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1. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 1
$25,000 Third place award winning business plan, 2011
(Contact, Dr. Paul Swamidass, Auburn University)
IPC Foam, Inc (IPCF)
Alabama Launchpad 2011, Final Phase
Auburn University
Description of the Business Concept and Business Model
For some industrial applications, the need for lightweight structural materials is critical. The aerospace
and underwater vehicular applications are obvious cases. Aluminum or its alloys have been commonly
used “first generation” lightweight materials in such applications for more than a hundred years. The
pressure to reduce weight more and more gave rise to “second generation” lightweight materials called
“Syntactic foam” materials made with glass or ceramic microspheres embedded in a resin or epoxy matrix
in use today in lightweight applications. They offer good compression response, energy absorption, and
impact resistance as lightweight materials.
A “third generation” lightweight material developed at an Auburn University (AU) is an improvement on
existing syntactic materials; it is called the Interpenetrating Phase Composite (IPC). This material begins
with open cell aluminum metal foam. The pores are then filled with an epoxy‐based syntactic foam. It
derives its uniqueness over syntactic foam materials by this addition of aluminum metal foam to epoxy‐
based (epoxy can be replaced by other polymers for producing different properties such as fire
retardation, etc.) syntactic foam described earlier. The addition of the aluminum metal foam increases
the strength of the resulting IPC material in lightweight applications. It has two potential markets, one to
serve as a superior substitute wherever syntactic foam is used today, and to enter totally new markets
where syntactic foam could not be used today because of its inadequate strength characteristics. It could
be used in lightweight, high‐impact shock absorbing applications; e.g., high‐priced racecar parts,
commercial automotive parts, deep‐sea drilling, etc.
The product (composite material) has been successfully made at AU. The business model envisaged is: 1)
to form a new company to acquire exclusive rights to the technology from the university and raise private
equity of $1.25 million, 2) develop new products using the material in a rented facility next to the
university to have easy access to the expertise of the inventors, 3) for two years, proactively work with
industries such as race cars, commercial automotive, deep sea drilling, submersible equipment,
aerospace, sports equipment, and prosthetics to get contracts to develop industry‐specific products with
exclusive rights to products for two or more years, 4) start in‐house production at the beginning of the
third year using outsourced aluminum foam, 5) reach profitability by the third/fourth year and consider
aluminum foam production in‐house, and 6) exit the business sometime after five to ten years by selling
to large and established makers of lightweight materials or products.
Total investment is $1.25 million over two years. NPV over five years is $2.01 million, IRR = 50%, and pay
back in 3.63 years. IPCF intends to enter into an agreement with a few dominant players in the syntactic
foam industry to supply them the material or products made to order for them EXCLUSIVELY for two years
in exchange for their investment. IPCF will be the sole manufacturer of this material or products based on
this material.

2. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 2
The opportunity and key problems to solve
A key problem in several industrial applications is the need for lightweight materials that have the dual
property of low weight and high strength. For this very reason, syntactic foam materials currently have a
significant market in the field of aerospace, deep sea machinery, sports equipment, automotive industry,
pipelines, medical implants, and more. These materials were developed in the early 1960s for marine
applications as buoyancy aids. Their use has spread to other industries over time.
AU’s IPC composite foam has marked improvement in strength characteristics over existing syntactic foam
materials for the applications described above. IPC foam is superior to conventional syntactic foam
because: 1) it is lightweight, 2) 28‐35% better elasticity modulus than syntactic epoxy foam, 3) higher
compressive strength, 4) better thermal qualities over syntactic foam, and 5) 50% higher energy
absorption per unit volume. Our product fills a never‐ending need and search for lighter and stronger
materials for a variety of industrial and consumer uses.
Description of the material
As the picture of the material in cylindrical shape produced at Auburn University is shown above; the
material is a composite made of aluminum (shiny part in the color picture) and a mixture of microballoons
and a special polymer in white. It has attractive properties of compressive strength and light weight. The
properties of the material could be custom developed for multiple uses by increasing or decreasing the
proportion of Aluminum material in the composite. Controlling the amount of Aluminum as well as the

3. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 3
quantity of micro‐balloons in the polymer is very easy. The customizable nature of the technology makes
it suitable for a wide range of applications and industry. The foam can be made to any specification such
as 20% or 30% Aluminum and the rest polymer and micro‐balloons. Silane coated version of our product
has even better properties.
Figure 1 ‐ Properties of Syntactic Foam provided by competitors
Figure 2 ‐ Properties of the Auburn University IPC Foam (IPC‐20 has 20% and IPC‐30 30% metal foam)
Our product properties are: with 30% Aluminum foam, density is 0.03384 lbs/cu. in.
Technical uniqueness of the material
Heterogeneous materials with discrete, dispersed and/or embedded phases in a matrix material (fiber
reinforced composites, particulate composites, functionally graded materials, syntactic foams, etc.) are
found suitable for many structural applications. There are, however, limitations in terms of the degree
of concentration of the secondary phase that can be dispersed into the primary phase and the degree of
inter connectivity between the phases. Nature overcomes such a limitation by adopting 3‐D
interpenetrating microstructures as evident in skeletal tissue and botanical systems. This observation
has inspired a relatively new category of materials called Interpenetrating Phase Composite/s or IPC
(also referred to as co‐continuous composites). The IPC are multiphase materials in which the
constituent phases are interconnected three‐dimensionally and topologically throughout the
microstructure (and hence sometimes are referred to as “3‐3” composites). Hence, IPC are uniquely
different from traditional composites comprising of a matrix with one or more reinforcing filler phases
(long fibers, whiskers, particles, microballoons, etc.) where such a complete interpenetration does not
occur. Consequently, each phase of an IPC contributes its property to the overall macro scale
characteristics synergistically. For example, if one constituent provides strength and toughness, the
other might enhance stiffness, thermal stability, acoustic insulation and/or dielectric characteristics.
Foams are used in a variety of structural applications for their good compression response and
mechanical energy dissipation characteristics while keeping the overall structural weight to a minimum.
They are also known for offering good thermal and acoustic insulation. Due to the high specific energy
absorption and impact resistance, syntactic foams have the potential for use as core materials of
sandwich structures in lightweight combat vehicles and automobiles. Syntactic foams made of glass and
carbon micro‐/nano‐spheres are used in aerospace structures, missile heads and heat shields for space
vehicles. They are also employed in electronics and telecommunications due to superior thermal and
dielectric properties as well as shock absorption characteristics. Our IPC is better than existing foams.
The product of this company is NOT an end‐user item sold to a consumer. The product of this business
could be one of the following: 1) lightweight material in sheet or rod form sold to industrial users, who

4. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 4
could make end‐user products from the materials procured from our company, and 2) custom made
products for an industrial customer needing lightweight yet strong parts made with our material.
Our IPC material can replace products made of syntactic foam because of superior characteristics. Some
examples being, 1) implant devices, 2) US Navy applications for submarine parts, capable of withstanding
depths below thousands of feet, 3) cores for sandwich structures in automatic and aerospace structures,
4) tooling materials, offering the workability of wood with the dimensional stability of metal, 5) civilian
marine applications for use as floats, buoys and platforms, 6) athletic equipment that are lightweight, and
6) improving automotive and aerospace fuel efficiency via overall vehicle weight reduction. In addition,
the company will continue to develop products for the US Army that funded the development of this
material at Auburn. Lightweight structural foams play a significant role in many Army applications – head‐
gear, rapidly deployable structures, and military vehicles – to name a few involving impact and shock
energy dissipation.
Intellectual property/Trade secrets/Expertise
The research leading to this invention was funded in part by the U. S. Army Research Office, Grant No.
W911NF‐08‐1‐0285. As it is common with such federal grants, the rights to develop and commercialize
this technology rests with Auburn University.
The patent will be the property of the University but it will be licensed exclusively to IPCF. Since the patent‐
pending material is proprietary, IPCF will have an early market entry advantage.
IPC foam has been successfully manufactured and tested at Auburn University laboratory and its
properties have been published in scholarly papers. An utility patent has been applied for by Auburn
University. Here is the chronology:
1. Provisional application: June 1, 2009;
2. Non‐provisional, Utility patent application: May 28, 2010
Dr. H. V. Tippur, Professor/lead inventor has the requisite expertise to help the new startup company that
acquires the technology from the university. Having produced the item in his lab, and having worked with
the material for years for an external government sponsor, he can pass on valuable know how concerning
the manufacture of the material as well as its applications to the licensee interested in manufacturing the
material. The product starts with commercially available open‐cell aluminum foam and uses a process
refined by the inventor to vary the strength and weight characteristics of the material. The inventor is an
internationally recognized expert in the science behind the material, and has successfully created this
material and tested specific properties of the material in the laboratory for the US defense department.
IPCF will need well equipped labs during the product’s R&D phase; IPCF will have access to university labs
with expensive equipment at applicable university rates for developing new products.
The material and its test results have been published in peer‐reviewed journals. The technical soundness
of the technology can be found in:

5. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 5
1. ‘Processing, compression response and finite element modeling of syntactic foam based
interpenetrating phase composite (IPC),’ R. Jhaver and H. V. Tippur, Materials Science and Engineering
– A, Vol. 499, (2009), pp 507‐517.
2. ‘Quasi‐static and dynamic compression response of a lightweight interpenetrating phase composite
foam’, C. Periasamy*, R. Jhaver* and H. V. Tippur*, Materials Science and Engineering A, 527, 2845–
2856, 2010.
3. ‘Mechanical characterization and modeling of compression behavior of syntactic foam‐filled cellular
solids,’ R. Jhaver* and H. V. Tippur, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, (doi:
10.1177/0731684410369023), to appear, 2010.
Market analysis
The material has generic qualities of lightweight and compressive strength; these are two properties
sought by industrial manufacturers and the military. It would be unwise to pursue all industries in the first
three years of new product development; during this period, six industries with known demand for this
type of material will be targeted.
Six selected target markets during Phase I of operation (many more markets exist)
• Automotive Industry– Because of the high energy absorption attribute of new materials such as
metallic foams, there are many potential applications in the automotive industry. Bumper,
chassis, internal occupant protection (motor vehicle seat), crash box and hoods are among the
prospective automotive applications. IPC foam has high compression strength and its potential to
withstand powerful impacts makes it an ideal material for an automobile's crash box. A crash box
is located at the front end of a car. It is one of the most important automotive components for
impact energy absorption. During accidents, the crash box is expected to collapse and absorb
crash energy prior to the other body parts so that the damage to the main cabin frame is
minimized and passengers remain safe.
• Flotation Equipment – Equipment used in the offshore oil and gas industry should be able to
withstand the pressure at depths of 10,000 feet for many years. The attractiveness of IPC Foam is
its higher tensile strength and its light weight, which are very important for buoyancy equipment
used in submersible vehicles and oceanographic equipment. Potential OEM partners could be
Cuming Corporation, Deep Down Inc. and other offshore equipment makers.
• Airforce/Aerospace Industry – The aeronautical industry does not compromise on any tradeoffs
between strength and weight. So, a product which is both strong and lightweight is desired by
companies manufacturing components for the aerospace industry. For instance, light weight
syntactic foam is already used in this industry. They are used to create durable components of
aircrafts which can withstand the dramatic weather effects at high altitudes. Further, syntactic
foams have been used in the aerospace industry as energy absorbers. These products absorb
kinetic energy by compressing at a constant stress. They are used in aerospace and military
applications where operational and environmental conditions are severe but optimal operation
performance is critical. Therefore, IPC foam could be potentially marketed to companies like

6. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 6
Lockheed Martin and Boeing for developing parts for their planes. Potential partners could be ERG
Materials and Aerospace Corporation.
• Sports Industry. IPC foam can also be used to make sports equipment such as snow skis and boat
hulls.
• Army and Navy. The US Army and Navy have many applications for this material. IPCF will work
closely with subcontractors supplying Army and Navy to develop customized products for them.
• Deep underwater oil pipe insulation and floatation equipment. See Cummings Corp. product
description later under Competitors section. Our product development would seek to compete
against Cummings’ products.
Competitors and Competitive Analysis
No company makes IPC‐based products now. However, there are manufacturers who make lightweight
foam composite materials and products based on them. Our company will compete against them for their
market using IPC‐based products.
Competitors
Following companies produce foam composite materials for different purposes. Their market is open for
substitution with our IPC foam. The sum of the annual sales of the companies below, with known sales, is
$94.63 Million. The annual sales of individual companies are also given below.
Company Name Type of Foam Application
Annual
Sales
(mil.)
Engineered Syntactic
Systems, (ESS)
(USA)
Syntactic foam
Deep Water Syntactic Foam Systems:
These systems are used for buoyancy
applications. responsible for many of the
deep water systems used today by the
Navy, Oceanographic and Offshore oil
industries
$0.95
CRG Industries, Llc
(USA)
Syntactic Foam
(sold under the trade
name Advantic)
Underwater buoyancy applications,
structural core for aerospace components,
tooling pattern-making applications, small
arms grips, rifle stocks, acoustics, oil well
operations, and deep sea operations.
$0.32
CMT Materials, Inc.
(USA)
Syntactic foam Underwater buoyancy applications $5.00

7. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 7
Trelleborg Offshore
Boston, Inc.
(Trelleborg Emerson
& Cuming)
(USA)
Syntactic foam
syntactic foam for undersea buoyancy
applications
Not
available
Utility Development
Corporation - UDC
(USA)
Syntactic foam
It is frequently used in the marine industry
for use as floats, buoys and as a void filler
in submarines, capable of withstanding
depth below 7,000 feet. Also, it finds use in
aerospace industries as cores for
sandwich structures and as a repair and
replacement for existing honeycomb
structures.
$0.66
Cuming Corporation*
(USA)
Syntactic foam
Syntactic foam flotation equipment for the
offshore oil and gas industry.
$73.30
Precision Acoustics
(UK)
Syntactic foam
Structural buoyancy modules and thermal
insulation cladding.
Not
available
Flotation
Technologies
(USA)
Syntactic foam (sold
under the trade name
Flotec)
Structural buoyancy modules $13.40
Syntech Materials,
Inc.
(USA)
Syntactic foam (sold
under the trade name
Synform)
Buoyancy modules for deep underwater
flotation
Not
Available
Erg Materials &
Aerospace Corp
(USA)
Metal Foam (sold
under the trade name
Duocel)
Aerospace, defense, semiconductor
manufacturing, biomedical, and scientific
industries.
$0.17
Cymat Technologies
Ltd.
(Canada)
Closed cell
aluminum foam (sold
under the trade name
SmartMetal a
Stabilized Aluminum
Foam)
Primarily used to make automobiles lighter
and safer. Also, SmartMetal is used in the
Blast mitigation and Architectural industry.
$0.83
*A sample of Cumings’ products (with the most sales above) from their web pages:

8. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 8
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Syntactic Foam Insulation Equipment
Cuming Corporation's syntactic foam insulation makes long flow lines both
technically and economically feasible for the offshore oil and gas industry.
Our C‐THERM insulation addresses a key technical challenge of deep water
production ‐ pipelines that plug as hot oil or gas come into contact with cold
water. C‐THERM ensures effective operation of subsea flow lines at depths
of 3,000 feet or more by protecting against the formation of paraffins or
hydrates.
Syntactic Foam Flotation Equipment
Cuming Corporation is a long‐time provider of syntactic foam flotation
equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry. Cuming Corporation
engineers made the very first syntactic foam buoyancy modules for
subsea risers in 1968, helping to launch the worldwide deepwater
exploration for oil and gas, and have been involved in every major
offshore advance since then.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
In the automotive industry, Cymat Technologies Ltd. from Canada has focused on the development,
production and commercialization of die‐cast products for this particular industry and its suppliers, using
stabilized aluminum foam as its main component. Furthermore, Cymat has been working closely with its
military contractors applying its new blast‐mitigating foam (to protect people from explosions in the battle
field) named SmartMetal.
In the marine applications industry, most of the top manufacturers (Cuming Corporation, Trelleborg AB,
Deep Down Inc., and CRG Inc.) have been supplying products based on their own proprietary syntactic
foam for more than twenty five years.
1. Trelleborg AB posted an annual sales figure of $1.6 billion with a profit of $145 million. Their
customers included companies in infrastructure, offshore oil and gas, food, chemicals, the graphic
industry and the transport industry. We cannot estimate the value of foam materials as a
component of their total sales.
2. Cymat is collaborating with a number of partners spanning the automotive, transportation, blast
mitigation and architectural industries. This is a smaller company.
3. Deep Down Inc. posted net revenue of $7 million in the first quarter of 2009 which is a 13.1%
increase over 2008. Their services include distribution system installation support, drill riser
buoyancy, marine vehicle automation, control, and ballast systems. Their main focus is on deep
water and ultra‐deep water oil production and distribution systems which are used between the
platforms and wellhead.

9. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 9
According to the website Rigzone.com, a specialized website for the oil & gas industry, investments in
offshore drilling rigs and platforms are predicted to rise 12% in 2010‐2014, translating into a total
expenditure of $387 billion. Demand of syntactic foam in industries like aerospace, auto parts,
transportation and sports manufacturers is expected to increase as well. AU IPC foam aims to target these
markets.
IPC foam market entry would include competing head‐on against the above companies by offering a
unique alternative. Experimental analysis shows that IPC foam has not only a higher elasticity modulus
but also yields higher energy absorption compared to conventional syntactic foam. These properties can
be further enhanced by pre‐coating the aluminum foam with the chemical silane. Compressive strength
and elastic modulus of our material could be 30% or better in specific applications.
Management Team
Current Team: The technology is not yet licensed by the university. In the meantime, the Director of
Thomas Walter Center, in partnership with the Associate Director of the Office of Technology Transfer,
Auburn University, is spearheading this project. Their immediate goal is to get a licensee who would
create a new startup in Auburn, AL, to work closely with the Dr. Tippur, inventor, Professor of Mechanical
Engineering.
The university policy allows the inventor to assist the company as a technical expert from inside/outside
the newly formed company after it is licensed according to university rules and regulations. The inventor
is nationally known for this and similar work. The true asset of the company would be the expertise of Dr.
Tippur, his laboratories and high‐caliber graduate students. A small startup near Auburn University would
be able to leverage the world‐class expertise of Dr. Tippur to create several new lightweight products that
several industries are waiting for.
After incorporation:
After incorporation, the company would recruit a CEO with 10 to 20 years of experience in lightweight
foam industry. In the first three years, the company will aggressively market the material to several
companies needing lightweight high‐compressive strength materials and develop products for them with
the help of the inventor, his labs and graduate students. During the first three years, doctoral graduates
of Dr. Tippur’s program or similar programs in the country will be employed full‐time by the company
under the guidance of Dr. Tippur to develop many new products for the six industries identified earlier.
Financials
Our conservative (in terms of annual sales) cash flow projections are based on an investment of $1.25
million in investment during years 1 and 2. Production will commence in year 3. The selling price, based
on our cost/market analysis and reasonable profit margin, will be $1.98, $1.78 and $1.61 per cubic inch
of the material allowing for the costs to decrease with economies of scale over the three years. Total
sales projected for the first five years at 0, 0, 1 million, 2 million and 4 million cubic inches. NPV over five
years is $2.01 million, IRR = 50%, and payback in 3.63 years. IPCF intends to enter into a partnership
agreement with a few dominant players in the syntactic foam industry to supply them the material or

10. IPC Foam, Inc. March 30, 2011 10
products made‐to‐order for them EXCULSIVELY for two years in exchange for investment. This
investment will be used to build bigger manufacturing facilities and staff them to supply the partner with
material or products of their choice. IPCF will be the sole manufacturer of the IPC Foam. A more
generous estimate of annual sales would substantially improve annual sales and NPV.
Cash Flow Projection for Auburn University IPC Composite Foam
Sales projection of 1M, 2M and 3M for the third fourth and fifth year respectively.
Operating Year Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Investment‐‐Private equity to be
raised
$600,000 $650,000
Estimated Sales, cubic inch (33,840
lbs per million c. in.) 0 0 1,000,000 2,000,000 4,000,000
Selling price per cubic inch including
a profit margin (20%)
$1.9872 $1.7885 $1.6096
Total Sales $ 1,987,200 $ 3,576,960 $ 6,438,528
Royalties (5% of Sales)
$
99,360
$
178,848
$
321,926
Total Revenue $0 $0 $ 1,887,840 $ 3,398,112 $ 6,116,602
Direct costs (Wages, Raw Materials)
25%
$
471,960
$
849,528
$ 1,529,150
Indirect costs (Salaries and
Maintenance)
$
100,000
$
150,000
$
300,000
$
300,000
$
400,000
Marketing
$
200,000
$
200,000
$
200,000
$
200,000
$
200,000
Product Development (10% of sales) $300,000 $300,000 $198,720 $357,696 $643,853
Total Costs
$
600,000
$
650,000 $ 1,170,680 $ 1,707,224 $ 2,773,003
EBIT $0 $0
$
717,160 $ 1,690,888 $ 3,343,598
Tax $0 $0 $215,148 $507,266 $1,003,080
Net Income $0 $0
$
502,012 $ 1,183,622 $ 2,340,519
cash flow ($600,000) ($650,000)
$
502,012
$
1,183,622
$
2,340,519
IRR 50%
Payback Period (years) 3.632
NPV (6%) $2,081,283
END.