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Federal Research Grant $1.39 million awarded to conduct research on hazardous material vacuuming and filtration |
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| Johnstown, PA, May 21, 2007 – GapVax, Incorporated, the premier provider of industrial vacuum and environmental cleaning equipment, announced that it has been awarded a $1.39 million Department of Defense (DoD) contract to conduct the necessary Research and Development to design and manufacture a prototype hazardous material (HAZ-MAT) recovery system capable of collecting and containing chemical, biological and other hazardous materials. The contractual elements of this program are administered by the U.S. Army’s Tank and Automotive Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, while the technical portions of the contract are monitored by TACOM’s Tank and Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), also in Warren, Michigan. The Research and Development contract will fund the initial phases of development of a highly-capable HAZ-MAT recovery system that can provide the flexibility necessary to support current and imminent warfare requirements in theaters around the globe. The HAZ-MAT System will also provide critical, non-combat related functions including high-pressure water jetting, water recycling and hydroexcavating for maintaining and remediating DoD installations at home and abroad. GapVax co-owner and President, Gary Poborsky, who has been a leader in the environmental remediation market for the past 30 years, said that “While GapVax manufactures the industry’s most technologically advanced industrial vacuum equipment, the TACOM R&D project will provide the resources necessary to enhance existing technology, and bring that technology to the level necessary to provide front-line support to the DoD community and to the National Guard emergency first response teams.” The HAZ-MAT Recovery System will be equipped to provide mobile wet/dry combination vacuum, water jetting capability, and a water recycling system, all of which will be used to safely remove water, soil and other debris contaminated by hazardous materials. Critical components of the project include the development of a Debris-Collection-Bag System that can safely contain and seal hazardous materials for disposal, a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filtration system that will prevent recovered chemical and biological materials, as small as one micron (0.00004 inches), from becoming airborne, and an Enzyme Injection System that will be used, with the water jetting system, to neutralize hazardous materials before they are recovered. The expected Delivery of the Advanced HAZ-MAT Recovery prototype is December, 2008. GapVax, Incorporated is a Johnstown, Pennsylvania based manufacturing company owned by Gary and Rose Poborsky, and serves customers worldwide. GapVax, Incorporated, along with its affiliated service companies, Gap Pollution and Environmental Control, Inc., and GapEntech, employ approximately 250 people. All phases of this research and development contract will be performed at the GapVax facility in the Moxham section of Johnstown. |