UK firm wins backing for butyl dry suit advance

PRW staff report, By John Whitehead

Lancashire, UK - Lancashire-based Hi-Tech Polymer Proofings has been awarded a research grant valued at £58 000 (Euro 66 000 ) by the North West Development Agency to pursue the development of a range of tri laminate butyl rubber dry suit materials.

The technology, for which a patent is pending, won the grant after an independent expert gave the view that: “If successful, the proposed project would lead to a significant technical advance and be of strategic importance in that it would protect UK industry.”

The positive view was confirmed by an NWDA instigated intellectual property search at the Newport-based UK Intellectual Property Office whose conclusion was that: “Overall, the application is highly innovative.”

The diver's suit material comprises a combination of new and conventional tri laminate linings with the addition of an anti swell titanium dioxide impregnated butyl rubber compound; the inner face has a thin metallised aluminium deposited layer giving infra red heat reflection back into the suit.

Hi-Tech will now develop, test and trial a range of tri laminate materials to be sold under the Hi-Tech Alumatech name. “In addition to this production we intend to develop other rubberised fabrics incorporating various polymer types using the same technology for other end applications ie survival, military, fire brigade and industrial clothing markets which will be supported by appropriate patents,” says managing director Duncan Cannon, who has been in the rubber coatings industry for more than 40 years.

Hi-Tech Polymer Proofings, set up in 1998, supplies rubber coated fabrics to a variety of firms such as Dunlop, Trelleborg, British Vita and Day International. It is also the only approved supplier of a bromobutyl rubber coated ripstop nylon to the US for air force pilot NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) hoods.

The firm also supplies material for the Gilbert rugby match balls.

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Story from PRW (a Crain publication)