Nanotech proponents think big
Paul E. Teague
Purchasing February 16, 2006
Chewing gum that tastes like chocolate candy.
Sunscreen that doesn't show.
Socks that wick up moisture and don't smell.
Adhesives that turn themselves off when you want to disassemble a product.
Automotive paints that change color on demand, to change your car's looks.
An ink replacement that, with the help of a computer chip, changes the text on a printed page.
Futuristic as some of those possibilities sound, they're among the products that researchers may someday bring to market through the application of nanotechnology. In fact, some leading manufacturers are working on a few of those possibilities now. DuPont and Lucent, for example, reportedly are researching the ink-replacement technology, while Degussa is exploring the use of nano particles to make adhesives lose their grip for easy disassembly.
Those and other companies see a big future for such a tiny technology. Nanotechnology involves materials that are about one-billionth of a meter in size, or 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
"The technology is still in its infancy," says Roger Shamel, founder of the Lexington, Mass. nanotechnology research firm Consulting Resources Corp. (CRC). "It's like biotechnology was 25 years ago, but growing fast." And that means purchasing and supply-chain professionals should learn what they can about the technology's potential and which companies are leading the effort to bring nanotechnology to market.
One measure of the growth of the technology: the enormous amount of money some corporations are throwing at the technology. New York-based Lux Research estimates that leading corporations spent $3.8 billion in research and development for nanotechnology in 2004 alone because of its potential for improving existing products, creating new products and cutting manufacturing costs. Lux says nanotechnology's impact will equal that of IT and exceed biotech by 10 times.
But that's sometime in the future. Today, a few companies like Pittsburgh-based PPG are using nanotechnology for less futuristic— but still interesting—practical applications, like energy-efficient, low-emissive glass. PPG says its SunClean self-cleaning glass, for example, incorporates nanotechnology that helps break down and loosen dirt and causes water to sheet evenly over the glass instead of beading. That capability helps flush the glass surface clean and accelerates drying.
PPG is also partnering with other organizations to further develop nanotechnology. One effort pairs the company with the Idaho National Laboratory in a quest to develop nanoparticles in a small-scale plasma reactor. The goal, according to PPG Progress, one of the company's internal publications, is to commercialize a process for manufacturing materials made of nanoparticles within the next several years.
Other applications from other companies are also already in place. Lux Research says nanotechnology has made its mark in electronics (microchips with lines of features on them only 90 nanometers wide) and synthetic zeolites (man-made crystalline porous materials for making detergents, catalyzing chemical processing and dessicants), among other uses.
As with any new technology, buyers should keep an eye on its development. Jim Polak, director of general purchasing at PPG, advises that buyers make sure they know which suppliers can meet their and their customers' requirements, which spend money on R&D, which have patents, and what the companies' finances look like. "And, of course," he says, "they should make sure they know which suppliers can reliably produce and deliver the product."
It's not too soon to start amassing that information. CRC's Shamel says the nano industry growth is huge. "No industry has grown at more than 40-50% per year," he says, "but nanotechnology will. It will be a $9 billion arena by 2010 and could hit $50 billion in 2015."
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