NanoMech Inc. Wins ‘Oscar of Innovation’

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 110 views 

A groundbreaking product manufactured by Springdale-based nanotechnology company NanoMech Inc. has garnered a significant industry honor, the R&D 100 Award.

The award, chosen by editors of R&D Magazine, identifies the top technology products of the year. It places TuffTek in an elite class of innovative products, recognizing it as one of the most technologically significant products introduced in the marketplace.

TuffTek is a coating for cutting tool inserts and wear parts made of carbides, metals and ceramics.

“2013 has been an excellent year for NanoMech,” chairman and CEO Jim Phillips said in a press release. “The company continues to gain momentum and receiving the ‘Oscar of Innovation’ [as the award is commonly referred to in the industry] is a tremendous honor for the NanoMech team.”

NanoMech, founded in 2002, is the only Arkansas company on the 2013 Top 100 list. The company creates advanced engineering materials through patent and patent-pending nano-engineered and nano-manufactured product development.

The R&D Top 100 list was established in 1963, according to the press release, and over the past 51 years has recognized such revolutionary products as the flashcube (1965), the automated teller machine (1973), the halogen lamp (1974), the fax machine (1975), the liquid crystal display (1980), the Kodak Photo CD (1991) and HDTV (1998). 

Earlier this year, the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association awarded NanoMech its Top Emerging Nano Innovator Award for the second year in a row.