worldwide network of partners and suppliers, with the Mitsui Chemicals parent providing additional reach into Asia-Pacific. The company is ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certified, and emphasizes long-term partnerships, process consulting, and tailored solutions for each customer's vapor deposition requirements.

Name

COTEC

Legal name

COTEC GmbH

Website

https://cotec-gmbh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

COTEC GmbH is a German specialist supplier of PVD thin film technology, offering proprietary DURALON nanocoatings, HCS coating systems, and high-purity vapor deposition materials to industrial manufacturers and optical companies globally. Wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC Technologies (Mitsui Chemicals Group) since 2020.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Thin Film Coating Materials and Equipment

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510), Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities (3328)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851), Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Protective Coatings (IMAEAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Application Equipment & Coating Services (Contract Coating, Surface Prep) (IMAEAGAL), Coating, Painting & Plating (Powder Coat, Anodizing, Electroplating, PVD/CVD) (IMAAAGAI)

Keywords

• PVD coating materials
• Thin film deposition
• Hydrophobic surface coatings
• Vapor deposition equipment
• Optical coating systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlstein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. PVD Materials (Oxides, Fluorides, Metals): Sale of high-purity vapor deposition materials for PVD coating processes. Materials include Hafnium oxide, Silicon oxide, Titanium oxide, Yttrium oxide, Zirconium oxide, Magnesium fluoride, Cerium fluoride, Aluminum, Chromium, and Germanium. Sold as powders, granules, or tablets with material certificates documenting composition and purity.
2. DURALON Coating Products: Proprietary hydrophobic and oleophobic coating materials sold as pills for PVD evaporation (AFP Pro, USF, UltraTec, SPC Neos variants). Also available as liquid products. Materials applied using DURALON technology for easy-to-clean and protective surface finishes.
3. HCS Coating Systems: Sale of automated hydrophobic coating systems (HCS 100 standard model) for applying DURALON coatings. Includes vaporizer units, PLC process controls, and customer-specific product mounts. Plug-and-play solutions preconfigured for specific products.
4. System Accessories and Spare Parts: High-quality components for PVD evaporation systems including filaments and coils, ion source parts (MARK I and MARK II), liners (boron nitride, graphite, ceramics, copper, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten), quartz oscillators, and thermal evaporation sources (molybdenum boats).
5. Test Equipment (ATS): Sale of Abrasion Test Systems for quality assurance of coated components. Modular load testing units for assessing coating bonding strength with customer-specific adaptation capabilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

COTEC is a specialist supplier of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) thin film technology products, offering high-purity vapor deposition materials (oxides, fluorides, metals), the proprietary DURALON hydrophobic and oleophobic nanolayer coating system, automated HCS (Hydrophobic Coating System) coating equipment, ATS (Abrasion Test System) quality testing devices, and supporting system accessories such as filaments, ion sources, liners, quartz oscillators, and thermal evaporation sources. The integrated portfolio enables industrial manufacturers, lens makers, automotive suppliers, and display producers to apply functional surface coatings, anti-reflective layers, and easy-clean finishes to glass, ceramics, plastic, and metallic substrates.

Product overview

COTEC is a specialist supplier in Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) thin film technology, offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and systems. The core offering consists of PVD Materials (oxides, fluorides, and metals for vapor deposition), the proprietary DURALON hydrophobic/oleophobic nanolayer coating system, HCS (Hydrophobic Coating System) machinery for applying functional coatings, and the ATS (Abrasion Test System) for quality testing. The company also supplies system accessories including filaments and coils, ion sources, liners, quartz oscillators, and thermal evaporation sources for electron beam evaporators and thermal vaporizers. COTEC serves multiple markets including ophthalmics, automotive, display technology, large-area coating, precision optics, and special optics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DURALON: A thin film layer system product family to create hydrophobic and oleophobic characteristics for surface modification, tailored to the optical industry.
• HCS
• ATS

