MIAMI, Feb. 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abakan Inc. (OTCQB:ABKI) ("Abakan"), an emerging leader in the advanced coatings and metal formulations markets, today announced that its subsidiary MesoCoat has appointed Richard J. Burns as its new Chief Operating Officer. Effective immediately, Mr. Burns will oversee all internal operations including building company infrastructure and developing a creative, high-performance corporate culture.
Mr. Burns joins MesoCoat with more than two decades of executive and corporate leadership experience, managing strategic growth for a number of engineering materials companies across Asia, Europe, South America and Mexico. Prior to joining MesoCoat, Mr. Burns served as the Vice President and General Manager of North American Engineered Materials for PolyOne Corp., where he led a strategic shift into higher-margin products and oversaw the development of a $10 million manufacturing plant for specialty custom compounds.
Mr. Burns also served as the president of LNP Engineering Plastics Americas, where he managed more than 500 employees as well as the company's global business growth, expanding into Mexico while supervising the company's extensive growth in the Asia-Pacific region. He holds a graduate degree in engineering management from Northeastern University.
Mr. Burns coming on-board not only assists MesoCoat in efficiently managing its internal development and operations, but also enables Mario Medanic (GM, Cladding) and his global expansion team to focus primarily on setting-up manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Indonesia, and Canada. Abakan intends to set-up a 4-line clad pipe manufacturing facility in Brazil, an 8-line facility in Indonesia, and a R&D center in Alberta, Canada over the next 12 months.
Andrew Sherman, MesoCoat's chief executive officer, welcomed Mr. Burns, commenting, "As we expand globally, Richard will not only play a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations of the company, but also in the strategic oversight of our growth as we scale our award-winning advanced wear and corrosion solutions to enter commercial markets around the world. I look forward to working closely with Richard and utilizing his impressive experience in the advanced materials industry."
MesoCoat recently announced that it is set to begin operations at its Euclid, Ohio, plant, marking a critical turning point for the company and a major step toward the commercialization of its CermaClad™ seamless, metallurgical bonded clad pipe. The facility, which is expected to be one of the largest clad pipe manufacturing facilities in the United States when fully operational, will manufacture corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) clad pipe for the oil and gas industry using the company's proprietary fusion cladding technology.
About Abakan Inc.
Abakan develops, manufactures, and markets advanced nanocomposite materials, innovative fabricated metal products and highly engineered metal composites for applications in the oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, aerospace and defense, energy, infrastructure and processing industries. Abakan's technology portfolio includes high-speed, large-area metal cladding technology; long-life nanocomposite anti-corrosion and wear-coating materials; and high-strength, lightweight metal composites. Abakan's products have demonstrated longer life, higher productivity and extremely high strength-to-weight ratios compared to competing technologies. The Abakan group of companies have been honored by The Wall Street Journal for being #1 in Manufacturing Innovation across the globe, by Forbes as the #1 Most Promising Material Science Company in the United States and has received numerous other trade, industry and technology awards including five R&D 100 Awards and a Technology Innovation Award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The company has invested over $70 million in research and development, including awards of over $30 million from federal agencies for technology development and commercialization. Abakan has successfully introduced its engineered metal coatings for metal asset protection and life extension in the oil and gas and mining industries, and is currently focusing on the scale-up and commercialization of its highly disruptive metal cladding products for the oil and gas, oil sands, mining and chemical industries. Abakan currently operates from multiple locations in United States and Canada, and intends to expand global operations in South America, Canada, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
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Forward-Looking Statements:
A number of statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including technological obsolescence, market acceptance of future products, competitive market conditions and the sufficiency of capital resources. The actual results Abakan may achieve could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. Abakan encourages the public to read the information provided here in conjunction with its most recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Abakan's public filings may be viewed at www.sec.gov.