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Interview with Mr Stuart Burchill

Mr Stuart Burchill
Mr Stuart Burchill
CEO and Co-Founder
Industrial-Nanotech, Inc.
Industrial-Nanotech, Inc.

Applications and benefits of nanotechnology in the textile industry are immense. With 'technology-wisdom' of nature i.e. Nanotechnology, our industry has begun to upgrade itself on this platform that enables faster production of more efficient, cleaner, stronger, lighter and quality products. No one can afford to ignore the dramatic developments that nanotechnology is producing in materials and the manner in which materials are designed and manufactured. There are too many effective solutions to problems and too many opportunities coming to the marketplace. Headquartered in Florida, USA, Industrial Nanotech Inc. develops and commercializes new and innovative applications for nanotechnology. The Company is rapidly emerging as a global nanoscience solutions and research leader. While global competition forces manufacturing companies to reduce production costs, where energy and metal prices are increasing rapidly, to make maximum use of the energy available and to install systems with much longer usable lifetime, the company offers solutions and products in both insulation and corrosion protection for industries like Textile, Restaurant, Automotive, Processing, and Airport. Mr Stuart Burchill is the Co-Founder and CEO of Industrial Nanotech. He is also the inventor of the Nansulate® line of coatings and has two other patents submitted to the USPTO. He began working with nanotechnology in 2002, after successfully managing a regional Florida medical journal. Prior to Industrial Nanotech, he worked extensively in real estate development, sales, and commercial property management. Mr Burchill’s early business experience focused on marketing for a publicly held company, Mcfaddin Ventures, which maintained an extensive portfolio of hotels, restaurants, and nightclub properties. Mr Burchill has also served as a consultant to high net worth individuals in the area of mid-sized business acquisitions. Interviewed by Face2Face team, Mr Stuart Burchill shares about application areas of Nanotech products into textile and clothing, and market strength of this emerging sector.

How do you envisage nanotech solutions emerging up for textile purpose? What is market strength of Nanotech driven products in particular to textile & clothing?

Our coatings have produced savings for textile facilities (one in particular is saving $40,000 US per month on LNG cost), and increased the efficiency of the plant equipment. The savings in energy also equate to a reduction in carbon emissions. We feel that this type of savings would easily qualify for a carbon credits project to qualify the reduction of emissions from energy use.

Other areas where nanotechnology is currently having an impact in the textile industry is in the clothing itself. One company produces a wrinkle resistant line that incorporates nanotechnology. One area of R&D that we are working on is to be able to add the unique insulating ability of our technology to clothing. Our technology is currently only available in coating form, however we are getting closer to a breakthrough which will allow much more versatility, and could allow the light-weight material to be used in outerwear, boots, and other textiles.

We have found that many companies are looking for a competitive edge, and the textile market is no different. Nanotechnology is the science that can offer this edge by creating new types of materials.

 

How does your company associate itself to textile and clothing industry?

Our company’s Nansulate High Heat coating was introduced to the textile industry in Turkey in the fall of 2005 by our distributor there, Kolorgen Ltd. Since then, our products have been used on equipment such as dyeing machines, heat exchanger and LNG burners, and energy reductions seen have been in the 20 percent range. Over 30 textile plants there have been introduced to Nansulate.

Which all solutions/products do you offer for select industry? What are their areas of application?

Our High Heat product is very useful for all types of textile machinery. It has been used to not only reduce energy used to heat equipment but has also increase dye lot consistency by insulating the machine in a more consistent manner than other types of insulation. Thin film nature of the coating allow it to be used in a variety of equipment where other types of insulation cannot be used. Because the coating also contains corrosion prevention it also protects the equipment from rust and corrosion. Nansulate is used as a thermal insulation to reduce energy costs and cool surface temperature of equipment.

Click for related CASE STUDIES : Nansulate translucent high heat: Why? Nansulate translucent high heat : Reactive dyeing process

Can you please draw a parallel picture of energy conservation through conventional tools and energy conservation by nanotech solutions in textile plants? What else are added advantages of Nano-Solutions?

Current conventional tools of energy conservation can be costly for factories. Solar panels are effective as energy savers, but the return on investment might be several years away. Any major plan for reduction generally involves downtime and conventional methods are geared toward alternate energy, such as solar or wind.

Where Nansulate differs is that it offers the opportunity to use less of the energy already in use, without major changes to a factory to install alternate energy systems. The return on investment can be seen in most cases in less than a year, and the downtime is minimal during installation.

Apart from insulations, what all are the application areas of Nanotech products into textile and clothing?

Nanotechnology currently in use in textiles and clothing includes adding stain and wrinkle resistance by use of nanotechnology.

Being a nano-pioneer, how does your company contribute to ecology and environmental policies?

Industrial Nanotech is a member of the US Green Building Council. We work to incorporate ecologically friendly policies into all the products that we make. We create non-hazardous, earth friendly coatings, and beyond that hope to make a major impact on reducing energy use through the nature of our technology.

For textile sector, in near future, what innovative products are likely to be heard of?

We hope in the near future through our current R&D to have the ability to add significant improvement in the form of light weight, highly effective insulation in textile and clothing. Other improvements on the horizon could allow for a color change of material if a certain criteria were met, such as presence of moisture or heat. Other additions may be of a more fashionable nature and allow for an animated look to T-shirts or other garments.

Published on: 12/11/2007

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.