GERMANY • For more than four decades, IST Metz has been manufacturing presses and coatings for UV and UV curing. Therefore, the German mechanical engineer will celebrate its 40th anniversary on May 15 in the course of its in-house exhibition UV Days. The management of the company invites employees, customers, exhibitors and partners to celebrate the anniversary. Certainly, the UV Days offer an appropriate framework as since its launch in 2002, the event has become a large and highly prestigious in-house exhibition for UV and LED technology with over 800 visitors from all over the world and more than 45 renowned exhibitors and industry partners.
The excellent curing properties of inks and varnishes under UV light were discovered in the late 1960s. The IST Metz GmbH of today was founded in 1977 and developed early UV systems for curing varnishes on furniture. Since then, the company developed from a niche business to a globally operating group of companies. The products are used in printing presses, but also for curing coatings on automotive parts or small parts for cosmetics, for example. The UV systems cure inks, varnishes, silicones, adhesives, resins and other materials. The range of services is supplemented by hot-air/infrared drying systems. Currently, IST Metz employs some 300 people at its headquarters in Nürtingen in Southern Germany.