EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA - Surface Engineered Products, a subsidiary of The Westaim Corporation, today announced seven orders for its CoatAlloyTM-1100 coating, indicating strong demand from the ethylene industry for the new coating product.
Since CoatAlloyTM-1100 was officially launched in March 2000, Equistar Chemicals, Nova Chemicals, Formosa Plastics, Williams Olefins and BP Amoco have placed orders with Surface Engineered Products for full furnaces. In addition, Copesul of Brazil has placed a multi-furnace order for naphtha and ethane feedstock furnaces, signaling recognition of the potential for enhanced productivity of the coating for both types of furnaces.
“The ethylene industry had been waiting for us to introduce CoatAlloyTM-1100 and has responded very favorably to this new higher temperature product,” said Ted Redmond, President of Surface Engineered Products. “We have filled our production and fabrication pipeline and expect ongoing revenue growth from this new product.”
The new coating, which allows end-of-run operating temperatures of up to 1100° C and has a thermal stability of 1150° C, provides anti-coking performance for ethylene furnaces at temperatures 40° C higher than previously attainable using the first generation CoatAlloyTM coated products.
“We are pleased to be one of the launch customers for the CoatAlloyTTM-1100 coating,” said Steve Waring of Equistar Chemicals LP, La Porte, Texas. “With the original CoatAlloyTTM coated furnace that we installed in 1999, we were able to increase throughput, conversion and run length, giving us the confidence to proceed with another furnace order.”
“Four of the CoatAlloyTM-1100 orders announced today are from repeat customers,” said John Page, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Surface Engineered Products. “Our initial customers understood the potential of CoatAlloyTM coated products and made a commitment early on. They are now realizing the economic benefits from their initial orders, which has led to further commitments to install more CoatAlloyTM coated furnaces.”
The first CoatAlloyTM-1100 coated furnaces began shipping in the third quarter of 2000. The majority of the revenue from these projects will be realized in the fourth quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2001.
CoatAlloyTM coated furnaces provide large economic benefits by significantly increasing run time while at the same time increasing conversion. An increase in conversion in an uncoated furnace results in significant decreases in run time because of the build up of carbon, or coking. CoatAlloyTM coated furnaces do not suffer from decreases in run length as conversion is increased because CoatAlloyTM coating technology significantly mitigates catalytic coking.
About Surface Engineered Products
Surface Engineered Products develops, manufactures and markets proprietary products and services which increase throughput and reduce operating costs and increase productivity in the high-severity operating environments found in the petrochemical and other process industries. Its first coating product, sold under the brand CoatAlloy, targets the ethylene industry, which loses $2 billion in annual production due to the build-up of coke (carbon) in ethylene furnace tubes. CoatAlloyTM coatings for tubes and fittings reduce the rate of coking in ethylene pyrolysis furnace tubes thereby increasing run lengths by 2 to 5 times. Lower coking rates also allow ethylene producers to increase furnace feed rates and raise ethylene yield, resulting in increases in plant throughput of up to 15 per cent. This leads to higher revenues, lower unit-production costs and overall increased profitability.
About The Westaim Corporation
The Westaim Corporation is a technology accelerator that launches exceptional technologies into the marketplace. In addition to Surface Engineered Products, its technology investments include Westaim Biomedical Corp., which has developed an infection control technology for use in the treatment of wounds, iFire Technology Inc., which has developed a revolutionary low-cost flat panel display, and Savvion, a leader in e-business management software. Westaim’s common shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol WEDX and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol WED.
*CoatAlloy is a trademark of Surface Engineered Products Corp.
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For more information, contact:
Tony Johnston
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
(403) 234-3103
info@westaim.com
www.westaim.com
Ted Redmond
Surface Engineered Products
(780) 431-4152
tredmond@westaim.com
www.surfaceengineered.com
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the Company can give no assurance that these expectations are correct. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements, including financial considerations and those predicting the timing and market acceptance of future products. The Company disclaims any intention or obligations to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Statement.
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