Kanthal has a long tradition dating back to 1931, when it was founded by engineer Hans von Kantzow. The name Kanthal is derived from Kantzow (Kant) and the Swedish town of Hallstahammar (Hal), where Kanthal AB was founded and still has its headquarters today.
The company was based on von Kantzow's invention, a heat-resistant alloy of iron, chromium and aluminium (FeCrAl), which surpassed the nickel-chromium alloys (NiCr) available at the time. Kanthal began exporting products early on, and the first production facility was opened in Brazil in 1949, followed by sites in the USA and Italy in 1951. Many other countries followed, and today Kanthal operates worldwide and has customers in 150 countries.