Feb 15 2011
Applied Minerals, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCBB: AMNL) is pleased to announce its first commercial supply contract for its Dragonite-HP™ multi-functional polymer additive.
Dragonite-HP is a new, patent pending Halloysite-based product designed to provide an unmatched combination of reinforcement properties and cycle time reduction in high-density polyethylene (“HDPE”). The product is available in either powder form or masterbatch pellets.
Signature Fencing & Flooring Systems, LLC (“Signature”), the world’s largest manufacturer of modular flooring systems, will utilize the Dragonite-HP additive in its MegaDeck product offering, the latest addition to EventDeck’s line of heavy-duty matting and temporary roadway systems. The Dragonite-HP additive will enable the Megadeck product line to meet the rigorous performance standards required by such a critical application.
MegaDeck’s extra-large access mats allow even the largest vehicles and equipment to traverse any type of terrain while protecting the ground beneath from chemical and vehicular damage. MegaDeck’s composite mats are intended for use as temporary roads, construction and heavy-lift crane platforms, rig mats, dragline mats, military base camp flooring, and can be used anywhere heavy-duty access matting is required.
The benefits provided by the Dragonite-HP additive @ 1-2% loadings to HDPE include:
- An increase of 20% - 30% in stiffness
- An increase of 15% in flex strength
- An increase of 15% in tensile strength
- Retention of notched izod impact
- Improved surface finish and pigment dispersion
- Improved dimensional stability (uniform shrinkage and reduced warpage)
- Reduction in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)
- Flame and smoke suppression synergist
- Fully recyclable without a loss of physical properties
The processing benefits of the Dragonite-HP additive for fabricators of HDPE include:
- 15-30% cycle time reduction resulting in an increase in plant efficiency through the combination of nucleation, melt viscosity and superior heat transfer capability provided by the additive
- Reduction in energy consumption
- Reduction in manufacturing costs
- Ability to thin wall parts resulting in further decrease in resin cost and reduced part weight
According to Andre Zeitoun, President and CEO of Applied Minerals, Inc.: “We are delighted to see our Dragonite-HP product go from the R&D stage to commercial deployment in such a relatively short time. The MegaDeck product is the largest and strongest HDPE heavy-duty matting product on the market today. The Dragonite-HP additive delivered the necessary combination of price and performance. We believe that Signature’s decision to use Dragonite-HP in its high performance MegaDeck product is a strong validation of our product’s potential in the targeted 100 billion pound-per-annum High Density Polyethylene global market.”
According to Arnon Rosan, President & CEO of Signature Fencing & Flooring: "We have tried various fillers and additive systems to resolve issues with shrinkage and heat dissipation for a part as large as MegaDeck and found that incorporating Dragonite-HP into our formulation yielded these processing benefits in addition to the increase in strength. We are excited to incorporate this material into our MegaDeck product, which has already shown huge promise through a number of advance customer orders. With the success we have achieved using Dragonite-HP in MegaDeck, we are planning on evaluating it in a variety of other products in our line, such as DuraDeck, our lighter weight access mat."
Applied Minerals, Inc. is preparing for a full commercial launch of its Dragonite-HP additive at which time detailed product specifications and marketing literature will be made available.
Source: http://appliedminerals.com/