Editor’s note: An open house was scheduled for Friday at Imbibitive Manufacturing in Maumelle but has been postponed due to the Winter Storm Warning issued for Arkansas by the National Weather Service. The open house will be rescheduled but that date is still to be determined.
It feels a little like science fiction or some sort of Tony Stark-invented technology for Iron Man but Imbiber Beads are real and quite spectacular.
Made by Maumelle’s Imbibitive Manufacturing since 1994 the polymer beads are quite ingenious as they form an extra layer around a tank holding fluid.
As seen in this Nova segment, above, if you shoot a gas tank on a military vehicle you get an entry and exit point with any fluid in the tank spilling out. If that fuel tank has a Battle Jacket, an idea developed by Oregon’s High Impact Technologies or HIT, it is covered in a layer of Imbiber Beads, and when a bullet enters the resulting hole is immediately filled by the beads. It happens so fast, it can’t be observed by the naked eye. It happens so fast, that is barely noticeable to a camera shooting thousands of frames per second.
John Brinkman serves as president and CEO. He was kind enough to answer some questions about his company. The Q&A has been lightly edited and formatted for publication.
>> How long has the business been in operation in Maumelle?
Imbibitive Manufacturing, Inc. O/A IMBICOR was incorporated in Arkansas in July 1994.
>> Is High Impact Technologies, or HIT, your only client or do you have other partners?
HIT is a strategic partner in that they purchase Imbiber Beads® in volume from IMBICOR for the Battle Jacket® application. We are a Tier 1 supplier for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which is one of the two main Federal procurement organizations within the US Government, and we are presently supplying on-board water filtration products for the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke Class destroyers. The list of companies and government agencies we are planning on conducting business with continues to grow, with several significant projects pending. I am more than happy to go into details during a further discussion.
>> How many total employees do you have in Maumelle?
Currently IMBICOR employs four full time workers and two part-time workers. The pending contract for Battle Jacket® will require initially another 4-6 employees, with the distinct possibility of further employment, as the contract(s) are projected to extend anywhere from 3-5 years, or more. It is for this reason that we have been in discussions with Little Rock Correctional Services, in order to locate, recruit and train future full-time workers. Dwight Pridgeon, of Correctional Services is to be a featured Guest Speaker at the Open House, and will be discussing the great work they are doing to rehabilitate offenders.
>> Besides Battlejacket, what are some other applications of the beads?
The list of applications is almost endless but we are focused upon four primary markets; spill response applications, pollution prevention applications, water filtration applications and specialty applications.
>> Could you describe a bead in layman's terms of size, diameter and how that compares? So, for example, each bead would be 1mm, roughly a needle's pin or whatever
Imbiber Beads® vary in size between 150-400 microns (0.15mm – 0.4mm), or roughly the size of a salt or sugar granule.
>> I'd guess the number of beads in that protective layer varies based on the size of the tank but how many would be in say a square foot of space?
Russ Monk, President of HIT is another of the Guest Speakers, and will be providing an overview of the projects underway and upcoming. Come to the open house and ask him directly!
>> What is the bead made out of?
A special blend of herbs and spices! Obviously the formula is proprietary but styrenics-based.
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Imbiber Beads are made in Maumelle and having a global impact
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Editor’s note: An open house was scheduled for Friday at Imbibitive Manufacturing in Maumelle but has been postponed due to the Winter Storm Warning issued for Arkansas by the National Weather Service. The open house will be rescheduled but that date is still to be determined.
It feels a little like science fiction or some sort of Tony Stark-invented technology for Iron Man but Imbiber Beads are real and quite spectacular.
Made by Maumelle’s Imbibitive Manufacturing since 1994 the polymer beads are quite ingenious as they form an extra layer around a tank holding fluid.
As seen in this Nova segment, above, if you shoot a gas tank on a military vehicle you get an entry and exit point with any fluid in the tank spilling out. If that fuel tank has a Battle Jacket, an idea developed by Oregon’s High Impact Technologies or HIT, it is covered in a layer of Imbiber Beads, and when a bullet enters the resulting hole is immediately filled by the beads. It happens so fast, it can’t be observed by the naked eye. It happens so fast, that is barely noticeable to a camera shooting thousands of frames per second.
John Brinkman serves as president and CEO. He was kind enough to answer some questions about his company. The Q&A has been lightly edited and formatted for publication.
>> How long has the business been in operation in Maumelle?
Imbibitive Manufacturing, Inc. O/A IMBICOR was incorporated in Arkansas in July 1994.
>> Is High Impact Technologies, or HIT, your only client or do you have other partners?
HIT is a strategic partner in that they purchase Imbiber Beads® in volume from IMBICOR for the Battle Jacket® application. We are a Tier 1 supplier for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which is one of the two main Federal procurement organizations within the US Government, and we are presently supplying on-board water filtration products for the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke Class destroyers. The list of companies and government agencies we are planning on conducting business with continues to grow, with several significant projects pending. I am more than happy to go into details during a further discussion.
>> How many total employees do you have in Maumelle?
Currently IMBICOR employs four full time workers and two part-time workers. The pending contract for Battle Jacket® will require initially another 4-6 employees, with the distinct possibility of further employment, as the contract(s) are projected to extend anywhere from 3-5 years, or more. It is for this reason that we have been in discussions with Little Rock Correctional Services, in order to locate, recruit and train future full-time workers. Dwight Pridgeon, of Correctional Services is to be a featured Guest Speaker at the Open House, and will be discussing the great work they are doing to rehabilitate offenders.
>> Besides Battlejacket, what are some other applications of the beads?
The list of applications is almost endless but we are focused upon four primary markets; spill response applications, pollution prevention applications, water filtration applications and specialty applications.
>> Could you describe a bead in layman's terms of size, diameter and how that compares? So, for example, each bead would be 1mm, roughly a needle's pin or whatever
Imbiber Beads® vary in size between 150-400 microns (0.15mm – 0.4mm), or roughly the size of a salt or sugar granule.
>> I'd guess the number of beads in that protective layer varies based on the size of the tank but how many would be in say a square foot of space?
Russ Monk, President of HIT is another of the Guest Speakers, and will be providing an overview of the projects underway and upcoming. Come to the open house and ask him directly!
>> What is the bead made out of?
A special blend of herbs and spices! Obviously the formula is proprietary but styrenics-based.