Karl Ritter von Ghega Award 2009

Happy Plating takes the overall victory in the NÖ Innovation Award 2009.

Karl Ritter von Ghega Award 2009

Lower Austrian Innovation Award 2009 - Overall Winner Happy Plating GmbH

Innovative small and medium-sized companies whose products are export hits, state of the art research facilities, high tech laboratories, which enjoy international reputation - Innovation is fundamental in Lower Austria and is also a supporting pillar of the economic strategy of Austria's largest province. Research and development, promotion of a technology location, clusters and networks, excellent support for new businesses and the internationalization of companies as well as the further development in the sense of competitiveness - are a guarantee for stable economic conditions.

With the Karl Ritter von Ghega Award the state of Lower Austria honors annually it's creative and imaginative enterprises. In four catagories a total of 110 projects were submitted this year: capital goods and process innovation, research facilities from Lower Austria, consumer goods and product innovations and organizational and marketing innovations.

This year Happy Plating could convince the jury with his innovative "micro push-buttons for high-performance composite systems" and took the overall victory in 2009.

Project Description

Based on a international research project, supported by the FFG,Happy Plating developed in it's owen research laboratories via electrochemical high frequency pulses, a process to steady production of miniaturized push-buttons made of metal for applications in the high-performance electronics.

The individual buttons are composed of nanocrystallites. This allows to generate tailored miniaturized push-buttons on a size of 1 micrometer (one millionth of a meter). Through this development, it is possible to produce textured surfaces with up to 200.000 impressions per square millimeter knobs extensively and evenly from a variety of metals (copper, nickel, chromium, silver).

This technology is already applied in the high-performance electronics for the production of mobile phones to achieve an improved copper/polymer-composite of the multilayer printed board for a much higher stability of the produced devices. Other applications in the automotive, microsystems technology and energy are in negotiations or already in pre-production.

Ecomical benefits

Due to the use of Happy Plating technologies and processes composites are produces free of any adhesives. Furthermore, cheaper raw materials (eg aluminium) instead of rare, expensive materials for applications previously not possible can be used. The innovative and trend-setting activities with high growth opportunities contributes in creating skilled jobs.

Some impressions from the ceremony...

Happy Plating, 27.10.2009