Oct 15 2010
Integral Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ITKG) (“Integral”), an emerging leader in electrically conductive plastics, announced today that one of the world’s leading automakers, through a Tier 1 automotive supplier, has ordered sample parts made from the company’s ElectriPlast™ material. The ElectriPlast™ part will allow them to meet weight goals for a 2012 model year car which will begin production in the first half of 2011.
This delivery of sample parts is the first step towards shipping final product to the Tier 1 for inclusion in the final production model.
Our ElectriPlast™ material has been approved by the Tier 1 as well as by the manufacturer. Integral has shipped initial quantities of its proprietary ElectriPlast™ resin pellets to the Tier 1 automobile parts supplier in order for them to mold and test parts. The ElectriPlast™ part would replace a metal part used to shield the car’s power electronics and provides a nearly 50% weight savings over the metal part currently being used, while also providing superior electrical shielding.
William Robinson, Integral’s CEO, commented, “This is a tremendous opportunity and a major milestone for our company. We are excited about this for a variety of reasons, but what it boils down to is that we believe we can potentially gain traction quickly in a market segment that is very attractive for Integral. With over 60 million automobiles produced annually, worldwide, there is clearly an opportunity to generate substantial growth for our company with just a handful of design wins. Our goal is to have parts made from our material specified in more makes and models as we work at the same time to increase the number of parts made from ElectriPlast™ within each vehicle. We see an opportunity for multiple applications of ElectriPlast for shielding or conducting within the automobile of today and even more in the hybrid/electric vehicle of the future, the growth potential is enormous. Our first priority is to meet the needs of our earliest customers and then to increase awareness more broadly across the industry and up through the supply chain.”
ElectriPlast™ can replace metal in a multitude of parts ranging from battery covers, connectors and fuses, to shielded plugs and connectors. By utilizing ElectriPlast™ for shielding applications alone, manufacturers are able to reduce the weight of a vehicle by as much as fourteen pounds or more, while improving electrical shielding performance and reducing parts cost and shipping weight.
Robinson also stated, “We’ve worked very closely with our Tier 1 customer and others in the automobile industry to develop custom blends of material that are specifically designed to meet the needs of automobile manufacturers for multiple types of parts. “ “In this particular case, it’s worth noting that ElectriPlast™ was the only way for the manufacturer to meet their weight specification while also achieving the required electrical performance.“
According to Robinson, “automakers now have, for the first time, the opportunity to permanently replace heavy metal parts with lower cost, lighter weight and better performing, for either conducting or shielding ElectriPlast™ parts. The ElectriPlast™ pellets can be used to form parts of virtually any shape or size, providing design flexibility for engineers and enabling shorter development cycles that add to the savings for manufacturers. This is accomplished by the fact that ElectriPlast™ can easily be used in low cost injection molding or extrusion facilities with little or no change in dies or tooling.”
ElectriPlast™ has a multitude of uses in a variety of markets. Its electrical properties make it ideal for radio frequency antennae of all types, which is increasingly important in our broadband wireless world. Large market segments that share many of the same requirements of automobile manufacturers include aviation and aerospace where weight, durability and electrical shielding performance are always high priority design considerations.