Open to opportunities

But the company may be just warming up. A recent episode of "Smash Lab" on the Discovery Channel experimented with stretching CarbonX and another material over an entire house to protect the structure during a brush fire.

Despite that possible new use, Thatcher says the company wants to focus on burnishing its reputation with its current products before moving into other markets.

"We've had people contact us who have done some experimentation," Thatcher says. "We don't have any expertise in that particular market. In each market we go into, typically we partner with people with expertise or distribution capabilities. If the right partner came along, absolutely we'd want to chase that.

"We're still a small company and still focused on where we can really execute. We're in that 'pinnacle of risk' and establishing ourselves there, and later we'll move downmarket to other applications where people might be willing to pay for improvements in performance."

The company has shied away from highly political markets — firefighting equipment is an example — and the fabric's inherent black color is an obstacle to moving into baby clothing, oven mitts, barbecue aprons or other retail uses.

If there is any potential heartburn for the company, it is the possibility that troubleseekers will see its demos and want to try something dangerous themselves.

"No one should purposely expose themselves to fire and flame," Thatcher says. "Some people see our product and think, 'Wow. I'm invincible,' and that's not the case. This is what you want to be wearing on your worst day, but you don't want to purposely cause your worst day."

Instead, Chapman workers maintain a burning desire to hear about how they helped save lives and shield people from danger.

"We think about it every day," Thatcher says. "There are people going into war — whatever their war is, whether it's in a steel mill or a real war — that are wearing our product."

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com