It was at the suggestion of the ruling Prince Franz Josef ll of Liechtenstein that Dr. Max Auwärter - in cooperation with Emil G. Bührle - founded the company Balzers in the village of Balzers, in the Principality of Liechtenstein, in 1946. At that time the technology of vacuum deposition was still in its early stages. With very few exceptions, high vacuum systems were being used only in research laboratories.
Due to the lack of commercially available high vacuum equipment, Balzers had to design and build most of the required vacuum components, equipment and systems necessary for the development of its novel and proprietary thin film coating processes.
Today Optics Balzers is a globally recognized leader in customized optical thin-film coatings and components for the
photonics industry.
