Abakan Inc. has announced several recent developments related to its PComP protective coatings. Abakan has completed field testing of a PComP coating at one of the largest steel companies in Mexico and as a result anticipates a commercial order of the product. Meanwhile, Abakan is now testing its PComP coatings in Taiwan in cooperation with its partner in Asia, UP Scientech Materials Corp. Furthermore, Abakan has received its first repeat orders from an international oil field services customer in Canada.

In Mexico, roller screens (rolls) used to separate green iron ore pellets were coated with Abakan’s PComP-W protective coating and installed alongside of rollers protected with standard coating products. After 6 months of side-by-side utilization, Abakan’s PComP coated roller screens looked as good as new, showing almost no sign of abrasion or dimensional loss and did not need to be replaced. By comparison, the rolls protected with standard coatings were absolutely battered, showed a dimensional loss of 6mm to 15mm and required replacement. Abakan’s agent in Mexico and Central America, Metallurgic Solutions, S.A. de CV, is now negotiating the terms of a commercial order.

From Taiwan, Abakan’s partner in Asia, UP Scientech, intends to launch PComP coatings into Asian markets. Abakan expects UP Scientech’s testing and validation process to be completed over the next few months with initial sales in Asia by mid-2015. UP Scientech, with an established business presence in over 35 countries is expected to become a gateway to opening marketing channels that may lead to global sales of Abakan’s PComP coatings.

In Western Canada, an Abakan customer who had been using PComP coatings primarily to coat pumps used in oil sands production is now also using PComP to coat mandrels, plungers and other oil field components for one of the world’s largest oilfield services companies. PComP coated plungers, which are currently being field tested, have already shown a 3 times longer life over 9 months and counting as compared to plungers coated with conventional tungsten carbide coatings which must be replaced every 3 to 4 months. Abakan expects to be qualified as a supplier of thermal spray coatings for this and possibly other large oilfield services companies within the next 3 to 9 months, which would lead to a significant increase in the use of PComP coatings to protect oilfield components.

“The demand for our PComP materials is ever increasing and it has now become absolutely essential for us to scale-up production to meet the growing demand,” said Abakan CEO Robert Miller. “We expect to complete the first-stage of PComP production scale-up, from 6 tons/year to 18 tons/year, before the end of February, 2015. The initiation of Phase II of the production ramp up, to 160 tons/year, in a new Abakan production facility, may commence within the next couple of months. We are confident that PComP’s ability to extend the useful life of the material coated, while significantly reducing downtime and associated maintenance costs, will drive early adoption of our products, resulting in a significant increase in sales,” concluded Miller.