100 Years of metal finishing in Germany

Countless developments in Metal Finishing originate from Germany. But beyond this, one can identify periods in time where one or other aspect of the technology was specially emphasised. In the past, aesthetic aspects and appearance were of primary importance. There followed more difficult times, where metals were in short supply, and their economical use or development of substitutes was the main focus. Most recently, the emphasis has been on optimising properties of functional coatings, such as corrosion resistance and electrical properties, the latter in relation to data processing and storage application. Throughout this time, the journal Galvanotechnik has monitored and reported these and other trends, and examination of past issues, for example from 1958 to 2001 provides an excellent means of illustrating them.