Breaking Records

Tech Line has broken sales records for the last three months in a row. Normally February is the peak sales month of the year and business gently declines until Aug/Sept when it begins to climb again. This has been the pattern for the last 10 years. This year sales have not dipped and in fact have climbed with each month not only being higher in sales than the same month in the preceding year, but higher than the preceding month as well.

This is an indication of the strong demand for coatings in the market. We are hearing from manufacturers who say they can't keep up with demand for coated products. In addition we see expanded sales of internal engine coatings. This is a portion for the market that we expect to see strong sales growth in for many years to come. Internal Engine coating sales have always been strong, but have lagged behind Exhaust System coatings. Now we are beginning to see a significant increase in the sales of these coatings.

TLTD Water BasedWe have just finished our initial formulation efforts to produce a water based TLTD. While we have been able to formulate lubricants and thermal barriers coatings, a dispersant coating has proven more difficult. Initial results are very promising. Tech Line is endeavoring to reformulate all of its solvent based coatings into either straight water based or water emulsion formulations. This will reduce the regulatory burdens both in shipping and in application.

TECHTREX™

The new PEEK™ based coatings are now available. Tech Line has produced 5 basic formulations. They are as follows;

71000 straight PEEK™ emulsion * 72000 containing PFA * 73000 containing PTFE * 74000 containing Extreme Wear Resistant fillers 75000 containing High Pressure Lubricants

Products followed by an * contain FDA acceptable ingredients.

The potential for these new coating is unlimited. Virtually every industry has applications. We DO NOT recommend these coatings in medial or human implantation applications. 71000 series formulations have better corrosion and chemical resistance than Stainless Steel and will allow the manufacture of parts from mild steel, which when coated with a TECHTREX™ 71000 formulation will have superior characteristics.

HOT ROD MAGAZINE

The June 2004 issue has a nice article on Engine Coatings for the Do-It-Yourself market. The response has been very good. In addition to requests for more information and orders, we have already been able to refer several callers to Applicators who can offer them the coating service for specific coatings not available to the general public. Applicators should take advantage of the continuing interest the magazines are creating through stories like these.

Send e-mail to the editor: Leonard Warren