Operation: Line-x – Blast-proof, Anti-terror Paint Saves Building In New Mexico Explosion Tests

Line-X ….Complete Protection From Bedliners to Baghdad

SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO (Sunday, August 01, 2004) - Explosive Experts and University Researchers at New Mexico Tech’s Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) conducted a series of explosions that confirmed the protective capabilities of a new blast-proof paint for buildings – Line-X!

EMRTC Explosive Experts tested two identical concrete structures, one unprotected and one painted with a blast-proof coating made by Line-X Corporation, with catastrophic TNT and C4 blasts. Each room contained an office setting complete with crash-test dummy, desk and computer equipment.

“The dummy in the Line-X protected room was unscathed,” said Alan Perryman, EMRTC’s Research Engineer and Test Specialist. “A little dust kicked up, and the wall flexed and pounded like a giant drum, but everything held up just fine. We at EMRTC are very impressed with the way the Line-X protected room held up.”

The unprotected room was devastated. The blast destroyed the entire wall and tore apart the crash test dummy. “If there were people in this room, there certainly would have been fatalities,” said Perryman.

The dummy’s body was riddled with building fragments and debris. Flying building fragments act as shrapnel in these types of blasts where terrorists design the bombs to use the building as a weapon.

Line-X , better known for its Line-X Spray-On Truck Bedliners, recently applied this special anti-terror formulation to the walls of the U.S. Pentagon, the Washington D.C. Naval Base and the Federal Courthouse in New York City.

“We built our world-class Line-X reputation in the automotive marketplace, but now we’re protecting lives in key installations and dangerous settings, around the world,” said Scott Jewett, blast mitigation and ballistics expert at Line-X Corporation. “It’s changed our business dramatically, and everyone involved is really proud to be doing something proactive in the war on terror. Many individuals are talking about terrorism and defense protection. We at Line-X have taken action to address the issue.”

Known in military and research circles as an Energy Resistant Coating (ERC), the Line-X paint is flexible yet stronger than steel. Walls painted with Line-X withstand explosions up to 20 times greater than what a normal, uncoated wall can withstand. The paint holds numerous types of structural materials together – wood, steel, dry wall, concrete, brick and more. Bombed walls flex but stay together.

“These tests demonstrate the incredible strength of the Line-X-treated building,” said Jewett. “The product is truly revolutionary. It could re-align the dynamics of terrorism and defense in the Middle East.”

Operation: Line-X……The EMRTC tests were the first specific demonstrations of previously classified tests by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the US Air Force.

Special ballistics videotaping crews captured the event with high-speed equipment. “The slow motion video shows the Line-X wall flexing inwards then snapping back to its original position and shape,” said Perryman. “The spray-on ERC gives the wall incredible strength and elastic properties.”

Since the Khobar Towers bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in June of 1996, the U.S. Government has been testing elastomeric polymers like Line-X for blast mitigation. Line-X was found to be the only coating, out of 27 tested, to pass all of their bomb blast tests (Air Force Research Laboratory Force Protection Branch). These original, classified tests found that it took at least 1,000 pounds equivalent of TNT to make Line-X fail. Even then, the explosion only tore the coating. Fragmentation was still averted. The final report recommended that Line-X be used on any buildings, structures or vehicles that might be exposed to terrorist bomb attacks.

The chemical compounds and application techniques used within Line-X are environmentally safe. The product contains no Chloro Fluorocarbons (CFCs). “It’s one of the few spray-on products that is literally free of environmental dangers,” said Jewett. “Even as California raises the restrictions on CFCs, Line-X will always be compliant, because it doesn’t have any. We’re automatically compliant with anything the regulatory agencies can come up with.”
( End Release - Operation: Line-X )

EMRTC , part of New Mexico Tech University, is a world renowned research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) complex of more than 30 test facilities located within its 40 square mile field research laboratory, 60 miles south of Albuquerque. The organization has a well-earned reputation for high quality, responsive, cost effective and technically reliable work.

Line-X Spray-On Truck Bedliners are recognized as the world's leading spray-on truck bedliner company, with over 400 Dealer / Franchises located across the Nation, as well as Canada, Mexico, Asia, Europe, Central and South America. Line-X is ranked as a Top-500 Franchise Opportunity, is rated #1 in customer satisfaction and offers the "only" Nationwide Lifetime Warranty for it's spray-on truck bedliners. Line-X product applications extend into a wide range of business areas, including the automotive, construction, agricultural and military sectors. Line-X Corporation is headquartered in Santa Ana, California. For more information please visit www.GoLine-X.com and www.Paxcon.com.

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