Interview with VAC for the 98th anniversary of the company

Germany is the country of hidden champions. VACUUMSCHMELZE (VAC) has been on the official list of these top companies for years and is better known among specialists in certain industries than among the general population. Even though everyone has something of VAC in everyday use - in their smartphone, in their car or even in their clothes, to name just three examples. With its innovative materials, components and solutions VAC is one of the companies that makes many products and technologies possible in the first place - and has been doing so for 98 years now. This anniversary is one more reason to take a look behind the scenes of VAC to find out what the company has achieved for people and industry and what inventive spirit we can expect for the future. We talk about this with Dr. Ralf Koch, VP Research & Development, who is driving VAC’s success together with his 180-strong team.

Dr. Koch, what exactly does the VAC do?

VAC mainly manufactures products for electro magnetics. Simply said, we develop metallic high-quality alloys and solutions that have special physical properties. Our specialized magnetic materials can mostly be found in electronics that drive the megatrends of e-mobility, e-flight and smart manufacturing. This sounds very theoretical, but if you consider that such technology is required in every electronic part or device, you can get a feeling for the relevance and spread of our products.

For 98 years, VAC has been one of the companies that has had a major influence on technological developments worldwide and has enabled or helped to develop many of the things we take for granted every day. How did it come to this?

Our origins make us special. We developed a process to melt metals in a vacuum several years before our actual founding, in 1923. This opened up completely new technical possibilities, which exist until today and are still being used. Alloys melted with this process were able to replace the standard solutions of the time, which until then had been made of extremely rare materials such as platinum or rhodium. Until today, these alloys can be found in an incredible number of finished products.

In the early days of VAC's history, our technologies enabled the development of temperature probes and radio tubes, light bulb wires and components for electric heating elements. Today, our products are used, for example, in electric motors for high-speed turbomolecular pumps required in semiconductor manufacturing. Also high-quality mechanical watches from Switzerland, achieve the required highest precision through the use of our alloys.

Groundbreaking VAC inventions of the past are still important and essential today. With what has VAC had a particularly lasting impact on the world?

For more than 2 decades, we have been producing, for example, the basis for reliable anti-theft protection in the retail sector, with our special foils that are hidden in product packaging or even sewn into high-quality clothing. The principle of electronic article surveillance is relatively simple in application. Security labels are attached to the products. At the store exits, these react to a magnetic field. Unless they have been deactivated at the checkout, they trigger a warning signal when the product leaves the store.

Communication via ISDN technology, which was the standard technology at the turn of the millennium, was also essentially based on core components such as VAC's UK0 transformer - and as we all know, ISDN technology was a decisive step towards today's digital private and business life.

In addition, high-tech requirements have evolved over the last decades. We are also significantly involved in this. Today, there is no fuse box, car, plane or train that could be working reliably without the use of electro magnetic alloys.

Increasing electrification in all industries is a hot topic for us. The mitigation of electromagnetic interference in industrial electronics and in vehicles as well as the rapid further development of electric motors require a variety of new products. In the meantime, the development and manufacture of components for high-performance electric motors and generators are part of our core competence.

Without our technology, charging an electric car would be less safe, wireless charging of a smartphone would not be possible or clean energy generation from wind, solar and hydropower would be less efficient.

What has made VAC so successful for 98 years?

In my opinion the high material competence, the application know-how and our manufacturing expertise. Our advantage lies in the fact that we do not only supply special alloys but also products that can be integrated by our partners and customers into their solutions without further processing. This is only possible with highly specialized, motivated and above all innovative thinking employees. Without our luminaries and the freedom in development and fundamental research, this innovative power would not be possible. Our knowledge has been built up and passed on for 98 years. Many of our employees have been with VAC for their entire professional lives. Projects such as the development of alloys for the security labels described earlier or the support of the development of the solar airplane "Solar Impulse" become more or less a personal passion, which we as VAC always enable and support.

This expertise also enables us to collaborate closely and conduct joint research with institutions such as the Paul Scherer Institute, CERN in Geneva and many other universities or research institutes.

And yet, to this day, VAC remains a hidden champion ...

 Yes, this is typical for the components industry. The end user cannot buy our products directly and in most cases cannot even see them. Nevertheless, many millions of people around the world have our products in daily use or are at least beneficiaries. This does have its advantages. Compared to the very well-known companies, we can focus much more on research, development and production instead of mainly satisfying the global stock markets. In addition, our success proves us right.

Let us talk about the future. VAC is at the forefront in many industries, for example in the hot topic of e-mobility. What role do you play in current innovations?

