Forge Nano completes acquisition of North Carolina firm HZO

Forge Nano, a US-based semiconductor equipment and advanced materials company, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of HZO, a provider of protective nanocoatings for electronics headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina.

HZO applies ultra-thin, pinhole-free Parylene and thin-film coatings that protect electronic assemblies from moisture, corrosion and chemical exposure. The acquisition adds a high-volume production coating business, an established global customer base and a complementary material and equipment portfolio to Forge Nano’s ALD platform, which deposits precision coatings one atomic layer at a time, according to a press release.

The two companies address the same engineering problem at different scales: protecting and enhancing high-value components through precisely controlled surface coatings. Forge Nano’s ALD platform delivers angstrom-level films for semiconductor and battery applications. HZO’s Parylene and thin-film platform delivers conformal protection for finished electronic assemblies at production volume.  

“HZO has spent more than a decade solving a problem every electronics manufacturer has and few can solve at scale: protecting devices from the environments they live in,” said Paul Lichty, Chief Executive Officer of Forge Nano. “Their Parylene platform, their customer relationships and their production discipline are exactly what we need as our ALD technology moves from the lab to high-volume manufacturing.”  

“HZO learned how to deliver that engineering at production volume for some of the most demanding customers in the world,” said Rachael Lerebours, President of HZO. “Forge Nano brings the atomic-scale science, the public-company platform and the capital to take it much further.”