Static Intercept vs Intercept2
Recently the 2014 Apple Design Awards were announced. Past winners of the awards include Where's My Water, Guitar Hero, AOL Radio, and a World of Warcraft release. Each of these won for a different reason because Apple's broad criteria states, possibly overly simply, that the winning designers "combined design and technology in creative, compelling, and powerful ways." I have seen speculation on these criteria elaborated upon using words like intuitive, elegant, engaging, and exciting. All of these ring true when I remember the first time I picked up an Ipod, with its pinwheel interface, and figuring it out within seconds of toying with it, and again when I first encountered an Iphone, with its touch screen and a one button navigation system. It seems like the leading companies are the ones that figure out balance of usefulness and these other adjectives, Apple has become a staple of this type of design and continues to build their brand by celebrating it with awards like this. When thinking about design simplicity and elegance come to mind, but the true test of greatness are these virtues combined with true functionality.
The Intercept Technology Group focuses on functionality and consistent, dependable performance. We have a variety of products and structures that have different and specific roles, depending on the customer's design criteria, or the environmental demands. Our mission is to use our technology to reshape the perception of how parts, assemblies or goods are protected whether they are simply stored on a shelf, or face demanding inter-continental shipments and/ or outdoor storage in severe environments. We are committed to doing this in an environmentally friendly and cost effective way.
One of the projects that we are especially proud of is when we designed a new product for VW for use in one of their South African plants. The goal of this project was to protect their engine blocks during transit from their plant in South Africa to a plant in Germany. By choosing Intercept protection they were able to protect their blocks from rust and corrosion during transit and storage without the use of oils, or volatile bags. One advantage of eliminating the need for oils is that they no longer where required to clean the oils off the blocks at the receiving end, which meant they could eliminate the need to use solvents and additional labor to their processes.
VW wanted to get the properties of Intercept but did not need the longevity that our normal products provide; depending on the application the effective life can be more than fifteen years (the time required by the German Automotive Association for long term storage – which Intercept is approved for). With the limited reuse and the cost constraints of the project in mind, our technical staff re-imagined our standard Intercept product and developed a new product, Intercept-2, or SI-2 for short. SI-2 is a multi-layer extruded film with Intercept on the inner layer, to create the micro-environment inside our reactive barrier bag, while the outside layer is a high strength plastic.  This provided the protection they needed, and the structure that we designed for them was fully recyclable and re-usable. The capabilities we allowed them to achieve with this new product led to them winning an environmental award for eliminating harmful materials from their manufacturing processes. This product was so well received that we have continued making it and it has become a mainstay. Intercept2 provides the same protection as our standard Intercept films and bags, just for a shorter period of time, and reduces the cost. We are pleased that we were able to help our customer eliminate costs, oils and the necessary cleaning processes for their manufacturing operation as well as helping the environment for all of sakes. We enjoy challenges because it pushes us to better serve our clients.
