Scanpan is manufactured in Denmark and was founded in 1956 and is now the largest manufacturer of pressure cast aluminum cookware in Europe. Scanpan has long been our (as well as pretty much everyone else's) favorite cookware. The aluminum core is forged under 200 tons of pressure, creating a solid, even base to maintain consistent cooking throughout the pan- no "hot spots". The ceramic-titanium has always made an excellent surface, it's made using NASA technology- the two materials are heated up to 36,000°F at which point it liquefies, that liquid is then shot into the pan base at twice the speed of sound! Now they've upped the anti - the challenge that cookware generally presents is having to compromise other qualities when choosing a non-stick pan. The NEW TEK non-stick coating is sealed into this pan, the process of making the pan leaves it covered with tiny craters, the NEW TEK finish stays in these craters to make a flat surface while the ceramic-titanium protects the finish from being scraped off. An independent study tested the pan by running a metal spatula with a 2 lb. weight over the pan 300,000 times. A third of the spatula was worn away but the performance and non-stick coating remained intact. On the MOHS scale of hardness, a diamond is a 10, a Scanpan is a 9.5!