Micron srl

The company

Micron Srl is an Italian company headquartered in Soncino, in the province of Cremona, specializing in electroless nickel plating applied to precision mechanics. Founded in 1985, the company has developed a highly specialized positioning over time, focusing its expertise on process control, performance repeatability, and coating reliability in complex industrial applications.

With annual sales of more than €11 million, around 600 active customers, and a workforce of 70 employees, Micron is today the leading Italian company in electroless nickel plating for light precision mechanics and is recognized among the leading operators at European level. The company’s activity is exclusively focused on technical applications, where the coating is a functional element of the component.

Specialization in the electroless nickel plating process

Over the years, Micron has developed its own industrial electroless nickel plating process, identified by the NIPLATE® registered trademark, designed and optimized in-house starting from the management of raw materials and process parameters.

Direct control of bath chemistry, operating conditions, and pre-treatment phases makes it possible to obtain coatings characterized by high quality consistency, repeatability, and in-service reliability. Research and development activities, supported by continuous application feedback from customers, enable ongoing improvement of treatments and targeted adaptation to different industrial requirements.

This approach allows Micron to operate not only as a surface treatment supplier, but as a technical partner supporting the definition of coating specifications.

Application sectors

The experience gained enables Micron to operate as a qualified supplier of electroless nickel plating both for machine shops and for structured industrial groups, operating at national and European level. The coatings are used in numerous industrial sectors in which electroless nickel plating performs a critical function for component performance and reliability, including automotive, pneumatic, hydraulic, textile, medical, bike, machinery and plant construction, as well as the maritime and aeronautical sectors.

Control, validation, and research laboratory

Micron Srl has a fully equipped in-house laboratory for surface coating characterization and performance control. The laboratory is used both for routine checks on treated parts, for periodic process validation, and for research and development and failure analysis activities in support of customers.

The main tests and analyses performed include:

• Coating thickness measurement via microscopical examination | ISO 1463
• Coating thickness measurement via eddy-current method | ISO 2360
• Vickers microhardness measurement | ISO 4516, ISO 6507-1
• Surface roughness measurement | ISO 4288
• Adhesion analysis | ISO 2819
• Salt spray corrosion resistance test | ISO 9227 – ISO 10289 – ASTM B117
• Taber Abraser wear resistance measurement | ISO 10074 B.3
• Coating porosity analysis | ASTM B733 – FERROXYL TEST
• Phosphorus content determination via EDS spectroscopy
• Microstructural analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM)
• Metal alloy elemental composition analysis via EDS spectroscopy

Production capacity and flexibility

Thanks to the presence of multiple treatment plants, Micron is able to ensure high operational flexibility, handling both high production volumes and small batches, samples, and pre-series, while keeping coating quality standards constant.

In addition to electroless nickel plating, the company also performs a dedicated PEO (Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation) magnesium anodizing treatment, called OX-UHA, developed for applications requiring high hardness and corrosion resistance on light alloys.

Quality system and certifications

Process quality and performance control are central elements of the company’s mission. Micron operates under an ISO 9001-certified quality management system since 1998. In 2022, the company also obtained IATF 16949 certification, confirming the suitability of its processes for the requirements of the automotive sector.

The NIPLATE® trademark

The NIPLATE® registered trademark identifies the electroless nickel plating coatings supplied by Micron and represents a guarantee of process control, performance consistency, and application reliability. The use of the trademark makes it possible to clearly distinguish treatments developed and managed according to the procedures and industrial standards defined by the company.