By Genevieve Oger
Small Times Correspondent
Dec. 11, 2001 — A successful nanobusiness cannot grow out of technology alone. Business know-how is just as important as scientific and technical expertise. Germany’s Nanogate is keenly aware of this.
The scientists who created the company have been researching the technology for 10 years. But according to Ralf Zastrau, Nanogate’s chief executive, the company only
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| With Nanogate’s self-organizing nanocomposites, the coating is applied and the solvent evaporates (figure 1). Then during the hardening process, several components organize themselves at the surface (figure 2). Next, the anti-sticking agents position themselves on top, nanoparticles with binding qualities keep the outside and inside layers of film together, much like the white part of an Oreo keeps the cookie together, and the anchor agents fix themselves strongly at the surface (figure 3). |
“When I joined the company, the scientists thought they had 90 percent of the job done because they had developed a prototype in their labs,” he recalls. “But it’s quite the opposite — 10 percent of the work was done.” The company still needed to manufacture real products, market them and resolve customer issues.
Today, Nanogate has four commercial applications on the market. The company markets a coating for bathrooms and kitchens that makes them easier to clean, a new wax for skis, an industrial coating to protect car and printing equipment and a ceramic bit that can ignite things without a transformer.
Maintaining a balance between scientific and business expertise is a common issue with many micro and nanotechnology firms. “It’s 100 percent necessary to have both components in a company,” says Hans Sigrist, senior expert, at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology.
“Micro, nano and biotech has grown out of academia, from people who often think the job is done once they have come up with the concept; but it takes a lot to take the project from idea, to product,” Sigrist says.
This is a concept that Denmark’s National Center for Micro and Nanotechnology tries to make its students understand. The center’s mission is to act as a bridge between academia and industry. Professors like François Grey encourage science students with startup projects to place a businessperson at the head of the company.
“Most of them accept this pretty well, but scientists are proud people; it’s difficult for some of them to fully respect someone who doesn’t have the scientific knowledge they have,” Grey says.
Sometimes the meeting of minds can be stormy. Zastrau’s arrival at Saarbruecken-based Nanogate was a little tense at first. He forced the scientists on board to think in practical terms and to make cash flow a priority — something they had paid scant attention to before. The company needed to generate revenue fast. That’s why it started by commercializing applications that improved existing products rather than creating entirely new products.
“The challenge we set out for ourselves was to develop materials in a matter of months rather than years,” Zastrau says.
The company’s first product is a nanothin coating that makes surfaces easier to clean in kitchens and bathrooms. The coating is around 100 nanometers thick — thick enough to be effective, yet thin enough to feel exactly like the original surface whether it is a kitchen tile or a shower stall. “Imagine invisible Teflon — you can’t see it; you can’t feel it; but it’s there,” Zastrau explains.
Specialists call this kind of coating a “self-organizing structure” because it contains both adhesive and anti-adhesive properties that organize themselves within the material. To create it, Nanogate breaks a composite material, made mostly of alcohol and sand, down to nanoparticles. The adhesive particles naturally move toward the surface on which the coating must stick. Simultaneously, the anti-adhesive nanoparticles move toward the air — preventing dirt and grease from attaching themselves to the ultra-thin protective film.
Nanoparticles with binding qualities keep the outside and inside layers of film together, much like the white part of an Oreo keeps the cookie together.
The end result creates a bathroom or kitchen surface that is both hydrophobic and oleophobic — meaning that water and oil slide off, just like water slides off the feathers of a duck. “That way you can forget about heavy detergents; you simply wipe the surface with a sponge to clean it,” Zastrau says. The technology is currently being used by bath companies like Duravit and Duscholux.
Consumers can also buy the product individually to protect existing surfaces with a protective film. The product comes in different forms and retails for around $30.
Nanogate has used the same adhesive and anti-adhesive principle to create its Cerax Nanowax, a registered brand. The product has been tested by the American, Canadian, German and Swiss national ski teams and is now sold in specialty stores in around 10 countries.
“The nanowax lasts longer than anything else we have seen, provides perfect turning ability and is easier to put on than traditional wax,” Zastrau says. A one-time application of this alcohol-based wax retails for $2.20 and a 50 milliliter bottle for $18 dollars.
The company is using the same kind of thinking in its industrial surface coatings. Nanogate currently sells engine parts that have been coated with a glass-like, heat-resistant protective film. It prevents dirt and oil from damaging the engine parts, keeping the motor running more smoothly and reducing the need for servicing.
“We apply the coating and deliver the parts to the automaker, so we are now integrated into the value chain,” Zastrau says. “We already work with one European brand on this and are in discussions with others.” The same process is used for the company’s industrial printing film, which coats printing presses to keep them clean and to reduce idle time.
Nanogate’s fourth product is wholly different. The company has developed a nanoceramic bit that can ignite anything without the use of a transformer. As soon as an ordinary electrical volt is supplied, the bit jumps to 1,400 degrees Celsius. The heat and energy provided can be used to ignite both residential and industrial gas heating installations.
Nanogate enjoyed sales of $2.2 million in 2000. That number is expected to jump to $3.5 million for this fiscal year. The company has made no profits yet, but break-even point is expected in 2004 at the latest. However, if Nanogate spun off the business generated by its four products, the independent unit would already be profitable.
The company is investing heavily in research and development, which weighs down the bottom line. Researchers are particularly interested in the field of nanostructured electronics and optics.
Zastrau admits that the technical people who make up the company are essential to moving the business forward. Out of the 60 or so people on staff, 25 do research and development. Around 15 work on production and another 15 on sales and management. This even balance is vital.
“The key to success in this business is getting all the actors — the engineers, the chemists and the business people — to work together in interdisciplinary teams,” he says. “Normally chemists like to work with chemists and physicists with physicists, but that is not the way things work best.”