CEO Kim Thompson made the company’s position in the $92 Billion Technical Textile market clear. The industry is projected to mature to $127 billion in 2010. This market consists of high-strength fibers used in composites, ballistic protection, armor and high strength cable, to name a few.
Mr. Thompson provides the case in point of DuPont’s participation in this market, whose annual sales with Kevlar, Tyvek, and the like is roughly $5.6 billion a year. He pointed out that Kraig’s focal point is in this identical marketplace with its development of spider silk-based, high performance fibers. Spider silk is one of the strongest fibers known to man. It is immeasurably stronger than steel, tougher than Kevlar, and lightweight and flexible.
Kraig’s goal is to capture 2-4% of the technical textile market with spider silk and other recombinant Fibers, placing yearly sales between $2.5 and $5 billion a year. Mr. Thompson feels the significant players will picture Kraig as an acquisition target, and believes the company will merge with one of the industrial giants that currently overshadow the technical textile industry.
Members of Kraig’s scientific board include Dr. Malcolm Fraser, University of Notre Dame, and Dr. Randy Lewis, University of Wyoming. Mr. Thompson explained, “With this team, we have been able to make great strides which lead to the most recent patent filings.” Mr. Thompson also said Kraig Labs has a signed intellectual property agreement with the University of Wyoming which provides Kraig Labs exclusive privileges to use these gene sequences and technologies. They also have a signed collaborative research and intellectual property agreement with the University of Notre Dame.
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