Hello my fellow shareholders... its been a while but I've been traveling. I spent a couple of days with the Lenox Management at the US Dept of Energy trade show in DC. What a great show for the Company. GM, Kodak, US NAVY, etc all spent a lot a time at their booth... I'll tell you what we have...a WINNER!!! I see a huge spike in Sales which has all ready started and will continue throughout the 1999 year!!!
Hey Micheal tell us more about your relationship with LENP. Your story doesn't seem to match that of the company's....
ANYWAY here what the US federal Dept of Energy thinks about LENOX POLYMERS:
Department of Energy-Office of Industrial Technologies-Division of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy
Environmentally-Friendly Polymer Replaces
Petroleum-Based Resins
Safer Resin Produced by Recycling Waste From the Pulp
and Paper Industry
You can't get blood from a stone; but, you can get glue from a tree. Why
would you want tree glue? Because this glue, called lignin, is an
environmentally friendly replacement for some petroleum-based materials.
Petroleum is a versatile material, a key ingredient in the production of
thousands of everyday products including the plastic found in garbage and
grocery bags, computers, telephones, cars, and furniture. Unfortunately,
some petroleum products can be hazardous. Phenolic resins and urea
formaldehyde resins, for example, emit formaldehyde during production
creating a dangerous work environment for employees and for the consumers
of these products. Formaldehyde, a suspected carcinogen in humans, has been
associated with Sick Office Syndrome. As a result, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) has established exposure limits to protect
workers from the effects of formaldehyde. Petroleum use also contributes to
pollution, emitting greenhouse gases into the air. Other disadvantages of
petroleum are its durability (heat and sunlight cause it to diminish its
properties) and flammability.
Solution
Ken Kurple, a polymer chemist, found a replacement material for
petroleum-based resins in tree glue. After winning an initial $61,739 from the
Inventions and Innovation Program in 1984, Kurple opened his company Lenox
Polymers, Ltd., and began searching for a new material in black liquor, a
by-product of the pulp and paper industry.
The pulp and paper industry generates 500 billion pounds of black liquor
annually. When a tree is shredded to make wood products, such as paper, the
wood fibers are extracted and the leftover material, the black liquor, is
normally incinerated as a waste product. Black liquor is an environmentally
unfriendly by-product of the paper pulping industry. The tree glue, or lignin,
which holds the wood fibers together in the tree, becomes part of the black
liquor. Kurple analyzed it and developed a patented process for separating the
lignin out and improving its qualities to form a resin viable for manufacturing.
Kurple's process reduces the negative impact of black liquor and creates an
environmentally friendly new product.
The first step in his patented process is lowering the pH (alkalinity) of the
black liquor and making the lignin insoluble. Then the lignin is filtered out.
Once the lignin has been filtered, impurities are removed through a special
purification process and special ingredients are then added. The lignin, now a
new resin, is suitable for use. Kurple found immediate uses for his new
“natural polymer”-material used as a building block to produce other products-
in the foundry, urethane foam, particle board, and plywood industries.
Benefits
Environmentally friendly
Non-toxic
Formaldehyde free
Low cost
Improved performance
Renewable resource
Decreased production time
Lowers disposal costs
Results
Recycled from a renewable resource, the lignin polymer is environmentally
friendly and emits no hazardous materials during production or use. The Lenox
polymer has durability, flame resistance, and cost advantages. Uses have been
found for the new series of lignin-based resins in the foundry, automotive,
plastics, and marine industries. The lignins are also used as binders for
plywood and particle board used in the construction and furniture industry.
Kurple's new polymer is now used in over 20 different products including canoe
seats, car spoilers, and an aerosol spray which increases tire traction. Lenox
Polymers has licensing or partnership agreements with companies in Germany,
Japan, the United States, and Canada. Lenox is working with PPG industries
for further marketing, development, and supply to the automotive market.
They have also won a Michigan Leading Edge Technology Award. Sales for the
company topped $500,000 in 1997.
For Additional Information Contact:
Office of Industrial Technologies
Energy efficiency and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, D.C. 20585
(202) 586-2079
(202) 586-7114 fax |
