Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Thu, October 15, 2009 MATECH Corp.: MATECH Expects to Benefit Significantly From Federal Transport Bill
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - October 15, 2009) - MATECH Corp. (
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), an important ally of the White House, now supports an earlier passage of this significant legislation, rather than the 18-month delay originally proposed by President Obama. This transportation plan, put forth by the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), would allocate $500 billion for the country's crumbling infrastructure. The current legislation, which expired on October 1, 2009, is now under a one-month extension. Sen. Durbin, along with legislators on both sides of the aisle, are pushing for passage of the bill in early 2010 as a means of further stimulating the job market.
The bill, which passed the House Committee in 2008, calls for the utilization of advanced, cost-effective technologies to determine cracks in bridges which are often missed by traditional methods (i.e. visual inspection). A visual inspection study conducted by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) concluded that inspectors found cracks less than 10% of the time, proving that visual inspection was critically unreliable. In addition, the study also showed that 80% of the repairs implemented after visual inspection were unnecessary.
With over 200,000 steel bridges in the U.S. inspected every other year, the need for more cost-effective and reliable methods of determining cracks in bridges is overwhelming. The National Highway Bridge and Reconstruction Act focuses on the use of these technologies, of which MATECH's EFS is a leader.
"The focus of this bill on improving bridge inspection and management will no doubt benefit MATECH, whose EFS technology allows bridge owners to significantly increase the cost effectiveness of their infrastructure decisions," said Robert Bernstein, CEO of MATECH.
"We anticipate that the implementation of this federal transportation bill will result in a significant expansion of MATECH's market presence, serving to substantially increase revenues generated from new contracts."
Following the passage of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) Stimulus Bill earlier this year, MATECH has already generated significant interest from federal and state agencies. The bill included funds to help states evaluate nondestructive methods such as EFS to detect growing fatigue cracks in steel bridges.
MATECH has a proven track record of saving bridge owners money through improving bridge management and public safety with its cutting edge technology, the EFS System. By eliminating subjectivity of inspections for cracking in bridge members, MATECH is helping to eliminate wasted funds by prioritizing repairs and providing immediate verification of their effectiveness.
About MATECH
MATECH Corp, founded in 1983, is an engineering, research and development company based in Los Angeles, CA. The Company specializes in technologies to measure microscopic fractures in metal structures. MATECH is now marketing its patented Electrochemical Fatigue Sensor (EFS) and other advanced crack-detection technologies to bridge asset managers, railroad companies, and governmental agencies across the United States and internationally. To learn more, please visit: [ www.matechcorp.com ].
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "believe," "will," "breakthrough," "significant," "indicated," "feel," "revolutionary," "should," "ideal," "extremely" and "excited." These statements are made under "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the Company's recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs, which identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
