History

1974
Dr. h. c. Dietrich Freiherr von Dobeneck founds pro-beam in Munich with one employee and two used electron beam welding machines

1993
pro-beam develops its first load lock shuttle machine  

1994
Acquisition of the thin-film technology from Siemens Solar for the production of diadur^® diamond-like carbon films

1998
Conversion to “pro-beam AG & Co. KGaA“
Takeover of the electron beam activities of “Sulzer AG” in Switzerland to the subsidiary “pro-beam AG”

1999
Upon foundation of the “pro-beam Anlagen GmbH” in Chemnitz, positioning as a machine supplier (since 2008 “pro-beam systems GmbH”)

2002
Foundation of “pro-beam AG & Co. KGaA” operating premises in Chemnitz

2003
Electron beam large chamber system at the Burg location (with a chamber volume of 600 m3) for the processing of large-sized components

2004
Foundation of the “pro-beam Verfahrenstechnik GmbH” in Halle/Saale (since 2008 “pro-beam technologies GmbH”)

2005
Foundation of the “pro-beam electron beam technology Ltd.” in China

2007
Majority participation in “JRW technology & engineering” Mainz (“pro-beam cells GmbH”)

2009
Foundation of “pro-beam AG & Co. KGaA” operating premises in Hanau

2010
Foundation of “pro-beam application center Europe” in Burg with integration of pro-beam technologies GmbH.

After more than 35 years of continuous growth, pro-beam has left the status of a small-sized enterprise and has achieved the status of a medium-sized enterprise. The pro-beam Group thus employs a workforce of almost 300 at five domestic and two foreign locations. It operates more than 30 EB welding machines, five EB drilling systems, as well as several lasers and PACVD (Plasma Activated Chemical Vapour Deposition) coating systems.

The EB systems have beam power values ranging from 1 to 45 kW and chamber sizes from 0.05 to 730 m³. The Nd:YAG and carbon dioxide lasers are operated in a power range from 150 W to 12 kW. The PACVD systems with chamber sizes from 50 litres to 1m³ work with RF generators (13.56 MHz) in a power range from 1.2 to 5.5 kW.

pro-beam processes orders for its customers on up to seven days a week, partly in three-shift operation. This makes pro-beam the largest EB contract manufacturer world-wide and the only company with decades of experience in the potential application fields of welding, drilling, cutting and finishing of surfaces by hardening, remelting and alloying as well as deposition welding by means of laser and electron beam technology.
In doing so, pro-beam not only processes individual items, but also large series. Experience gained from a multitude of contract manufacturing applications is of particular advantage. Based on this, pro-beam has developed EB systems to series production maturity and tested them in its own job shop over the last ten years.
pro-beam has an universal load lock shuttle system technology with superior beam quality and excellent beam control technology, which is successfully used in own job shop, high-end areas of automotive mass production, rail engineering and aerospace.
For companies from the metal-processing industry, automotive and mechanical engineering, power plant and medical technology, pro-beam has conceived and successfully put into operation a vast variety of individual solutions since its foundation.
Currently, the pro-beam Group is developing more systems and procedures with more than 50 engineers and numerous external institutes and companies to open up new application fields for electron beam technology e.g. rapid manufacturing or micro-processing.
The target is the technological top position in EB welding, EB drilling, EB surface treatment, the extension of the leading position as a system supplier and the strengthening of the market leadership position of the group.
pro-beam is represented in relevant workgroups of the DVS (Deutscher Verband für Schweißen und verwandte Verfahren e.V. - German Association for Welding and Related Processes), IIW (International Institute for Welding) and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung - German Institute for Standardisation).

pro-beam is your innovative partner offering solutions for demanding tasks from the most various production fields.