Bühler Group acquires leading US vacuum coating specialists

23 Aug 2018 --- US manufacturer of precision vacuum components Sputtering Components will become a member of the Bühler Group. Bühler is purchasing all shares from the previous owners. SCI is a provider of components and subassemblies for large-area vacuum coating systems. Post-acquisition, SPI will operate as an autonomous unit of the vacuum coating business of Bühler Leybold Optics.

Antonio Requena, CEO of Bühler Leybold Optics, comments: “We have intensively worked with SCI for many years. Together, we have gained a leading market position, especially with systems for coating of architectural glass. Therefore, we are proud to know that the team of SCI will in the future be part of Bühler, with all its capabilities, its reputation in the marketplace, and its enthusiasm for high-quality products.”

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The current management team will continue to run the business with its over 40 employees. The current CEO, Barry Nudelman, will resign from his position and will continue to support the SCI organization in the transition phase. Andy Britt, currently operating as Vice President of Sales for Bühler Aeroglide, will take over as General Manager effective with the closing date. SPI will retain its existing location in Owatonna, Minnesota, thus supplementing Bühler’s current North American activities.

In conjunction with the coating solutions offered by Bühler Leybold Optics in Alzenau, Germany, SPI will in particular strengthen the company’s global sales and service network and its product portfolio – on one hand with process solutions, on the other with new cost-efficient product families.

SPI will continue to cater to both end customers and original equipment manufacturers, offering them top-notch products and services. In this, the company will utilize the existing sales channels as well as the global sales and service network of Bühler.

SPI is a leading supplier of components for large-area vacuum coating systems such as for manufacturing of architectural glass, displays, or flexible packaging materials. The company is based in Owatonna (Minnesota) in the heart of the Glass Coating Valley of the Midwest. As a leading provider of endblocks and magnet bars, it supplies many major manufacturers in the glass and display industries as well as global producers of coating systems.