Thermal Spray Metallizing Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
Thermal Spray Metallizing for Steel Protection: Patent Trends
72.7% concentration. The top 5 of 31 ranked assignees account for 112 of the 154 records in scope — filing here is dominated by a small group, not fragmented across many small players. Filings rose to 13 in 2017, the high point of the series, then fell away; the 2021-to-2024 comparison shows a -100% change, a figure that should be read alongside the publication lag rather than as evidence of an ongoing collapse.
- 1LAM RES CORP54
- 2THERMOCERAMIX18
- 3PHOENIX SOLUTIONS CO16
- 4PRAXAIR ST TECHNOLOGY INC15
- 5OERLIKON METCO (US) INC9
See the full thermal spray metallizing for steel protection analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
Who are the leading patent holders in thermal spray metallizing for steel protection?
The dataset ranks 31 assignees across 154 records, and the field is concentrated rather than fragmented: the top 5 of those 31 hold 112 records, or 72.7% of everything in scope. The single leading assignee alone holds 54 records, far ahead of the fifth-place holder at 9. This means a competitive review should prioritise the leader’s portfolio first rather than treating all 31 names as equally significant.
Is patent filing in thermal spray coating for steel still growing?
Filing peaked in 2017 at 13 records and has since declined, with the 2021-to-2024 window showing a -100% change. However, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 figures in this dataset are still incomplete and should not be read as confirmation of a stopped field. A fair reading is that activity has cooled from its 2017 high, with the most recent trend still uncertain.
What patent classes cover thermal spray steel protection technology?
C23C, covering coating and surface deposition, is the dominant class at 59.1% of the 154 records in scope. H01J (electron and discharge tubes) and H01L (semiconductor devices) follow at 31.2% and 24.7% respectively, reflecting overlap with plasma-based deposition equipment used across both steel coating and semiconductor processing. Smaller but still notable classes include B05D coating processes, B32B layered products, H05H plasma technology, B23K welding and brazing, and C22C alloys, each between 10.4% and 13.6%.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Thermal Spray Metallizing for Steel Protection covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.