NSF Funds Tech Startup Work on Ultra-Durable Machinery Coating

SurfTec LLC, a University of Arkansas-affiliated company, has been awarded a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue development of a nano-coating technology that could significantly reduce wear on manufacturing equipment in industries like food production and pharmaceuticals.
The Phase I grant will go to fund the proof-of-concept stage of the technology in the application of ball bearings used in wash-down-duty electric motors, where equipment must be sanitized or washed down after each use, said Samuel Beckford, co-founder and chief executive officer of SurfTec.
If all goes to plan over the next year, SurfTec will then apply for a Phase II grant, to fund preparation for production.
The patent-pending product is a low-friction, more durable version of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), better known by the trademarked brand name, Teflon. Beckford said the material he works with bears little resemblance to the scratch-resistant kitchenware version, as it’s a softer Teflon, used as a lubricant.
One key of Beckford’s work is improving the adhesiveness of PTFE coating. He started toying with the idea of the technology as a UA graduate student about six years ago.
While taking a biomimetics class, which focuses on the imitation of systems found in nature to solve human problems, he studied a researcher who was able to reproduce a synthetic form of an adhesive protein secreted by mussels that allows them to adhere to different materials, and he decided to try it on PTFE.
“We tested it and had amazing results the first time around, and with multiple tests and more optimization, it got better,” Beckford said. “We were able to improve the durability 2,000-fold so far.”
Beckford earned his Ph.D. in micro-electronics and photonics in 2014 and co-founded SurfTec last November with Min Zou, associate professor in the UA mechanical engineering department.
Recently, Corey Thompson and Drew Fleming, executives at fellow startup WattGlass LLC, became co-owners of SurfTec.
“We brought Corey on because of his experience with these types of grants, and the startup process. He does a lot on the business side,” Beckford said.
Beckford said he felt encouraged to start his company after watching Thompson form WattGlass, which makes antireflective, self-cleaning coatings for glass. Thompson is a fellow micro-electronics and photonics Ph.D. who was one year ahead of Beckford in graduate school. 
SurfTec recently set up shop at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park. The company now employs one staff member.