Modern electro mobility is one of the fields that benefits from our developments. Mostly, people think of the core components for particularly efficient and powerful electric motors for electric cars. However, electro mobility is much more than cars or public transport. We conduct research, development and also supply components for high-end areas such as Formula 1, Formula E, the Hyperloop, for electric aviation projects such as the Solar Impulse or the first autonomous and fully electric air taxis. We were and are significantly involved in these developments.

Some technologies from these research and high-end projects will later find mainstream use and become normal and affordable for everyone. We have developed a new high-performance alloy for broader use in road-legal electronic vehicles. Additionally, it will play an important role in the development of electric flying - with reduced use of valuable cobalt. More than 30 automotive manufacturers worldwide - including some of the newcomers - are already using our products in their vehicles. 

Now, however, with electro mobility we are also talking about ever greater currents and thus also increased electromagnetic interference, which must be damped. Because without optimized electromagnetic shielding by our nanocrystalline alloys, for example, flawless transmission of data in the vehicle or exchange with the radio network would not be possible. Imagine interference with navigation during autonomous driving. That would have catastrophic consequences. VAC products are also required for reliable shielding at ever-higher currents and voltages.

Because electro mobility has so many advantages, the enormous consumption of electrical energy must not be forgotten. This is one of the reasons why we have also been a core supplier in solar, wind and hydro energy for more than 20 years. Especially when it comes to measuring direct and alternating currents using our high-precision current sensors. Just recently, we were awarded with an innovation prize by the German trade journal "Design & Elektronik" for our innovative high-current sensor. This can be used in large wind turbines, which are located in the open sea more and more.

What can we expect from VAC in the coming years?

There is still a lot to develop and VAC is an active part in this process. We have been committed to sustainability for many years, long before it became a buzzword. We have developed a technology that makes it possible to generate cold very efficiently using magnetic materials. Personally, I have a special wish. For VAC's 100th birthday, I would like to see a refrigerator that uses magnetocaloric cooling. This refrigerator would require significantly fewer components, less energy and, above all, no refrigerants that are harmful to the climate. We have been developing this technology for some time now. The technology exists and works. I am convinced that it will not take long until we see such a refrigerator on the market. To this end, we are in very close development and industrialization cooperation with partners.

Another field of development is medical technology. Here we enable important research and development work with our unique VACOSHIELD cabins. Inside this cabin you are completely isolated from any fields, including the earth's magnetic field. The Paul Scherer Institute has measured the lowest geomagnetic field influences ever in the world in our shielding cabin. This is the basis for important medical research and treatments, such as for strokes or Alzheimer's disease and in every research where brain activities have to be measured very precisely. There is currently strong demand for this technology around the world.

Innovation is in the DNA of VAC. How do you manage that?

Many of the innovations we have developed were initially special solutions that are now widely used. We originate in the area of materials development and often get our impulses from there. We use these materials to develop products that are not finished with melting. VAC is also very strong in partnerships with other companies. One example is the cooperation with the German company Bender. The aim was to develop a product for electrical safety when charging electric vehicles. In the event of a fault - when residual currents occur - a sensor should independently cause the system to shut down. Both VAC and Bender had important knowledge and crucial components for a solution to this issue. Together, we developed the benvac sensor, which is now involved in almost every charging process of an electric vehicle.

More than 20 manufacturers of charging infrastructure equipment (charging pole, wallbox, cable, etc.) rely on the patented solution of the two medium-sized companies Bender and VAC. Currently, our customers are building a network of over two million charging stations for electric cars. Without our sensors, fast charging with high currents would not be possible and would be less safe.

Do you want to remain a hidden champion?

We are modest, but proud of what we create and like to share our enthusiasm with others. This is one of the reasons why we are speaking today. I also think that in a modern society, people should know how things, that they use every day, work. In addition, I am proud that in a global world, a European company from Germany plays the key role in so many areas. We are not one of the world's famous rock stars, but we're right up there with them, helping many of the rock stars to achieve their success. That makes us proud.

Finally, a personal question: Which project or product has grown particularly close to your heart over the years?

One part is certainly electro mobility - also electric aviation and our new types of alloys are particularly important to me. I see groundbreaking changes here, and we have a lot to contribute to them. I am also proud of applications in the area of dual-clutch transmissions. Here our permanent magnets with very tight tolerances ensure that the position of the transmission can be measured precisely.

Besides, it's often the little things that are special. For example, on a vacation in South Africa, I held an ostrich egg in my hand that had a theft security label with VAC technology on it. That was an incredible experience and shows how diversely things can be used all over the world. Sometimes even where you do not expect them.

Dr. Koch, thank you very much for the fascinating interview and the insights into a company that few know and whose products are used by everyone.