News Release

Parent Company SDC Technologies Acquires COTEC® GmbH Thin Film and Coatings Technology

Irvine, CA – October 5, 2020

FSI Coating Technologies, Inc., the globally recognized leader in premium, high performance, anti-fog coating solutions announced today that parent company SDC Technologies, Inc. (SDC) acquired COTEC® Gmbh, an established innovator in the development and manufacture of high quality PVD (physical vapor deposition) and MLD (molecular layer deposition) materials for hydrophobic, oleophobic and anti-reflective coatings in the ophthalmic, precision optics, automotive and display markets.

“We are proud to partner with COTEC to broaden our range of liquid hard coatings,” said Antonios Grigoriou, CEO and President of SDC. The synergy of these two companies is a perfect fit, delivering a larger range of coating products across ophthalmic, automotive displays and camera lenses, precision optics and aerospace. This unique strategic integration of coating technologies allows us to support the ophthalmic market as a total solution lens fabricator whilst also expanding into new markets.

“Together we can provide coating materials for all layers of a complete eyewear lens coating stack. From FSI’s Visgard® permanent high-performance anti-fog backside coating, to monomers developed by parent company Mitsui Chemicals’ innovative premium high refractive-index optical lens materials under the MR™ series brand name (MR-8™, MR-7™, MR-10™, MR-174™ ), to SDC’s CrystalCoat® top layer best-in-class abrasion resistant hard coats, to COTEC’s anti-reflective coating materials and the DURALON brand family of nanocoatings offering easy-to-clean finger-print resistance, anti-smudge and oil/water repellency. Finally, this is an opportunity to expand the ground-breaking patented coating technologies, support, sales, and distribution reach of COTEC coatings beyond Europe into the Americas and Asia,” he added.

“COTEC is a well-known innovative company for thin film coating technologies. Our expertise in the fields of vacuum coating, evaporation chemicals and nanotechnology, in combination with the most advanced development and production processes has made us a globally recognized supplier and partner for research and development”, explained Michael Fliedner, founder and CEO of COTEC. “We are honored to incorporate this knowhow into the SDC organization. Through the partnership with SDC the expertise of both companies in polymer chemistry and thin film coating technology is being combined. This will strengthen the innovative power of our companies and enable SDC and COTEC to offer customers even more innovative products as a full-service provider. With the acquisition by SDC, COTEC will gain access to the worldwide network of SDC for further global growth. SDC’s existing distribution channels and application facilities will enable COTEC to strengthen its presence in Asia and the Americas.”

ABOUT FSI COATING TECHNOLOGIES
FSI Coating Technologies (FSI) based in Irvine, California was founded in 1986. In 2010, FSICT was acquired by SDC Technologies Inc. FSICT is a globally recognized developer and manufacturer of innovative commercial industrial coatings and film products. FSICT offers a wide variety of premium, high performance anti-fog solutions. Applications include medical, military, safety and sports eyewear, as well as industrial sheet and PET film for commercial freezer display doors. FSI Coating Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC Technologies.

ABOUT SDC TECHNOLOGIES
Founded in 1986, SDC Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Irvine, California. SDC was acquired by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. in 2008. SDC is the pioneer of innovative performance-based abrasion resistant CrystalCoat® coatings used in a variety of applications from aerospace and automotive parts to vision eyewear.

ABOUT COTEC® GmbH
Founded in 1997, COTEC GmbH is headquartered in Karlstein am Main, Germany. COTEC combines application systems engineering and functional surface modification through nanotechnology to create inventive PVD and MLD materials and applications in thin layer film coating technology. The company offers outstanding chemicals for hydrophobic, oleophobic and anti-reflective coatings, thin film quality test systems, accessories, and other cutting-edge products. COTEC serves customers worldwide in automotive, ophthalmic, precision optics and display technologies.

Visgard® is a registered trademark of FSI Coating Technologies. FSI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC Technologies.

CrystalCoat® is a registered trademark of SDC Technologies. SDC Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals.

COTEC® GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC Technologies.