Jan 24 2008
Ecology Coatings, Inc., today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the fourth in a series of new patents assigned to the company for its portfolio of environmentally friendly UV-curable coating products. Substantially impacting the automotive industry, the new patents; numbers 7,151,123, 7,153,892, 7,192,992, and 7,238,731, represent a significant milestone in establishing the company's technology platform and securing Ecology Coatings' contribution to energy efficient manufacturing.
'We've developed our technologies with original equipment manufacturers and the automotive industry in mind,' said Tom Krotine, president of Ecology Coatings. 'These four newly issued patents keep us at the leading edge of UV- curable coatings technology and strengthen the value proposition to everyone from OEMs to end users. Additionally, we're using these breakthroughs to stimulate the company's growth by pursuing strategic licensing agreements and beginning product commercialization.'
Employing a fundamentally unique formulation strategy, the patented technologies produce coatings that reduce energy use, as well as eliminate harmful pollutants used in the coatings industry. The new coatings successfully adhere to thermoplastic olefin (TPO) and metal surfaces without a primer, removing a high-energy and time intensive step in the manufacturing process. Ecology Coatings' patented formulations will now allow original equipment manufacturers to apply either clear or colored finishes to materials, improving the aesthetic and barrier qualities of products from car bumpers to trim components. The new technology from Ecology Coatings can be easily applied with normal spray equipment, allowing for a smooth transition to improved coating manufacturing.
'These patents open the door to a wide variety of industry applications at the intersection of green technology and nanotechnology,' said Sally Ramsey, co-founder and VP of new product development for Ecology Coatings. 'In addition to their superior properties, these coatings provide significant economic advantages by reducing energy use and increasing production rates. The overall effect dramatically decreases the environmental impact of coating processes in the manufacturing industry.'