HISTORY

20 YEARS REINHARDT MICROTECH

1984

Guided by a vision to manage a high tech company and produce highly sophisticated thin film circuits, Hanspeter Reinhardt founds Reinhardt Microtech AG. He is an electrical engineer experienced in the thin film technology at Balzers AG (Unaxis). Because start up capital was limited, the one-man operation is initially restricted to selling products to manufacture semiconductors.

1985

Sales grow and Hanspeter Reinhardt and his 3-member team begin the manufacture of their own cleaning systems – together with third party partners.

1986

RMT 100, the first cleaning system leaves the assembly line in February. Hanspeter Reinhardt acquires a property with an office building and assembly hall. In addition to engineering, the cleaning systems are now built in-house. Three major systems are ordered and further jobs are created. The new fabrication building in Wangs allows space for an electrical and a mechanical department.

1987

Three major systems are delivered to the USA and demand grows constantly. Balzers AG discontinues metallization and thin film layer structuring for the microelectronics industry. Hanspeter Reinhardt takes over these activities together with 7 key people from production and development.
This is an important milestone; suddenly the young high-tech company draws from 30 years of competence in thin film technology.

1988

The activities of Reinhardt Microtech now encompass three areas: sales, cleaning systems construction, and thin film technology. The compact small system RMT 50 is launched.

1989

The focus on special market niches pays off. The company enjoys a growing reputation throughout Europe as a thin layer hybrid technology company. The Company has 25 employees, specialists in thin film technology, and cleaning systems in Wangs.

1991

The market for cleaning machines collapses, requiring a new strategic focus, i.e. thin film manufacturing. Construction and sales of cleaning machines are discontinued.

1992

Quality parameters are now documented in a quality manual. Reinhardt Microtech is certified as one of the first in the industry to the ISO 9001/EN 29001 standard.

1994

Reinhardt Microtech takes over in-house manufacturing from Lucas Ltd. UK and Ascom AG CH.

1995

Sales have doubled since 1993 and the market position is consolidated. Reinhardt Microtech is now the largest independent thin film manufacturer for microelectronics. The clean room areas are doubled and new systems are acquired for lithography and laser trimming.

1996

Several major new orders result in capacity bottlenecks. Reinhardt Microtech ends the year with full order books.

1997

On the night of January 18th, a fire quickly destroys the entire production. Is the company now finished? The 40-member Reinhardt team immediately looks for solutions the next day. Support comes from Balzers AG, clean rooms are rented to process customer orders. The team leaps from strength to strength; partial production is resumed after only four weeks and after seven weeks approximately 80% of production is online.
In March, Reinhardt Microtech acquires an 8,000 m2 industrial facility on the Aeulistrasse in Wangs. The groundbreaking for the new company headquarters is in August.

1998

A new era begins. Reinhardt Microtech AG takes over the thin film activities from Daimler Benz Aerospace AG (DASA) with 7 employees, launching Reinhardt Microtech GmbH in Ulm, Germany. The new fabrication building in Wangs is acquired in the summer.

1999

Reinhardt acquires Philips' in-house thin film manufacturing. Major growth in the telecommunications market is anticipated.

2000

Expectations in the area of telecommunication are exceeded. Production in Wangs runs at maximum capacity to keep up with booming demand. The sales growth of the past years is impressive and the Reinhardt group is now among the leading thin film providers worldwide with 58 employees (44 in Wangs and 14 in Ulm).
"Bilanz" magazine awards Reinhardt Microtech AG with the "Top Small and Mid-Sized Company Award" for 2000. "Bilanz" selects an elite of 50 top companies from 400,000 Swiss small and mid-sized businesses, which were particularly successful in 2000.

2001

Reinhardt Microtech takes over the Dassault Group's thin film manufacturing. The telecommunication market collapses within just a few months and with over 60% of its sales in this market, Reinhardt Microtech feels the pinch. "Bilanz" again awards Reinhardt Microtech AG the "Top Small and Mid-Sized Company Award" for 2001.

2002

The market collapse is reflected in the sales figures. The acquisition of the Thales Group's in-house manufacturing compensates for part of the loss.

2003

The European market has not yet recovered. Reinhardt Microtech pursues a growth strategy and successfully gains a foothold in the American market.
A major new medical technology customer trusts fully in the competence of the Reinhardt group. Major efforts made by both sides result in substantial development progress.
For the third time, "Bilanz" awards Reinhardt Microtech the "Top Small and Mid-Sized Company Award" for 2003.

2004

Thanks to its competence and reliability, Reinhardt Microtech's reputation in the American market grows, and a new sales network takes shape. The group now employs 48 people in Wangs, 24 people in Ulm, and two representatives in the USA.

2007

The alliance between Reinhardt Microtech Group Wangs/CH, it's subsidiary Ulm/DE and Cicor Technologies, Zurich/CH was formed in April.
(pict: Mr. J.-L. Fatio, President of Cicor Technologies (right) and Mr. Hp. Reinhardt Member of Board of Directors at Cicor Technologies left))

Cicor Technologies then established the new Microelectronics Division.