Pricoil Ghana wins International Award

Accra, Nov. 17- GNA- Pricoil Ghana has won the African Infrastructure Chemicals and Materials Technology Innovation Award for the Year 2011 at the African Excellence Awards Banquet in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Award was in recognition of the company's ability to leverage nanotechnology in the waterproofing industry.

“Nanotechnology is a relatively new technology in the global market and Pricoil's introduction of the technology into the African market in Ghana is being recognized by this award,” a citation accompanying the award noted.

Frost and Sullivan, a Global Research Platform with over 50 years experience and the awardees said Pricoil Ghana had addressed some key industry challenges facing the continent through the use of their technology innovation strategies.

Frost and Sullivan, the awardees, indicated that products using solvents had been noted to contain volatile organic compounds (VOC's) which had been shown to have adverse effects on human health and the environment and could be harmful to people. Globally, there is a widespread movement toward the uptake of water based manufacturing processes, moving away from solvent based production.

They also noted that many countries in Africa had not developed at the same rate as their counterparts in the developed world, and that there was no legislative drive to be environmentally friendly as a result of lower consumer awareness.

Frost and Sullivan further stated that in the Ghana market, there were approximately 10 large companies involved in the supply of waterproofing material. The major products which are used in the market are touch on products such as bituminous material.

They said Pricoil had positioned itself in a unique way by venturing into the supply of a product whose technology was not yet widespread in the Sub-Saharan African region, and that Nanotechnology was expected to present growth opportunities for companies involved in the waterproofing industry.

"Pricoil currently has a first mover advantage which the company has been able to capitalize on. The company's extensive marketing and the product quality have proved to be better than the other products in the Ghana market," the research organization said.

Mr. Billy Cudjoe Alorvor, Managing Director of the company, said the award was a great motivation to the company to do more in helping build and improve infrastructure in the developing world.

He said the company currently had three flagship products, namely Zycosoil, Zycosil and Zycoprime which combine d to form the Pricoil. The Zycosoil technology, he explained, enables the replacement of Granular Sub base (GSB) layer with subgrade protected with the Zycosoil waterproof envelope.

“Zycosoil nanotechnology allows waterproofing of soils and aggregate surfaces permanently and acts as a bonding agent to asphalt. This is the most significant development in the last 50 years which will improve the quality of road building with reduced maintenance cost,” he noted.

Mr. Alorvor said the technology addressed the critical subsurface drainage problems in road making and repairs, adding that Zycoreactive bonding ability with the aggregates and asphalt helped to eliminate stripping of aggregates.

He said the Zycosil on the other hand provided complete waterproofing for buildings and structures, saying all their products were 100 per cent silane, eco friendly and had a long life span.

He appealed to the Minister of Roads and Transport, Mr Joe Gidisu and the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin to adopt the product for use in their respective industries to help build more durable infrastructure for the State, while saving about 30 to 40 per cent of their annual budget on major projects, operations and maintenance.

Prism Corporate Investment Ghana Limited (PRICOIL GHANA) representing ZYDEX Industries of India in the sub region was registered and incorporated in the year 2005. In the year 2009, the company entered into partnership with Zydex Industries of India as its West African representative. In April of the same year (2009), the company launched 3 brands of Zycosil, Zycosoil and Zycoprime into the Ghanaian market.

These products are currently used and adopted in 32 countries worldwide with the addition of Togo and Benin as new adopters.

The Zycosil product is a water dilutable waterproofing material which emits small amounts of organics into the environment. This nanotechnology product is therefore eco- friendly and enables the company to be placed in pole position in Ghana amongst the eco-friendly companies.

GNA