Volker Hofmann is the Head of Sales and Product Management at CeraNovis GmbH, a Saarbrücken-based specialist in high-performance coatings for foundries and casthouses. A qualified engineer in Foundry and Materials Technology (Dipl.-Ing. FH), Hofmann brings over three decades of experience across Europe’s metallurgical and casting sectors. His career spans leadership roles in the vonRoll Foundry Group, P&S Foundry, and the European Foundry Group, with a particular focus on Tier 1 automotive supply. Before co-founding CeraNovis in 2012 as a spin-off from ItN Nanovation AG, he led the development of nanotechnology-based coating solutions for metal processing industries. Fluent in German, English, and French, Hofmann is recognised for his deep technical expertise and strategic insight into industrial surface technologies.

In this interview, we explore how the German engineer has envisioned steering his production and distribution facility of functional high-performance coatings for industrial applications forward amidst a globally volatile market.

AL Circle: CeraNovis has positioned itself as a high-performance coatings provider for metal processing, especially aluminium melting and casting. How would you describe your core market today, geographically and sector-wise? And where do you see the biggest growth opportunities over the next 3-5 years?

Volker Hofmann: For many years, the aluminium market was dominated by the criteria of cost, quality and output. Now, however, the concept of sustainability is firmly established. This pushes our company rather than restricting us. We provide cost-efficient solutions, but sustainability is another argument to go with us. Our core business is process optimisation in primary smelters.

Here, equipment availability and efficiency are highly cost-relevant. We serve most of the major primary aluminium smelters in the world – except China. We lost our business in Russia due to the conflict. We would like to expand our business in India and are working on partner structures in China.

These are our geographical goals for the next 3 years. In the segment of heat exchangers, protective sealing coatings with good thermal conductivity are meanwhile sold outside Europe. We have ongoing business in India.  This applies to our established nano-ceramic products. However, we are also working on new solutions.