Material Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: MTTG) which we also know as “MATECH” is primarily engaged in the research and development of metal fatigue detection, measurement, and monitoring technologies. Okay, so what’s all that about? It’s about preventing metal failure before it happens. Let’s compare it to a medical checkup. You go to the doctor, and he checks your heart rate, your pulse, your blood pressure. He might order tests that determine your cholesterol levels, and your histamine levels. Then it’s onto the stress tests for your heart, such as the EKG. This monitors the heart’s function when it’s put under the load of “stress.” If the heart cannot bear the strain of the stresses it’s put under, it sends out erratic signals, signals that your heart specialist can decipher. Usually they tell him that the heart isn’t getting enough oxygen because of decreased blood flow. From there, prescriptions for medicines or even surgery are considered.
What MATECH does is in some ways very similar to the EKG, but they do it for metal structures, mainly bridges. Is this important? You bet it is. In this country, there are approximately 600,000 bridges in the nation’s inventory. Yet some 105,981 steel bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete in important areas, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These bridges are a rapidly developing natural disaster, which if not monitored properly could collectively comprise almost $400 billion of repair liability, not to mention the impending accidents, and potential disruption of the nation’s ability to conduct commerce.
Okay, so what’s the biggest potential for disaster or failure? Metal gets “tired” or as they say in the business, “fatigued” after it goes through enough stress cycles. If the metal is fatigued enough, stress cracking develops. That in itself isn’t a disaster, it’s when those stress cracks grow out of control and finally lead to a structural failure that causes collapse. That’s the disaster we saw recently in Minneapolis. Twelve people lost their lives when a large span of the bridge collapsed just after rush hour one evening.
Until recently, most bridge inspection has been done visually, and then if parts were becoming suspect, they had little in the way of diagnostic tools to reliably monitor the situation. In a laboratory, stress cracking can be measured under the microscope. In the field, they had some success with what’s called an eddy current tester, but it too proved less than stellar in its accuracy, especially in the area of detecting new or growing cracks. This is where MATECH comes in and their EFS technology is being proven to be the new standard of the industry.
The Electrochemical fatigue sensor or EFS is indeed quite like the EKG we talked about above. The sensor is attached to the bridge part, and then filled with an electrolytic solution. A current is applied to the area and an array of sensors monitor the unit. What happens is that the sensor is sensitive to minute changes in the electrical response it measures whenever it’s exposed to “fresh steel” as in a new crack. Then the software analyzes the responses and can determine the “health” of the immediate structure.
This is quite an achievement and presents several solutions to what was previously something of a guessing game. It greatly increases the safety of the infrastructure and the efficiency of bridge management through better and timelier fatigue crack detection. It replaces the “wait and see” approach by allowing immediate detection of growing cracks at previously known, and even unknown locations, as well as at repairs. This is a tremendous benefit and actually allows you to know if your repairs have been successful. It increases the accuracy of bridge condition ratings – which can extend the life of the structure through early identification and repair of any growing cracks. It helps determine which cracks might need immediate attention and which repairs can be deferred or even eliminated; which helps bridge owners utilize repair and rehabilitation funds much more effectively.
The demand for this technology is certainly there. The nation’s bridge infrastructure is in horrid shape as age and the elements take their toll. Currently there are some 26,000 bridges that the FHWA says needs repair, and if they were “worked on” to bring them up to spec, we’d be looking at over 20 billion dollars. Monitoring and detection on the remaining 105,981 steel bridges that the FHWA says are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete in important areas, is critical, and MATECH has the technology to do it.
We get EKG’s as we age, and we believe that it’s time our nation’s bridges infrastructure gets an EFS as it ages. Diverting tragedy, while saving money, time and lives is good business, and MATECH does that. Investors should take a look at this company and their technology, it’s one that’s “time has come”.
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