Advanced Nano-Products, Inc.

Advanced Nano-Products, Inc., (ANP) has been adjudged the recipient of the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Product Differentiation Innovation Award for the U.S. protective coatings market. The award recognizes the company's contribution to the industry through development of a unique nano-based protective coating solution. Based on nano technologies, the company has developed multifunctional coating systems that are versatile in application and compliant to the environmental regulations.

Advanced Nano-Products, Inc., (ANP) is a supplier of epoxy-based coatings that are used for maintenance purposes in a range of markets including marine, power generation, gas transmission, and wastewater treatment facilities. Since its commencement in June 2003, the company has created a niche in the protective coatings market by developing unique and technologically superior products. Driven by the need to protect industrial structures as well as the environment, the company has developed a nano-based coating solution that offers superior performance without any environmental hazards. ANP's 100 percent solids, multifunctional, solvent-free epoxy coating has exceptional surface tolerance and provides a high level of resistance to chemicals and moisture.

Differentiation Innovation

ANP offers AMP multifunctional coating that is based upon a completely unique polymer chemistry and cutting-edge nanotechnology. The nanostructure particulates utilized in the coating system improve the environmental impact of the coating and thus eliminate the inclusion of toxic solvents. Furthermore, the revolutionary and proprietary curing agents used in the coating enable it to outperform several high solids epoxy coatings available in the market.

Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Differentiation Innovation

Positive Impact on Sales Directly Related to Product Differentiation The variety of benefits including multifunctional, cost-effective, environmentally compliant, and superior performance, achieved by ANP's coating has made it a suitable alternative to available coatings in the marketplace. ANP has gained significant sales in the first year of its inception and expects to achieve sales well over $100 million in the next 5 years.

Time to Market Improvement Based upon Product Differentiation Strategy

Presently, most of the end-user markets for protective coatings in the United States are going through difficult market conditions characterized by economic slowdown, stricter environmental regulations, and frequent increase in raw material and crude oil prices. ANP's introduction of multifunctional coatings was timed appropriately and successfully generated significant appeal in the market.

ANP's coatings offer the following benefits to its end users:

Better Price-performance Ratio

Most of the coatings available in the market are part of a multi-coat system that consists of a primer coat, an intermediate coat, and a topcoat. ANP's coatings are applied in single coat, which significantly reduces the total quantity of coating material needed to accomplish a particular project. The efficiency of the coatings results in significant cost savings for the customers. According to ANP, the installed cost of its products is 47 percent less than any other traditional coating system available in the market.

Moreover, this reduction in number of coating layers from 3 to 1 also reduces the time and associated labor costs involved in completing the job. Hence, the customers are able to attain similar or better performance at a lower overall cost.

High Surface Tolerance

ANP's coatings are solvent-free and follow a pure chemical cure process as opposed to partial curing of solvent-borne coating systems. In addition, the excellent flow properties of these coatings allow them to eliminate any curling effect when applied over partially removed existing coating systems. The exceptional surface tolerance exhibited by these coatings makes them an ideal choice for minimally prepared surfaces.

Versatile Application

ANP's coatings offer superior adherence to a variety of substrates ranging from ferrous, to non-ferrous, wood, fiber, glass, and concrete. The coatings do not require extensive preparation in order to adhere to different surfaces. This versatile feature makes it a multi-functional coating that could cater to more than one market's needs.

Environmental Compliance

ANP's coatings are volatile organic compound (VOC) free and compliant to the new environmental regulations that limit the emission of VOCs into the atmosphere. The environmentally compliant nature of these coatings makes them a preferred alternative for traditional solvent-based coating systems.

Conclusion

The unique coating solution offered by ANP, is expected to continue to replace other coating alternatives existing in the market. The company's sales are expected to multiply in future as the low cost and high performance benefits of these products encourage greater customer acceptance. The significant product performance contribution made by these coatings justifies the selection of Advanced Nano-Products, Inc., as the recipient of the Frost & Sullivan Product Differentiation Innovation Award for the year 2005.