Products and services

• PVD Material Vapor deposition materials for PVD applications including oxides, fluorides, and metals. Available as powders, granules, or tablets in various packaging units with material certificates documenting composition and purity.
• DURALON Hydrophobic Nanolayer Coating System Proprietary thin film layer system providing hydrophobic and oleophobic surface characteristics using nanolayer technology. Creates permanent, transparent, easy-to-clean coatings for glass, ceramics, and oxydic surfaces with nanoscale thickness (8-10nm). Available in AFP Pro, USF, UltraTec, and SPC Neos variants.
• HCS Hydrophobic Coating System Automated PVD/CVD coating systems for producing ultra-smooth, hydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces with nanolayer thickness. Enables 3D part coating in a single run with processing time of approximately 15 minutes. The HCS 100 standard model features a chamber size of Ø 600/500mm and dual vaporizer units with PLC process controls.
• ATS Abrasion Test System
• Filaments and Coils High-quality tungsten filaments for vacuum metallization in various designs including peak filaments, basket filaments, straight wire filaments, loop filaments, and spiral filaments, plus special peak filaments with improved capillary action.
• Ion Sources Replacement and working parts for MARK I and MARK II ion sources including insulators, gas distributors, filaments, anodes, and radiation shields in ceramic, graphite, stainless steel, and titanium variants.
• Liners
• Quartz Oscillators Quartz oscillators and corresponding electrodes for thin layer processes. Available in gold, silver, and alloy variants with frequencies ranging from 5 MHz to 6 MHz, featuring single or double anchor contacts.
• Thermal Evaporation Sources Evaporation boats for common applications manufactured from molybdenum, with products available from stock and custom geometry produced to customer specifications.
• MATRIX Digital Printing System Eco-friendly digital printing system for progressive lenses that enables precise coating without harmful solvents or chemicals. The MATRIX 2.0 and MATRIX 3.0 versions serve the ophthalmic industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• DURALON SPC Neos achieves contact angle of 116-118° against deionized water with friction factor of 0.02
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• CADISminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2024COTEC partnered with CADIS to develop the world's first industrial digital printer for hydrophobic coated automotive displays. This collaborative innovation enables digital printing on hydrophobic surfaces for automotive display applications.
• SDC Technologies, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2020COTEC GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC Technologies, Inc., which is a division of Mitsui Chemicals Group. SDC is a recognized global leader in premium, high-performance abrasion resistant coating solutions. The acquisition in October 2020 brought together COTEC's PVD and MLD materials expertise with SDC's complementary coating technologies for total lens coating solutions.
• EFDS (European Fund for Development of Statistics)minorOthersOrganizational membership in EFDS (efds.org) providing networking and industry representation within the European statistics and development fund community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bühler Leybold Optics: Supplier of PVD and sputter vacuum coating systems for ophthalmics, automotive, and architectural glass. Direct competitor to COTEC's HCS coating system business in industrial PVD equipment.
• HOYA Corporation: Japanese optical glass and lens manufacturer with significant PVD coating operations for ophthalmic and semiconductor optics. Comparable vertical in thin-film coatings for precision optics end-markets.
• SDC Technologies: Parent company and direct peer in abrasion-resistant and hydrophobic coatings for ophthalmic lenses. SDC's coating chemistry complements COTEC's PVD materials and DURALON technology under a unified lens-coating platform.
• Optorun: Japanese manufacturer of optical thin-film coating equipment (PVD, sputtering) for smartphone covers, AR/VR optics, and semiconductor optics. Directly comparable in nanoscale PVD coating systems for displays and optics.
• Satisloh: Supplier of optical manufacturing and lens coating equipment, including anti-reflective coating systems for ophthalmic lenses. Competes with COTEC's HCS and ATS equipment lines in the optical lens production chain.
• Von Ardenne: German provider of PVD and CVD coating equipment for architectural glass, display, and solar applications. Directly comparable in large-area coating systems and PVD vapor deposition materials.

Broad incumbents

• EssilorLuxottica: World's largest ophthalmic lens and eyewear manufacturer. A major customer and broad incumbent with in-house coating capabilities that compete with or source from COTEC's DURALON and PVD materials portfolio.
• Mitsui Chemicals: Ultimate parent company of COTEC and a global chemical conglomerate with adjacent specialty materials for electronics, automotive, and packaging. Operates in overlapping thin-film and high-purity materials markets.
• Praxair Surface Technologies (Linde): Industrial coatings and surface-engineering division of Linde, providing high-purity PVD/CVD materials and thermal spray coatings for aerospace, automotive, and industrial markets. Comparable materials and application scope.
• Umicore: Belgian materials technology group producing high-purity PVD sputtering targets and evaporation materials (oxides, metals) for optics, display, and semiconductor applications. Comparable materials supplier with broader product depth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/premium_theme
• Facebookfacebook.com/WordPress.Premium.Theme
• Instagraminstagram.com/dream_theme_photo
• Pinterestpinterest.com/dreamtheme
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cotec-gmbh-nanocoating

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COTEC