Wishing All a Prosperous and Peaceful 2009
We take this opportunity to wish all of you, our readers and advertisers, a healthy and prosperous New Year, and we do so starting on an optimistic note. The last several months have been tumultuous, causing widespread fear and anxiety. We – as an industry – MUST focus and look to the future.
We take this opportunity to wish all of you, our readers and advertisers, a healthy and prosperous New Year, and we do so starting on an optimistic note. The last several months have been tumultuous, causing widespread fear and anxiety. We – as an industry – MUST focus and look to the future.
We will survive this period in time, and now, more than ever before, we need to remain very optimistic and put our efforts, energies and ideas into innovation and collaboration. New technologies and research tools are key to growth and development; those companies willing to support innovative research with an eye to the future, focused on years and not solely the next quarter, will survive and be leaders.
Investments today are high in some R&D sectors and moving rapidly forward. Nanotechnology is one such sector. One December report I read indicated that the National Nanotechnology Centre (Nanotec) plans to make Thailand the focus of emerging nanotechnology in the region. Their plan is to use the technology to develop new products to support various industries, and they believe within four years they will have more than 50 nanotechnology companies and over 300 patents – an example of investment in the future.
Industrial Nanotech, Inc. just announced an order from a China real estate company for its patented Nansulate® nanotechnology-based coatings. The value is worth close to a million U.S. dollars. More information regarding this technology can be found in our feature archives at www.pcimag.com. But again the point is that these specialty coatings contain nano-based materials that provide significant advantages. Innovative technology will succeed and find markets.
A few more investment examples – The University of Leeds has signed a Research Agreement with King Saud Univeristy in Saudia Arabia to develop collaborations in nanoscience, technology and engineering with the King Abjullah Institute of Nanotechnology. RUSNANO (The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies) signed agreements with the leading Russian scientific institutions to define key directions for development of the nanoindustry in various industries. Projects are aimed at commercialization of nanotechnologies, nanomaterials and nanosystems. India is predicting an agricultural nanotechnology revolution within the next five years. I could cite many more examples, all of which are announcements just from December. Unless we are willing to invest in our future and think long term we won’t have a future. Thankfully many groups recognize this and have both the vision and the courage to think forward.
PLEASE note the article in this issue on the Federal R&D Tax Credit program. The importance of R&D has been recognized and rewarded in the United States for over a quarter of a century through the Federal R&D Credit Program. Coatings companies are positioned well to take advantage of this program and to maximize their tax savings for multiple years in the past and going forward. At a time when profit margins are being squeezed from every direction due to the slowing of the economy, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of a financial windfall that was designed to reward the very activities that make the industry the success it is today.
We have some great opportunities – seize them!
We take this opportunity to wish all of you, our readers and advertisers, a healthy and prosperous New Year, and we do so starting on an optimistic note. The last several months have been tumultuous, causing widespread fear and anxiety. We – as an industry – MUST focus and look to the future.
We will survive this period in time, and now, more than ever before, we need to remain very optimistic and put our efforts, energies and ideas into innovation and collaboration. New technologies and research tools are key to growth and development; those companies willing to support innovative research with an eye to the future, focused on years and not solely the next quarter, will survive and be leaders.
Investments today are high in some R&D sectors and moving rapidly forward. Nanotechnology is one such sector. One December report I read indicated that the National Nanotechnology Centre (Nanotec) plans to make Thailand the focus of emerging nanotechnology in the region. Their plan is to use the technology to develop new products to support various industries, and they believe within four years they will have more than 50 nanotechnology companies and over 300 patents – an example of investment in the future.
Industrial Nanotech, Inc. just announced an order from a China real estate company for its patented Nansulate® nanotechnology-based coatings. The value is worth close to a million U.S. dollars. More information regarding this technology can be found in our feature archives at www.pcimag.com. But again the point is that these specialty coatings contain nano-based materials that provide significant advantages. Innovative technology will succeed and find markets.
A few more investment examples – The University of Leeds has signed a Research Agreement with King Saud Univeristy in Saudia Arabia to develop collaborations in nanoscience, technology and engineering with the King Abjullah Institute of Nanotechnology. RUSNANO (The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies) signed agreements with the leading Russian scientific institutions to define key directions for development of the nanoindustry in various industries. Projects are aimed at commercialization of nanotechnologies, nanomaterials and nanosystems. India is predicting an agricultural nanotechnology revolution within the next five years. I could cite many more examples, all of which are announcements just from December. Unless we are willing to invest in our future and think long term we won’t have a future. Thankfully many groups recognize this and have both the vision and the courage to think forward.
PLEASE note the article in this issue on the Federal R&D Tax Credit program. The importance of R&D has been recognized and rewarded in the United States for over a quarter of a century through the Federal R&D Credit Program. Coatings companies are positioned well to take advantage of this program and to maximize their tax savings for multiple years in the past and going forward. At a time when profit margins are being squeezed from every direction due to the slowing of the economy, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of a financial windfall that was designed to reward the very activities that make the industry the success it is today.
We have some great opportunities – seize them!
