Brütsch/Rüegger AG was established in Zurich in 1877 and currently employs 100 staff in Urdorf near Zurich. A major commercial enterprise and full-range supplier of quality tools, standard parts and products for the industrial safety, Brütsch/Rüegger is the market leader in Switzerland. Brütsch/Rüegger AG became a partner of Sauber Petronas five years ago in the field of measuring and bonding technology as well as workplace safety. This cooperation continues with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. With a global share of 30 % Mitsubishi Electric is the world market leader in wire and die-sinking EDM systems. Its eroding systems are employed not only in classical tool and mould making, but also in aerospace and special areas like Formula 1. Its range of activities extends from the machining of special materials to automated parts production. Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. based in Ratingen near Düsseldorf employs more than 1,500 staff in its nine European branches. Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation head-quartered in Tokyo. Worldwide there are 132 branch and sales offices, 74 production sites and 15 research and development centres with a total workforce of more than 102,000. Sales for fiscal 2007 exceeded 27 billion euros. Oerlikon Balzers is the world’s leading supplier of PVD-coatings that significantly improve the performance of tools and precision components. The coatings, marketed under the BALINIT® brand name, are extremely thin, harder than steel and lead to a decisive reduction in friction and wear. Oerlikon Balzers develops coatings and coating processes, markets systems and production equipment and is the only company that provides a contract coating service in a global network that currently includes more than 80 production centres in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
