RP’s lowly coconut shell used in making US Stealth bomber?

Ever heard of a Cavite-based company which gathers waste coconut shells in Misamis Occidental, Basilan or some obscure places in Mindanao, turn the items into charcoal, further heat it at 800 degrees Centigrade for eight hours in special kilns to obtain activated carbon and ship the goods to well paying buyers abroad?

For Pacific Activated Carbon Co. (PACCO), which has been into this kind of business for the last 37 years, such a unique, yet highly profitable enterprise (2002 net income: P40 million) has not only been generating jobs and providing extra income to impoverished coconut farmers in the southern Philippines.

It has also earned the respect of giant multinationals and well-known companies in the United States, Europe and Japan with whom it has established lucrative supply arrangements for the delivery of activated carbon to meet their various industrial needs.

Big-time clients

One of PACCO's clients is Freudenberg of Germany, which uses activated carbon for the manufacturer of cabin air filters and air-pollution devices. The products, in turn, are sold to Bavarian Motor Works (BMW), Daimler Benz and Volkswagen for installation in their luxury sedans and utility vehicles.

In the US, customers include Procter and Gamble, which buys more than a third of the local firm's 1,000 metric ton-a-month export volume; Philip Morris, which orders about 25 percent of total shipment; and 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) which procures a little over six percent.

P&G, the American industrial conglomerate, uses activated carbon as a major filtration ingredient to promote its expanding water purification business while the large tobacco firm rely on PACCO's product to produce special filters and tar guards for its multi-billion cigarette enterprise.

3M, known globally for its sealants and adhesives (Scotch tape) business, depends on activated carbon for the manufacture of its respirators and gas masks. In recent years, the firm had also been known to sell the coconut-based product to third party users which use the commodity in making body bags for the US health, defense and military establishments.

The activated carbon used in the body bag adsorbs human body fluids, making it convenient and hygienic for use in carrying human casualties during war and other forms of disaster.

From coconut shell in Basilan to coating for the US Stealth bomber?

But probably the most intriguing use of the lowly coconut shell charcoal-turned activated carbon is its possible role in the manufacture of the highly-guarded and enigmatic US Stealth bomber.

The sophisticated aircraft forms part of the forward war apparatus deployed by US President George Bush during the first day of attack on Iraq more than two weeks ago.

Costing over $1.2 billion to make, it is believed that the odd-looking plane's specialized black coating, which makes it able to evade detection from enemy radar, is partly made of activated carbon indirectly sourced from the Philippines.

"Activated carbon is known to help absorb radar and sound waves. Although US wants to keep it secret, this fact has already been tested and proven true," PACCO vice president for marketing Greg Montenegro told PAJ News and Features.

To prove his point, he claimed that at certain locations in the vicinity of his company plant in Carmona, Cavite, mobile telephne calls are blocked or could not receive signals even though telecommunication cell sites are just nearby.

"This indicates that activated carbon do have a blocking effect on radar and sound waves and we won't be surprised if the Stealth bomber uses our product to make it able to evade detection," the young PACCO executive said.

But even setting aside the Stealth bomber enigma, Montenegro said there is a growing demand for his products overseas and coconut farmers, especially in poverty-stricken areas, could be tapped to get involved in the lucrative business.

He said the company, considered the world's largest activated carbon producer, projects a five-percent-a-year growth in demand, largely due to growing awareness about the environment and efforts to control water and air pollution.

Montenegro is currently looking for farmer-suppliers to provide coconut shell charcoal at a rate of 3,000 metric tons a month, and the search had led him to remote provinces like Masbate, Camiguin Islands, and Camarines Sur.

Although coco shell are practically discarded and even turned to waste after farmers extract the copra, the material can be turned to charcoal and can be sold to PACCO between P2.50 and P3 per kilogram, Montenegro said.

Aside from earning extra cash, the seller also gets the good feeling that his commodity could one day turn itself into some filtration ingredients to purify water, refine gold, screen air pollutants, and coat America's prized aircraft, the deadly Stealth bomber. – PAJ News and Features