Press Releases
Abakan Subsidiary MesoCoat Set to Launch First Full-Scale Pipe Cladding Facility in Euclid, Ohio
December 14, 2012
Euclid, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Abakan Inc. (OTCQB ABKI), an emerging leader in the advanced coatings and metal formulations markets, today announced its subsidiary MesoCoat is set to begin operations at its first full-scale pipe cladding facility in Euclid, Ohio. This event is both a critical turning point in the history of MesoCoat and a major step toward the market introduction of its CermaClad™ seamless, metallurgical bonded clad pipe.
The facility, which is expected to be one of the largest clad pipe manufacturing facilities in the United States when it is fully operational, will manufacture corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) clad pipe for the oil and gas industry using the company’s patented and proprietary fusion cladding technology.
The next milestones for the CermaClad product team are to bring the facility to operational status -- expected to occur in January 2013 -- and then to complete manufacturing scale-up demonstration with the production of the facility’s first 12-meter clad pipe. Once demonstration is complete, it will be followed by qualification and certification of the pipe to industry standards, leading to market introduction and rollout expected before midyear. MesoCoat expects to gradually ramp up production while using the facility for both qualification and filling low rate initial production orders, with the one-line facility expected to ultimately produce up to 60 million dollars of clad pipe annually.
“I’m very impressed by everything our team has accomplished to date, and I’m completely confident that our efforts will soon be rewarded with product qualification and approved supplier status with our Fortune 50 Oil and Gas partners,” said Abakan CEO Robert Miller, who expressed delight that the facility was completed on budget, despite the team having to overcome a number of engineering, design, and integration challenges for this first-in-the-world fusion cladding facility.
This new, world-class cladding facility will help to meet the high demand in the oil and gas industry for corrosion-resistant clad pipe. An estimated 70 percent of the world’s oil reserves consist of heavy, high sulfur, “sour” crude, which will require large amounts of corrosion-resistant pipes to enable safe and efficient production. Driven by the increased amount of development of corrosive oil and gas fields, industry experts expect the annual market for corrosion-resistant clad pipe to increase significantly over the next three years. Clad steel products that the company can produce are also used in other industries, including oil sands, downstream petrochemicals, mining and mineral processing, desalination, and oil refining and processing.
“We have completed the infrastructure construction and equipment installation, thanks in large part to the outstanding teamwork and dedication of the CermaClad product team,” said MesoCoat President Andrew Sherman, a former rocket scientist and a serial entrepreneur. “The facility will soon be ready to carry out its primary mission of large-scale commercial demonstration of our revolutionary fusion-cladding manufacturing technology.”
About Abakan Inc.
Abakan develops, manufactures and markets advanced nanocomposite materials, innovative fabricated metal products and engineered metal composites for applications in oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, aerospace and defense, energy, infrastructure, and processing industries. Abakan’s product portfolio currently includes high-speed large-area fusion cladding technology, long-life nanocomposite anti-corrosion and-wear coating materials and high-strength, lightweight metal composites. Abakan’s products have demonstrated four to 80 times lower friction and wear, three to 40 times higher manufacturing productivity and up to a 30 percentage improvement in strength-to-weight ratios compared to competing manufacturing technologies and materials. The Abakan group of companies and their technologies have been ranked by the Wall Street Journal as the #1 new Manufacturing Technology across the Globe; by Forbes as the #1 Most Promising Material Science Company in the U.S; and they have received numerous trade, industry and technology awards including three peer selected R&D 100 Awards for new industrial products. These products are the result of over $70 million and a decade of focused Research and Development including over $30 million in competitive federal contracts. Abakan has successfully introduced its nanocomposite metal coatings resulting in three to four times component life-extension in the oil and gas industry and is currently focusing on commercialization of its highly disruptive metal cladding products for the oil and gas, oil sands, mining and petrochemical industries. Abakan currently operates from six locations in the United States and intends on expanding operations to support market demand in Latin America, the Middle East, Canada and the Asia-Pacific region.
Forward-Looking Statements
A number of statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including technological obsolescence, market acceptance of future products, competitive market conditions, and the sufficiency of capital resources. The actual results Abakan may achieve could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. Abakan encourages the public to read the information provided here in conjunction with its most recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Abakan’s public filings may be viewed at www.sec.gov.
Abakan Inc.
Robert Miller, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +1-786-206-5368
Email: [email protected]
www.abakaninc.com
Media Inquiries
Jan Helbing
Antenna Group for Abakan Inc.
415-977-1912
[email protected]