Develops electrolytes and plant technology for functional and decorative electroplating.
Dr.-Ing. Max Schlötter GmbH & Co. KG
Geislingen an der Steige · Leipzig (historic founding location)New on Amplifa
System Supplier for Electroplating Technology
Dr.-Ing. Max Schlötter GmbH & Co. KG is a specialist company for electroplating technology based in Geislingen an der Steige. The family business, founded in 1912 by Dr.-Ing. Max Schlötter in Leipzig, is run in its fourth generation and is represented in over 30 countries. Its core competencies lie in the development of electrolytes for electroplating, the manufacture of plating chemistry, and the construction of plating plants with the in-house SLOTRONIC plant control system. The product range comprises around 1,000 chemical products for cathodic corrosion protection, decorative coating systems, plastics metallization, and electronics and printed circuit boards (PCB), of which around 95% come from in-house R&D; around 25% of the approximately 180 employees at headquarters work in research and development. In addition to chemistry and plant technology, the company offers services such as bath analyses, sample plating, customer training, and maintenance and repair of plating plants. The pilot plant, commissioned in 2017 with around 50 active baths (50–400 liters), is used for sampling customer parts; an SEM laboratory and a service laboratory supplement the analytics. In the chemistry business segment, around 40% of revenue is generated by exports. As part of the BMBF lighthouse project H2Giga (joint project AEM-Direkt), Schlötter is developing the metallic coating of membranes for AEM electrolysis.
- Site
- Geislingen an der Steige
- Processes
- Electroplating (electrolyte development, plating chemistry, functional and decorative, Electroless nickel coating (SLOTONIP series), Cathodic corrosion protection (zinc and zinc alloy electrolytes, e.g. alkaline zinc-nickel, Electrolytic tin plating, Bright nickel processes (nickel deposition), Silver deposition, Plastics metallization, Copper plating for electronics and printed circuit boards (PCB), incl. blind microvias (SLOTOCOUP
- Materials
- Zinc-Nickel Alloy, Nickel (electroless and electrolytic), Tin, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Steel (base material for corrosion protection), Plastic (base material for metallization)
- Certificates
- ISO 9001
- Founded
- 1912
- Employees
- 300
- Industries
- Surface technology/Electroplating, Electronics and printed circuit boards (PCB), Plastics metallization, Automotive/Zinc-nickel corrosion protection, Medical technology, Pharmaceutical industry
- 01
R&D electrolyte development (95% in-house development)
- 02
Manufacture of plating chemistry
- 03
Construction of plating plants incl. SLOTRONIC control
- 04
Sample plating/sampling in the pilot plant
- 05
Service laboratory (bath analysis, failure analysis, cross-sections)
- 06
Technical field service, maintenance and spare parts service
Coating Systems and Materials
Zinc-Nickel Alloy
Alloy coatings for outstanding corrosion protection of steel materials, e.g. SLOTOLOY ZN.
Nickel (electrolytic and electroless)
Functional coatings, including bright nickel and the SLOTONIP series for electroless nickel.
Tin
Electrolytic tin plating, historically a core field of the founder.
Silver
Electrolytic silver deposition.
Copper
Acid copper electrolytes for electronics and printed circuit boards, including blind microvias (SLOTOCOUP).
Zinc
Zinc electrolytes for cathodic corrosion protection.
Steel
Typical base material for zinc and zinc alloy coatings.
Plastic
Base material for plastics metallization.
Locations
Geislingen an der Steige
DEHeadquarters: chemistry, plant technology, R&D, pilot plant
- Lot size
- Pilot plant: sampling of individual customer parts, baths 50–400 l
- Materials
- Zn-Ni, Ni, Sn, Ag, Cu, Zn
- Pilot plant with around 50 active baths (50–400 l, approx. 360 m²)
- Plating plants from own production with SLOTRONIC control
- SEM laboratory
- Service laboratory
- Wastewater treatment plant
Coated Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electroplating (electrolyte development, plating chemistry, functional and decorativeSurface | – | – | – | – | Metals, Plastics (plastics metallization), Steel |
| Electroless nickel coating (SLOTONIP series)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cathodic corrosion protection (zinc and zinc alloy electrolytes, e.g. alkaline zinc-nickelSurface | – | – | – | – | Steel |
| Electrolytic tin platingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bright nickel processes (nickel deposition)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Silver depositionSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Plastics metallizationSurface | – | – | – | – | Plastic |
| Copper plating for electronics and printed circuit boards (PCB), incl. blind microvias (SLOTOCOUPSurface | – | – | – | – | Copper |
| Metallic coating of membranes for AEM electrolysis (hydrogen technology)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sample plating / sampling of customer parts in the pilot plant (approx. 50 active baths, 50–400Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Laboratory analyses (bath analyses in the service laboratory, failure analyses, cross-sections ofTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Construction of plating plants incl. SLOTRONIC plant control systemEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
4 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plating plants (own manufacture, with SLOTRONIC plant control system) | Schlötter SLOTRONIC | – | – | – | Geislingen an der Steige |
| Pilot plant with plating line (approx. 50 active baths, 50–400 l volume) | Schlötter | 1 | approx. 360 m², bath volume 50–400 liters | 2017 | Geislingen an der Steige |
| SEM laboratory (scanning electron microscope) | – | – | – | – | Geislingen an der Steige |
| Wastewater treatment plant | – | – | – | 2013 | Geislingen an der Steige |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and Analytics
A quality management system according to ISO 9001 has been in place since 1995. Analytics are provided by the service laboratory (bath analyses, failure analyses, cross-sections, Hull cell tests) and an SEM laboratory at headquarters.
| Evidence | Geislingen an der Steige |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 |
Milestones since 1912
- 1912
Founding of an electrochemical laboratory by Dr.-Ing. Max Schlötter in Leipzig
- 1932
US Patent No. 1 972 693 for bright nickel
- 1934
Patent DRP 746134 for electrolytic deposition of bright tin deposits
- 1969
Founding of the Schloetter Company Ltd. in England (Birmingham)
- 1976
Founding of Schloetter Ltd. (Schlötter Ireland) for the Irish market
- 1980
Founding of Schlötter Svenska AB in Sweden
- 1982
Founding of Schloetter Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
- 1987
Market launch of SLOTOLOY 10, the first weakly acidic zinc-nickel process
- 1995
First certified to ISO 9001
- 2004
Chinese country branch in Wuxi; market launch of SLOTOCOUP BV 110
- 2011
Expansion of the company building in Geislingen
- 2012
Opening of the PCB Development Center in Taipei with AGES Triallian Corp.
- 2017
Commissioning of a new pilot plant (360 m², around 50 active baths)
- 2018
Innovation Award of the State of Baden-Württemberg (Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle-Prize) for SLOTOLOY ZN Generation VX
- 2019
Opening of Schlötter (Dongguan) Surface Technology in southern China
- 2024
Participation in the BMBF hydrogen lighthouse project H2Giga / joint project AEM-Direkt