Kanthal history
The Kanthal brand is based on the company AB Kanthal that was founded in 1931 by Hans von Kantzow in Hallstahammar, Sweden. The business idea was to market and further develop his invention - the Kanthal iron-chromium-aluminium (FeCrAl) resistance heating alloy.
The Kanthal FeCrAl alloy was invented almost by accident. A forgotten sample in a furnace resulted, after years of development work, in a completely new resistance material based on this alloy. After the market introduction in 1931, the Kanthal alloy outperformed the existing nickel-chromium (NiCr) alloys and Kanthal expanded rapidly on the world market.
In the late 1990s Sandvik became majority shareholder in Kanthal. Today Kanthal is the brand for Sandvik's heating technology products and services. The original Kanthal FeCrAl alloy is still a product in our portfolio, although improved in a number of aspects. It is now part of a complete product range of heating technology products and resistance materials that covers almost all applications and temperatures.
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