The years following World War II were also marked by a shortage of raw materials. The energy supply was anything but reliable.

Initially, it was syringes and tube caps that ensured the company’s survival. Sales of spray guns were slowly picking up again.

But over time, other manufacturers appeared on the scene. The SATA LM, the first paint spray gun under its own name, was getting on in years. Plans were being made for the future. Intention­ally or not, a company identity emerged – corporate values, standards, and pride in craftsmanship. How to think and work – and how not to. It had much to do with passion and quality.

At the end of the 1960s, the student protests hit the headlines. NASA sets out to conquer the moon. The signs are pointing to new beginnings.

Sanitaria also needs to adjust its course. Competition was increasing and the SATA product range started coming under pressure.

1954 saw the launch of the GR, a milestone in SATA history. In 1965, further developments were implemented using micrometers. But the competition didn’t stand still either.

The next step was to make strategic brand and product decisions.

The SATA GR/Z launched in 1969. A high perfor­mance spray gun with a cone-centred nozzle design and improved air flow for significantly finer atomi­sation with greater surface covering capacity. A technical masterpiece that made a name for itself in the car refinishing industry in particular.

The 80s begin – a decade of upheaval and social change. The public is becoming more aware of environmental issues.

New legislation introduced strict regulations on paint development. The proportion of organic solvents is reduced. MS (medium-solid) paints with an increased solids content are created. At the same time, the demand for metallic and effect paints is also growing in the most colourful decade since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany!

A revolution was taking place on the product side. The SATAjet B. This high-performance spray gun was tailored precisely to the requirements of the new environmentally friendly paint and the carrepair shops. This made SATA the industry’s tech­nology leader.

What’s more: It can be considered the first modern SATA, with its innovative handle design and lateral round/flat fan control. Especially with the nar­row-horn nozzles introduced in 1985, it still looks like a contemporary paint spray gun today.

The 90s. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union, some are already anticipating “the end of history”. Meanwhile, the world is reorganising itself.

Environmental regulations are becoming stricter. The paint industry is also facing new challenges: high-solids and water-based paints are gaining in importance, colour tones and effect paints are multiplying al­most explosively. HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) technology emerges.

As with many innovations, HVLP technology was in­itially met with scepticism. For SATA, the aim was not just to sell spray guns, but to build confidence in an entire product category.

Then came the year 1995. SATA launched the SATAjet NR 95, the third HVLP generation. It proved exactly how much potential the technology offered. On this basis, painters barely had to change their previous ways of working! It achieved a higher material throughput, while atomisation was even finer with a significantly larger fan. A small, green revolution.

The 2000s. The World Wide Web has begun its triumphal march. Facebook and YouTube are founded. The smartphone is catching on. The markets are also changing: China is rising to become a global economic power. Competition is becoming tougher – and more international.

SATA is preparing itself for the challenge. With a clear commitment to its location and “Made in Germany”, to technology and its products.

The SATAjet 2000 HVLP DIGITAL and SATAjet 2000 RP DIGITAL are presented in 2001. The world’s first spray guns with digital pressure measurement in the spray gun body. A sensation.

Each new development, from the SATAjet 2000 to the SATAjet 5000, marks a further step forward in nozzle technology, atomisa­tion, reliability of results and ergonomics. In 2018, it is the SATAjet X 5500 that launches a new chapter. The X-nozzle system makes the spray gun the most customised in the world.

It is 2025 – our jubilee year. SATA has been manufacturing spray guns for exactly 100 years. A lot has changed. Who would have thought back then that a spray gun would one day transmit data? Be able to display pressure and temperature in different units of measurement? That it monitors the pressure – and that you communicate with it by tapping and tilting?

The jet X has been on the market for one year. With its innovative nozzle concept and the adam X and adam X pro digital units, it has redefined the entire product category.

Today we are indulging ourselves a little – and not only looking forwards, but also backwards. We connect the present to our earliest roots.

We are celebrating 100 years of SATA spray guns with a special edition of the jet X. On its surface: the design drawing of the gun that started it all. The Lechler spray gun from 1925, completing the circle.