What Kermetico does

Kermetico Inc. is a Benicia, California-based mechanical engineering company that designs, manufactures, and sells HVAF (High Velocity Air-Fuel) and HVOF (High Velocity Oxy-Fuel) thermal spray coating equipment. Its proprietary technology centers on a catalytic ceramic insert in the combustion chamber combined with axial powder injection and large-diameter nozzle geometry, enabling particle velocities of 800–1,000+ m/s at lower combustion temperatures (~2,000°C) than conventional HVOF. The product portfolio is organized into three equipment families — Convertible HVAF+HVOF systems (C7, C6, CID), Multipurpose HVAF AK systems (AK7, AK6, AK5 and ID/handheld variants), and Specialized HVAF S equipment (SL for low-melting-point metals, SP for precious metals, STi for titanium) — supported by an in-house control console, rotary powder feeder, fuel vaporizer, grit feeder, and gas-permeability tester. Kermetico also performs its own contract coating services in Benicia, which it uses as a real-world R&D loop to refine the equipment line.

The company serves industrial manufacturers, energy and power generation operators, oil and gas/petrochemical processors, steel and paper mills, aerospace repair shops, thermal spray job shops, and university/national-lab researchers across the USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, and Africa, with 150+ systems installed since incorporation in 2006. Revenue is generated through one-time capital equipment sales, recurring spare parts and consumables, and professional coating services; distribution is a mix of direct enterprise field sales and channel partners (Renpro in Beijing, Spraymet India). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. As of December 12, 2025, Kermetico was acquired by Linde AMT, a Linde Group operating company, which redirects customer contact to Linde US and positions Kermetico's HVAF technology within a global industrial gases and engineering platform.

Name

Kermetico

Legal name

Kermetico Inc.

Website

https://kermetico.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kermetico designs and manufactures HVAF and HVOF thermal spray coating equipment, plus auxiliary powder feeders, fuel vaporizers, and control systems, serving industrial manufacturers, energy producers, oil and gas operators, job shops, and research institutions globally. Acquired by Linde AMT in December 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Thermal Spray Equipment

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Thermal Spray & Metallizing (HVOF/Plasma/Arc) (IMAIAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Protective Coatings (IMAEAGAB), Coating, Painting & Plating (Powder Coat, Anodizing, Electroplating, PVD/CVD) (IMAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Thermal spray equipment
• HVAF coating systems
• HVOF coating technology
• Wear resistant coatings
• Surface engineering equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Benicia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. HVAF and HVOF Equipment Sales: Manufacture and sale of complete thermal spray systems including spray guns (C7, C6, CID, AK7, AK6, AK5, AK-ID, AK-IDR, AK-HH, SL, SP, STi), control consoles, powder feeders, gas vaporizers, and auxiliary equipment. One-time capital sale of systems to thermal spray shops, universities, national labs, and industrial manufacturers.
2. Thermal Spray Coating Services: Provides HVAF and HVOF coating services in Northern California (Benicia, CA) for wear and corrosion resistant coatings. Services include hard chrome replacement, H2S resistant vessel coatings, erosion resistant coatings for pipes/elbows/fittings, roll coatings, valve coatings, and industrial part repair.
3. Spare Parts and Consumables: Sale of replacement parts for thermal spray equipment including nozzles, wear parts, and spare components. Parts designed to have extremely low wear rates (often over 100 hours of spraying from a nozzle).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kermetico designs, manufactures, and sells HVAF (High Velocity Air Fuel) and HVOF (High Velocity Oxy Fuel) thermal spray coating equipment, including spray guns (C7, C6, CID, AK7, AK6, AK5, AK-ID, AK-IDR, AK-HH, SL, SP, STi), control consoles, powder feeders, gas vaporizers, and auxiliary equipment. The company also provides contract HVAF/HVOF coating services at its Benicia, California shop and supplies a portfolio of coating materials (tungsten carbide, chromium carbide, molybdenum boride, amorphous steel, Hastelloy, stainless steel, aluminum, copper/brass/bronze). Customers include thermal spray job shops, industrial manufacturers, oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, and universities/national labs.

