University of Western Australia spin off technology company Advanced Nanotechnology Limited has received recognition for its nanomaterials work with an award win in Miami, Florida.
University of Western Australia spin off technology company Advanced Nanotechnology
Limited has received recognition for its nanomaterials work with an award win in Miami, Florida.
Less than nine months after its ASX listing, Advanced Nanotechnology received the Frost & Sullivan's 2005 Excellence in Technology of the Year Award in the field of nanomaterials.
Advanced Nanotechnology CEO Dr Paul McCormick said the award provides international recognition of our new nanomaterials manufacturing technology and commitment to growth through further research and development.
Frost & Sullivan is a New York-based group established in 1961 to publish world-class marketing
consulting information and intelligence on emerging high-technology and industrial markets. In
announcing the award, Frost & Sullivan said Advanced Nanotechnology's path breaking efforts
towards the development of MCP technology has brought a new paradigm to nanopowder
production.
The Excellence in Technology Award is bestowed on a company which has pioneered the
development and introduction of an innovative technology into the market and has either
impacted, or has the potential to impact, several market sectors.
MCP™ is a patented, solid-state technology that has enabled the production of nanopowders
with controlled size, shape, surface and chemistry. They have high production rates and the
downstream processing technique allows the dispersion of MCP™ nanopowders into a variety of
organic matrices.
Advanced Nanotechnology's products are transparent, a result of the company's ability to
produce small particles that can be dispersed into a transparent medium. MCP™-based
nanoproducts include ZinClear®, NanoZ®, Alusion® and Cercat™.
- ZinClear® is a dispersion of zinc oxide nanoparticles for UV protection in cosmetics and
other personal care applications. The product is used in the production of transparent
sunscreens with high levels of UV protection.
- NanoZ® is based on a similar concept to ZinClear, i.e. it is a transparent UV blocking zinc
oxide dispersion for the protection of timber, and hence finds application in wood coatings.
- Alusion® consists of platelets of aluminium oxide used in cosmetics to create soft focus
effects.
All of these products are now being applied to the production of consumer products being sold to
retail customers through global partners in developing markets worldwide but particularly
targeting Europe and Asia.
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Advanced Nanotechnology's other main product is Cercat™, a cerium oxide nanoparticle
dispersion which is a key component in Oxonica plc's EnviroxTM - a fuel additive to improve
engine efficiency and promote environmentally cleaner burning of diesel fuel. EnviroxTM is being
used in the UK and New Zealand bus fleets of Stagecoach Group and is also being sold at the
bowser for the first time through a downstream operator in the Philippines market.
Advanced Nanotechnology was one of the first Australian companies to operate in the unique
and emerging nanotechnology sector after being formed in 1997. Its production facilities are
based in the Perth industrial area of Welshpool. The company originally arose out of research
and development work at the University of Western Australia (UWA). UWA retains a significant
shareholding in the company.
Highlights of Advanced Nanotechnology's first financial reports to shareholders last month -
following its public listing in February - included:
- Sales revenue for 2004-05 was $1.5 million - up 74%. Revenue was up for all product lines.
- First quarter sales for 2005-06 were approx. $804,000 (unaudited) - representing 53% of the
total sales for the previous financial year.
- The number and value of customers is increasing.
- Further research and development is seeing new products being developed and introduced
into industrial markets.
The company's newest product line is PlatyLTM, the first advanced industrial coatings which
incorporate platelet alumina. The product provides a combination of abrasion and chemical
resistance, with low adhesion and low friction properties. PlatyLTM coatings are currently being
evaluated by a major European manufacturer of die casting equipment and a Malaysian
manufacturer of moulded rubber products.
