NanoForum 2014 presents nominated company Applied Nano Surfaces

Many excellent candidates have been nominated for SwedNanoTechs annual award Årets Nanoföretag (Swedish Nanotechnology Company of the Year). Five companies have been selected from the candidates to give company presentations on stage during the nanotechnology conference Nanoforum 2014, May 15th in Stockholm.

Here you can read an interview about the nominated company Applied Nano Surfaces with their acting CEO, Christian Kolar.

Why should Applied Nano Surfaces be Swedish Nanotechnology Company of the Year, 2014?

- We have a unique, patented coating process, ANS Triboconditioning®, which solves substantial problems for our customers, such as friction loss and wear on mechanical components, in a very cost-effective manner. Our technique has been verified in a number of applications and has great potential.

The conventional method to reduce friction of a material is to grind and polish it in order to smoothen the surface. In recent years various types of coatings that reduce friction have been developed. However, those processes are often both complicated and expensive. Our technique combines both methods; we smoothen the surface and treat it with a special coating in the form of a low-friction film made by nano composite.

The resulting surface provides very good properties. We can run the process on standard hardware platforms – like CNC machines and lathes – where we only replace the tools and process fluid. It is therefore very cost-effective to use our technique.

What is your business idea?

- Our business idea is to provide the industry with cutting-edge processes for minimizing wear and friction on their components. We focus primarily on manufacturers of large batches – our method is unique since it is very well suited for mass production.

We sell our process on a license basis and work in close collaboration with our customers to implement the process.

In what areas are your customers active?

- We target customers that have a high volume of production, such as large manufacturers of pumps and compressors or component manufacturers in the truck and automotive industry.

We started our business in Sweden and Scandinavia. Today we have 80% of our business overseas, primarily in Germany, and we are expanding rapidly in the United States. Our plan is to continue to grow organically in both Europe and USA.

How many employees do you have?

- We are at the moment thirteen employees but we will hire two to three persons this year.

When did you start?

- The company was formed in 2008 and is based on research conducted at Uppsala University/Ångström Laboratory. Since 2010 we have our own research laboratory in Uppsala.

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About the award Årets nanoföretag 2014

During the conference NanoForum 2014 we will announce which company have been selected Årets nanoföretag 2014 (Swedish Nanotechnology Company of the Year 2014). The purpose of the award is to recognize a young, responsible, Swedish company with a clear nanotechnology profile.

About NanoForum 2014

NanoForum is the annual nanotechnology conference organized by the Swedish umbrella organization SwedNanoTech.

This year the conference is held May 15th, at IVA's conference center in Stockholm. The purpose of the conference is to highlight relevant nanotechnology topics with presentations from leading expertise.

NanoForum 2014 the fourth edition of the conference and is jointly organized by SwedNanoTech and the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA). The conference is free of charge.

Read more about the conference, the speakers and the exhibiting companies on the conference webpage.