Published: November 18, 2009 08:42 am      

Locust is home to an industry pioneer

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 — Senator Larry Kissell has been a staunch supporter for a local company who has been a pioneer in their industry. United Protective Technologies, LLC (UPT) of Locust, while not the only company of its kind, has made many advancements in the development and uses of Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coatings.

UPT was first formed in 2002 after co-founder Brent Barbee had attended The University of North Carolina (UNC) Charlotte where he took a class in thin film. Barbee and his cousin Andrew Huff, who was a business major, decided they would pursue the many possibilities that lay ahead of them with the development of micron-thin film.

“We were excited about what we could do, and we began to look at products that could provide high tech, wear-reducing protective coatings,” Barbee said, adding that they first began doing research at UNC Charlotte for a year and a half.

With help from retired Army Lt. Col. Skip Butler, Barbee and Huff spent three years traveling to various military facilities to develop their protective laminates, which are used to help protect the windscreens on military helicopters such as the Blackhawk, Chinook and Apache.

“In about 2005, the idea of a protective coating for the windscreen began to increase because the military began to realize the amount of erosion that occurred from sand and debris,” Barbee said.

Most exterior components of an aircraft are subjected to severe environmental conditions during flight, as well as when aircraft are on the ground in desert environments. Metallic surfaces are durable and can handle years of exposure to these conditions without failure. By comparison, though, windscreens are fragile and require replacement to maintain safe operating conditions for pilots and passengers.

The effects of erosion will quickly degrade the windscreen’s clarity and cause image distortion. With increased numbers of night time missions, the use of Night Vision Goggles (NVG’s) has become more prevalent. When pilots look through damaged windscreens using NVG’s, the windscreen surface damage is intensified due to light refraction and scattering, and optical clarity is lost. These windshield films were designed to combat the windscreen erosion, which in turn can extend the life of the windscreen. The films can be applied in single layer and multilayer configurations. The single layer configuration is known as ASSALT and the multilayer is known as ML3.

“It began to get expensive for the [Department of Defense] to continually replace the windscreens, and the helicopters would be taken out of commission for a day or more to make the repairs. With our product, which lasts about six months per layer, it is less expensive, takes less time to replace and is easier to keep in stock.”

The protective windshield film is only a small portion of what makes UPT unique. They have also developed a diamond coating product which has a wider array of potential.

“This product can be used in many various industries where surfaces need an extended life,” said Marty Efird, who was brought on earlier this year to help develop the commercial division of UPT, known as Diarkis.

Efird explained that there is potential to use the diamond coating product throughout the automotive, aviation, sporting goods, and various other markets. The coating reduces friction, is harder, attracts oil and can prevent wear and tear.

“There is also the possibility to use this coating with joint replacements and implants such as with knee joints,” Efird said.

For several years, UPT was housed in a rented space in Mint Hill, but as the company grew, Barbee and Huff realized they would need more space. So in the fall of 2008, UPT moved to the Meadow Creek Business Park in Locust, where they now operate out of a 20,000 square-foot building situated on about three acres.

“We love to be doing what we do, but we really love that we are back here in Stanly County,” Barbee said, adding that he and Efird are originally from Locust, and Huff is from nearby Midland.

“It's great to be involved in the community, and we hope we can attract other businesses to the area.”

For more information about the protective coatings, visit the Diarkis Web site at www.diarkis.com.