Success or failure of a protective coating manufacturer largely depends on the aggressive nature of its Research & Development team. In todays industry, new technology and product demand is constantly on the rise. At GatorHyde we strive to set the curve, not to follow it! We are persistently working on improving the physical attributes of our current product lines and concentrating on the development of exciting, new and innovative products for the OEM, automotive, manufacturing, offshore, and marine industries.

 

The development of a new product or system is costly and does not happen overnight. In order to introduce a new coating or casting material, literally hundreds of hours are required. Formulation after formulation is produced, tested and then reformulated in order to achieve the desired end result.

 

The development process also includes market research, target market analysis, expected use of the system, chemical exposure, required physical properties, and cure times. UV and color stability are also factors to be considered prior to starting the research and development of any coating material.

 

During the evolution of a new product, GatorHyde tests and retests each formulation in order to verify the materials consistency. No product is ever introduced into the market place until all laboratory testing is complete and field trials have been successful.

 

Today GatorHyde has introduced into the industry a complete family of Rapid Curing elastomer systems including aromatic and aliphatic polyurea and polyaspartic coatings with a wide range of gel times, physical properties, and shore hardness. GatorHyde products are manufactured with the highest quality of raw materials currently available, in order to give our customers the best products possible.

	A lab technician is checking the hardness of the polyurea coating using a durometer gauge. All materials are tested repeatedly to verify the actual Shore A or Shore D hardness before being published in a technical data sheet.	Chemical resistance tests are being conducted on GatorHyde products, using various aggressive chemicals. To determine if the sample is affected in terms of weight gain or swelling, weight and size is measured before and after the test cycle.	After blending, material is tested to make sure that no pigment settling is occuring. Marbling is an issue and denotes that pigment is not going into the solution. If this occurs, additives must be used in order to correct the problem.	Testing for the viscosity of a material using the Viscometer tells the chemist what must be adjusted int eh formulation so that the thickness of each component is as similar as possible. The closer the viscosity of the A-side to the B-side, the easier the material is to spray.