Executive Summary

Inframat® Corporation ("IMC") is an emerging technology company founded in 1996 to develop nanostructured materials to improve performance and extend the life of coated components used throughout the global infrastructure. IMC has HQ in Farmington, CT, and has a 10,600 sq. ft. R&D and high bay pilot plant facility in Willington, CT. IMC also leases a thermal spray lab at UConn’s Precision Mfg. Inst. IMC is developing nanomaterials technology in 4 areas: nanocoatings, magnetic nanocomposites, medical implantable devices, and catalysts. To date, the Company has been funded over $8 MM primarily through customer-based financing, i.e. Government contract R&D and corporate joint development. Its rapid sales growth was recently recognized by a Y2002 Deloitte & Touche Connecticut Technology Fast50 Award, a first for a "pure play" nanotechnology company. Inframat® is a recognized leader in the nanotech community having achieved two key milestones - first shipment of products and a tangible intellectual property platform through issued patents.

The founding principals of Inframat® possess skills that span a wide area of expertise. Dr. James Hsiao is COB and has experience in trade in the Far East and founder and former Dean of the School of Business at Southern Conn. State Univ. Dr. David Reisner is President and CEO, is formally trained in the area of chemical physics (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and has established a reputation in growing technology companies. Dr. Danny Xiao, VP R&D, leads the company in the fabrication of nanostructured materials.

In the nanocoatings area, a major thrust is underway to commercialize high performance porous Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC)s, comprised of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and fabricated using a novel Solution Plasma Spray (SPS^TM) process. This patented process enables a dramatic improvement in thermal cycling durability for hot section components of industrial and aircraft turbines (jet engines).

Also in the nanocoatings area, Inframat has developed dense ceramic Nanox^TM powder feedstocks (e.g., alumina-titania), which have been certified (a "first" for nano) for shipboard repair by the Navy and appear on Navy blue prints. This product was recognized in 2001 by an R&D100 Award, and can be manufactured in ton quantities. A key patented technology is based upon the finding that nanostructured coatings can be fabricated by the industrial technique of thermal spray using powder feedstocks comprised of nanoscale grains. IMC is a pioneer in a broad range of nanostructured coating applications, including thermal barrier coatings (zirconia), and wear-resistant coatings, such as tungsten carbide/cobalt and its alloys (Infralloy^TM, Nanalloy®, and Nanox^TM).

IMC’s other nanomaterials development is ongoing in the area of magnetic nanocomposites, where Inframat has demonstrated the quantum mechanical effect "exchange coupling" in very dense consolidated materials that retain their nanostructure, resulting in dramatic improvements in magnetic parameters especially for high frequency applications. Principal funding has derived from the USAF, DARPA, NSF, and NASA. Inframat is also developing novel processes under NIH funding to coat titanium implants (hip and knee joints) using nano hydroxyapatite and alumina titania, which increase adhesion and reduce joint wear. In the environmental area, NSF has funded Inframat to develop a green electroplating technique (n-WC/Co) to eliminate hexavalent chrome plating as well as a low-cost high surface area nanofibrous manganese dioxide for catalysis and filtration.