nCoat, Inc. announced they have received the prestigious Frost and Sullivan 2007 North American Product Innovation of the Year Award for nCoat's thermal barrier coatings (TBC). The recognized coatings, innovated at the lab of nCoat subsidiary, nTech, Inc., are nano-formulated surface treatments.
Founded in 1961, Frost and Sullivan has 26 global offices with more than 1500 industry consultants, market research analysts, technology analysts and economists. They are a leader in growth consulting and the integrated areas of technology research, market research, economic research, corporate best practices, training, customer research, competitive intelligence and corporate strategy.
"Receiving this award from internationally respected Frost and Sullivan is a significant validation of the commercial viability of our nano-coatings," said Paul Clayson, CEO of nCoat. "As customer use and testing continues to validate the exponential performance increase of these products over market norms, we expect to capture extensive market share in our target markets. We thank Frost and Sullivan for recognizing the market potential of our coatings."
In presenting the award, Frost and Sullivan stated the award was "in recognition of nCoat's development of innovative nanoslurry coatings for thermal protection of materials at high temperatures. These coatings work effectively against temperatures greater than 4200 degrees F and exhibit low porosity, high density, and extraordinary strength and flexibility. By employing proprietary technologies, the company has been able to produce universal dispersion and eliminate the clumping of nanoscale particulates. Another factor enhancing their effectiveness is that the nano-particulates in the slurry were able to efficiently bind with the substrate materials, which minimizes the risk of delamination problems. These nanoscale materials are much finer, more uniformly dispersed, create more surface area and bind much better, because of these factors they are able to enhance the bond strength, heat resistance, and barrier protection characteristics of the metallic base material."
Frost and Sullivan also noted, "Compared to conventional TBCs, nCoat's nanoslurry coating also exhibits high corrosion resistance and is lightweight." These inherent benefits of the nano-formulated coatings have created markets for nCoat products in aerospace, composite materials, automotive, and diesel engine and over-the-road truck manufacturing.
nCoat's intellectual property portfolio has been built around its core nano-formulated and non-nano high performance formulation coatings products and technologies and consists of 5 patent applications and 46 trade secrets. An additional 7 patents are currently under review. nCoat is also trying to aggressively expand it IP in strategic areas and expand its R&D capabilities. For this purpose, it intends to open a new laboratory in the next six months in its North Carolina headquarters. The company continues to invests significant resources in testing and QC.
For more information on Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards, visit www.awards.frost.com.