Product overview

Kermetico designs, manufactures, and sells HVAF (High Velocity Air-Fuel) and HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen-Fuel) thermal spray coating equipment and systems. The product portfolio consists of three equipment families: Convertible HVAF+HVOF systems (C7, C6, CID guns) that operate in both modes; Multi-Purpose HVAF AK systems (AK7, AK6, AK5, AK5-ID, AK-ID, AK-IDR, AK-HH guns) optimized for various part sizes and geometries; and Specialized HVAF S equipment (SL, SP, STi guns) engineered for specific metal coatings. Supporting these spray systems are auxiliary products including a Control Console with IP67 tablet interface, High-Pressure Powder Feeder, Zimmer Fuel Vaporizer, Grit Feeder, and Gas Permeability Tester. The company also offers thermal spray coating services and produces various coating materials including WCCoCr, WC-Co, Cr3C2-NiCr, MoB-CoCr, Amorphous Steel, Hastelloy, Stainless Steel, Aluminum, and Copper alloys. Incorporated in 2006, with over 150 systems installed globally, the equipment is proudly designed and manufactured in California, USA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Convertible HVAF+HVOF Equipment Universal thermal spray systems capable of operating in both HVOF and HVAF modes, featuring gas-fuel combustion with oxygen and air for depositing carbide and metal coatings with high density and hardness. Targeted at production thermal spray shops and industrial manufacturers that need to produce both certified and superior-quality coatings.
• C7 HVAF/HVOF Gun High-power HVAF/HVOF gun designed for spraying large parts with maximum spray rates up to 33 kg/hour for tungsten carbide coatings, part of the Convertible product family.
• C6 HVAF/HVOF Gun General purpose HVAF/HVOF gun suitable for tungsten carbide coating deposition with balanced efficiency and quality, part of the Convertible product family.
• CID HVAF/HVOF Internal Diameter Gun Specialized HVAF/HVOF gun designed to spray internal diameters of pipes and cylindrical surfaces for wear protection, within the Convertible product family.
• Multi-Purpose HVAF AK Systems Versatile HVAF machines designed to spray metals and carbides including MCrAlY, stainless steel, chromium carbide, and tungsten carbide coatings with optimal temperature control across the AK family of guns.
• AK7 HVAF Gun High-power HVAF gun for thermal spray of large parts with capability to spray up to 22 kg/hour for Hastelloy coatings.
• AK6 HVAF Gun Tungsten carbide gun designed to spray carbides onto a balanced mix of parts in job shop environments.
• AK5 HVAF Gun Compact HVAF gun for spraying smaller parts, thin walls, and complex surface geometries.
• AK5-ID HVAF Gun Compact gun specifically designed for spraying internal surfaces 200mm (8 inches) and larger.
• AK-ID HVAF Internal Diameter Gun Internal diameter spray gun for coating bores 88mm (3.47 inches) and larger with wear protection coatings.
• AK-IDR Rotating HVAF Gun Rotating ID gun designed to spray metals and carbides onto bores 100mm (4 inches) and larger internal diameters.
• AK-HH Handheld HVAF Gun User-friendly handheld gun for on-site coating applications and small shop use.
• Specialized HVAF S Equipment Alloy-specific high velocity thermal spray systems optimized for spraying particular metal coatings including low melting point metals and precious metals.
• SL HVAF Gun (Low Melting Point) Specialized gun for spraying low melting point metals including aluminum, copper, zinc, and tin with combustion temperatures between 1,500-2,000°C.
• SP HVAF Precious Metals Gun Dedicated gun for the most efficient deposition of precious metals including gold and silver, heating powder just below melting points to prevent evaporation.
• STi HVAF Titanium Gun Specialized system for deposition of titanium and Ti-alloy coatings, providing uniform non-oxidized coatings with 50-250 micron thickness.
• Control Console with Tablet Operator Control Advanced control system featuring IP67 mobile touch-screen tablet with Microsoft Windows CE OS, PLC-controlled operation, and partitioned cabinets for general use and fuel control.
• High-Pressure Powder Feeder Rotary powder feeder with automatic pressure relief valve, digital closed-loop controller for precise wheel speed, capable of feeding coarse and fine powders including WC-based powders as small as 1-10 microns.
• Zimmer Fuel Vaporizer Multi-fuel vaporizer (Model Z40 P for propane, Model Z40 L for LPG) with electrical heating, 40 kg/hour vaporization capacity, UL and CE approved.
• Grit Feeder Hot blasting grit feeder for grit blast preparation of parts, reducing overall setup cost and time for coating application.
• Gas Permeability Tester Instrument for instant and quantifiable check of coating through porosity, equipped with Mass Flow measurement capability.
• WC-10Co-4Cr Tungsten Carbide Coating Wear resistant coating with 86/10/4 tungsten carbide cobalt chrome composition, offering excellent resistance to sliding wear, abrasion, cavitation, and erosion with hardness up to 1,600 HV300.
• WC-Co Tungsten Carbide Coating 88/12 tungsten carbide cobalt coating with hardness range of 1,150-1,600+ HV300, resistant to sliding wear, impact, abrasion, and fretting up to 510°C.
• Cr3C2-NiCr Chromium Carbide Coating Chrome carbide coating for wear resistance at elevated temperatures up to 750°C, featuring excellent elevated temperature erosion and sliding wear resistance.
• MoB-CoCr Molybdenum Boride Coating Composite molybdenum boride cobalt chrome non-stick coating with excellent resistance to molten metals (zinc, aluminum), high temperature erosion, and sliding wear up to 900°C.
• Amorphous Metallic Glass Coating (SHS-7574) Iron-based amorphous steel coating with nanoscale microstructure providing extreme corrosion resistance in high chlorine, salt fog, concentrated salts, and seawater environments.
• Hastelloy Coating Nickel-chromium-molybdenum Hastelloy coating providing high resistance to uniform corrosion, pitting, crevice corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking in chloride environments.
• Stainless Steel Coating High velocity thermal sprayed stainless steel coatings (316, 316L, FeCrNi, FeCrAl) providing corrosion protection with only 100 microns needed for gas-tight barrier.
• Aluminum Coating Dense, non-oxidized aluminum coating deposited via specialized SL gun, featuring bulk-like structure with 105 HV hardness and maximum thickness of 12mm.
• Copper, Brass, and Bronze Coatings High velocity thermal sprayed copper-based coatings with near-theoretical density (<0.5% porosity), 160-185 HV hardness, and excellent electrical conductivity.
• Thermal Spray Coating Services HVAF and HVOF thermal spray coating services provided in Benicia, California for wear and corrosion resistant coatings including hard chrome replacement, H2S resistant vessel coatings, and erosion resistant coatings for pipes and fittings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Spray rate 15-33 kg/hour for Kermetico HVAF versus 4-5 kg/hour for conventional HVOF
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered regional.

• RenproregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRenpro operates as Kermetico's distributor and job shop in Beijing, China. The partnership includes both a showroom for equipment demonstration and a production thermal spray coating facility serving customers in China.
• Spraymet IndiaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSpraymet India is a partner that deposits chrome carbide coatings using Kermetico technology, serving the Indian market.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wall Colmonoy: Wall Colmonoy supplies thermal spray equipment, hardfacing alloys, and engineered components including thermal spray job-shop services. It overlaps with Kermetico's equipment + coating services model in wear and corrosion applications.
• GTV Verschleißschutz: GTV is a German manufacturer of HVOF and plasma thermal spray equipment, including the well-known Diamond Jet series. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Kermetico in HVAF/HVOF thermal spray guns.
• Flame Spray Technologies: Flame Spray Technologies is a Netherlands-based manufacturer of HVOF and plasma thermal spray systems, including the Spray Gun series. It directly competes with Kermetico in HVOF equipment and is comparable in size and product focus.
• Plasma Coatings Ltd: Plasma Coatings is a UK manufacturer of HVOF equipment and a job-shop service provider. It competes with Kermetico across both the equipment and coating services businesses, especially in Europe and Oil & Gas.

Others

• Kennametal Stellite: Kennametal supplies thermal spray powders (WC-CoCr, Cr3C2-NiCr, etc.) used as consumables in HVOF/HVAF systems, including Kermetico's. It is an enabling supplier rather than a direct equipment competitor.
• Höganäs: Höganäs is a global leader in metal powders for thermal spray and additive manufacturing. As a feedstock supplier to HVOF/HVAF equipment users, it is an ecosystem participant comparable to Kermetico's coating materials business.

Broad incumbents

• Sulzer (Thermal Spray / Surface): Sulzer operates thermal spray coating services and supplies thermal spray equipment through its Surface Technologies division, competing with Kermetico in industrial part repair and HVOF/HVAF job-shop work.
• Praxair Surface Technologies (Linde): Now part of Linde, Praxair Surface Technologies provides thermal spray equipment and large-scale coating services. As a sister operating unit of Linde AMT (which acquired Kermetico), it represents both a peer and a potential channel for Kermetico technology.
• Oerlikon (Oerlikon Metco): Oerlikon Metco is the largest global supplier of thermal spray equipment, powders, and coating services. It is the dominant incumbent Kermetico competes against across HVAF/HVOF equipment and coating consumables.

Emerging players

• TOCALO: TOCALO is a Japan-based thermal spray coating services company with growing global operations. While focused on services rather than equipment, it competes with Kermetico's Benicia job shop for industrial wear/corrosion coating work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Kermetico
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kermetico-inc.
• Xx.com/kermetico

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Kermetico