Yahia Djaoued believes his research at the Université de Moncton has significant commerical potential. And when you’re targeting a multi-billion-dollar industry, that could mean big business.

Djaoued, a chemistry professor who chairs the science department at UdeM’s Shippagan campus, has partnered in a research project with Inex Intercalaire, Inc., a Montreal–based manufacturer of plastic extrusions. (Extrusions include items such as weather stripping and window frames).

Djaoued has developed a novel protective coating for plastic outdoor extrusions which he says provides an effective barrier against water vapour, argon gas leakage and chemical fogging. The coating also reduces discoloration caused by sunlight exposure.
Funding for the two-year $269,700-research project includes more than $55,000 from Inex and $52,000 from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation. According to Djaoued, the specialty coatings market was worth $6 billion in 2008. With his technology now finalized, the focus has shifted to commercialization.

Inex already sells its patented PVC extrusions in North America and the U.K. The new coatings could help boost the company’s market share. “Inex believes that they would be the first to market such a technology,” Djaoued says. “Inex would expect to quickly double its sales and thereafter increase it several fold, in particular in European markets.”

There are also plans for related spin-off enterprises focused on custom protective coatings, perhaps involving chemical products, pharmaceuticals, and biological fluids. Those could lead to opportunities for New Brunswick manufacturing, Djaoued added.
“(I) see few impediments to the adoption and commercialisation of the technology. No direct product competitors have been identified.”