Patent Announcement

7 Sep 2006 07:02

Hardide PLC07 September 2006 Press Release 7 September 2006 Hardide plc ("Hardide" or the "Company") New US Patent Announcement Adhesive Coating for Industrial Diamonds Hardide plc (AIM:HDD), the provider of unique surface engineering technology, ispleased to announce that it has been granted the US patent for a new tungstencarbide adhesive and protective coating for industrial diamond crystals. This development opens up a global multi-million dollar market for Hardide plcin diamond tools for the oil and gas, mining and construction industries. The non-porous Hardide coating offers an unprecedented combination of adhesiveand protective properties for diamond crystals which are used in drilling andsaw tools in global oil, gas, mining and construction applications. The newcoating enables the retention of diamonds in tool metal for longer; protects thediamonds from aggressive metals used in tool manufacture which compromise theirperformance, and strengthens diamonds by filling-in defects within the crystals. By addressing these issues the new Hardide coating will offer significant costsavings to drilling, mining and construction operations where tool durabilityand performance are important and downtime for tool replacement is expensive. Jim Murray-Smith, Chief Executive of Hardide plc, said: "This notabledevelopment is a result of our research and development strategy to ensure weremain at the forefront of the next generation of ultra-high performancecoatings. The global diamond tool market has estimated annual sales of US$5billion and is based largely in the oil and gas sector where we have a proventrack record and fast-growing customer base around the world. Our plant inHouston, Texas opened on 1 September 2006 and is ideally located to capitaliseon the potential of this coating in the US oil and gas market." The Company has also been granted patents for the coating in China, Australiaand Russia and has patents pending in EU (Europatent), Canada and Korea. The new coating has been in development for ten years and has been successfullytrialled with a major global energy industry company in the US. Patent number: US 7,022,403 B1 - adhesive composite coating for diamond anddiamond-containing materials and method for producing said coating. - Ends - For further information:Hardide plcJim Murray Smith, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0) 1869 353 830jmurray-smith@hardide.com www.hardide.com Daniel Stewart & Company plcPaul Shackleton, Corporate Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7 776 6550 www.danielstewart.co.uk Media enquiries:AbchurchChris Lane / Laura Riascos de Castro Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700chris.lane@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange