NASA funds Montec Research’s quest for the "Holy Grail"

Montec Research Awarded NASA SBIR Project

BUTTE, MT – July 23, 2002 – Montec Research has been awarded a ‘Phase II’
competitive contract worth $600,000 from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
program to develop a prototype spray coating systems based on an innovative
thermal spray technology that Montec Research began developing within a
‘Phase I’ SBIR project sponsored by NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland,
Ohio.

Aaron Cook, a Mechanical Engineer and key developer of the technology at
Montec Research, states "Powder coating is increasingly being used in place
of traditional solvent-based coatings because it contains no volatile
organic compounds emissions (VOCs), which are harmful to the environment,
and because of its superior finish and wear-resistant qualities.
Unfortunately, conventional coating systems require that the powder be
melted and cured after it has been applied to an object’s surface. This
limits their use to coating only objects that can fit in an energy-intensive
curing oven and that won’t be damaged from being subjected to intense heat."

"The Montec Research coating technology", Cook continues, "combines
ultraviolet, or UV, radiation with thermal spray processing to effectively
enable high quality powder coating to be applied on objects, such as jet
engine components, earth moving equipment and agricultural equipment, that
are too large to be coated by standard powder coating systems. Our
technology can also be used to coat heat-sensitive objects, such as plastic
components found in automotive assemblies, and wood products ranging from
guitars to office furniture."

"The ‘Holy Grail’ of the powder coating industry is to be able to apply and
cure coatings on natural woods. Montec Research’s technology will have a
unique and very valuable opportunity to supply coatings to manufacturers of
natural wood products," says Val DeBrunce, Senior Market Manager of
industry-leading Morton Powder Coatings.

Morton Powder Coatings and fellow powder coating suppliers H.B. Fuller and
Govesan Manufacturing have agreed to provide Montec Research with
significant resources to assist in development of the technology.

Montec Research intends to commercialize its coating systems upon the
successful completion of its Phase II SBIR project.

About Montec Research
Montec Research is a privately held organization headquartered in Butte,
Montana that builds value through discovery and innovation. Montec Research
develops industrial solutions based on its proprietary ResonantSonics® and
thermal processing technologies.

Montec Research has worked with private sector organizations such as The Dow
Chemical Company, Dow Corning and Koch Industries as well as government
agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science
Foundation, NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop many new
cutting edge technologies.

For more information contact Rob Kirkey at (406) 723-2222 or via e-mail at
[email protected].