Cleveland, OH, May 11, 2020 — Pison Stream Solutions Defense Coatings business sector announced that its White Type III Topcoat powder coating meets the newest Type III military specification approval for CARC (chemical-agent-resistant coating) powder topcoats.
This CARC approval officially places Pison on the U.S. Government’s Qualified Products Database (QPD) by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Army Research Laboratory (ARL), which actively manages, tests and qualifies manufacturers who can produce military specification coatings for various military applications. Notification was sent to Pison R&D in Greater Cleveland, Ohio from the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Army Research Laboratory.
“This validation by the U.S. Department of Defense and inclusion on their Qualified Products List (QPL) is what we dedicated and strived for over the last several years—this solidifies our efforts for creating disruptive innovations. We are extremely pleased and honored to be the first manufacturer to receive approval for the CARC White Type III powder specification.” — Joseph James, CEO.
CARC applies to various military vehicles, tanks, personnel carriers, equipment transporters, and other military components and assets. Getting a seal of approval from the DoD on new specs is a challenging, and a lengthy, process to meet U.S. Government scrutiny standards. For a topcoat to be approved, it must be highly chemical resistant, absent of infrared detection and provide excellent durability properties. Before approving the topcoat formulation, each color match has to be approved by the ARL separately.
In addition to specific military coloring, CARC must be easily decontaminated after exposure to resist chemical and biological warfare agents. CARCs feature properties also prevent infrared (IR) detection by enemy forces. In addition to being resistant to chemical and biological agents, CARC Type III coatings must meet specific corrosion-resistance and adhesion requirements. They must be able to withstand degradation by ultraviolet (UV) light, resist decontamination solutions, impart low gloss sheen reflection, and be validated to work with military-specified exterior or interior uses by meeting specific physical testing requirements.
This new specification for CARC powder coating primers and topcoats was issued by the U.S. ARL with the intent of increasing the military’s use of powder coatings on military vehicles and components. The U.S. ARL certifies powder coating as a finish because of increased alignment with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is encouraging and transitioning the military to use coatings that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), volatile organic hazardous air pollutants (VOHAPs) and inorganic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Pison’s corporate sustainability values and innovative product development vision also falls in-line with this mission to create products that are environmentally friendly and safer for all members of our U.S. Armed Forces.
