sarbex

NO-BURN is a product that’s marketed as fire retardant paint. It
looks out of place in an exhibition which focuses almost exclusively on
property. However, it seems like a damn interesting booth and we
Huygens Asia people went to check it out. 🙂

The thing that catches your attention from this booth is the stack
of wooden structures being displayed that looks like it has been
burned. The charred boxes, despite the superficial aesthetic damage,
still retain its structural integrity. The world is now a safer place
to live in, says the literature, with a picture flame under the world.

The attendant at the booth didn’t mind us poking around, so we set
about on doing our own experiments. The photo above shows the sample
test products which has been coated with the No-Burn fire retardant
chemical. There are pieces of plain paper with one half of it coated
with the No-Burn chemical and the other half uncoated. There is also a
stack of cardboard which has been partially dipped into the No-Burn
fire retardant paint.

We started out with the pieces of paper first. I love this sample
tests, one side is printed with an RM 100 bank note as seen above.
There is a distinctive demarcation along the paper…notice that the
treated part of the paper has a slight red tint. The untreated part of
the test currency is white.

The flip side of this currency really cracked me up…it is a spoof
of a US dollar card with NO-BURN in the middle and the phase “In
No-Burn We Trust” on top instead of the usual “In God We Trust”. Nice!
It’s also treated with the same fire retardant chemical, as can be seen
from the discoloration.

We started on this test sample first. We got a lighter and Mancy
tried to set fire to the part of the paper that’s treated with No-Burn.
It didn’t catch fire. Then we tried to burn it even more. It still
didn’t alight, but it did scorch the paper a little. But it didn’t burn
the paper. Damn…

Here’s what it looks like after our repeated attempts to make it
burn. The paper didn’t burn away, it just scorched. The interesting
thing was, the No-Burn chemical treated paper gave off little smoke,
but a strong chemical smell when it was burned. I wonder what it’s made
of…

Anyway, we then started on the untreated part of the same piece of
paper. Oh, that burned all right…it burned very fine indeed. 😉

Thus, we burned it a little more. It’s paper, so it burned very well, we had to put it out by blowing on it.

The next experiment was made with the No-Burn paint coated cardboard.

The results were pretty much the same…the No-Burn paint scorched, but didn’t burn, and the untreated cardboard burned…

We spotted a piece of clothing that has been treated by No-Burn on
one side. It’s supposed to be a curtain and is there for demo purposes,
so test it we did…

Unfortunately, the No-Burn treatment didn’t allow any kind of
ignition to occur. Your silent fireman indeed…next time I’ll bring an
oxy torch.

It was fun though, probably the most interesting booth in the SARBEX
expo. Thanks to Kenny, Mancy, Robyn and everyone who helped out with
the experiment. 🙂

Ignition, they call it an obsession,
But I think it’s kinda bitchin’
I think it’s kinda neat!

SARBEX 2004 was officiated by the Minister of Housing, YB Dato Sri
Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari Bin Tun Abang Haji Openg. No shit,
that’s his full name. I’m thinking I should get a longer name myself,
so that people won’t be able to say it without having to pause for a
breath of air midway. 😉

There was much fanfare…okay, the usual ribbon cutting and tour, that’s all. Let’s move on.

Complimentary food was provided by a catering service, one of whom
had the misfortune of meeting a concrete support pillar, but we already
talked about that yesterday. Just watch out for lorries. 😉

The food is typical expo fare…the cups and saucers, ready to be
filled with coffee or tea, sandwiches and plates lined with disposable
serviettes.

There’s fried beehoon (rice vermicelli) and a very strange mixture of vegetables (top).

Chicken wings are also available, as well as curry puffs (top) and beef slices in a bun (far right).

The bastard son of the salmon-egg sandwich also makes an appearance,
with its unorthodox green (pandan bread), spotted white (raisin bread)
and brown (chocolate bread) layers. It’s also available in ye ol’ pure
white variety, for the ones who prefer to stick to tradition.

The tastiest offering in the free brunch is located under a big
wooden cock, which is guarding over the food. Or maybe it was a
hornbill, I can’t tell the difference.

It’s that plate with the triple dessert arrangements. The outer ring
is made of a white, chewy kueh wrapped in pandan leaves, and the middle
has half of some kind of pinkish kueh which is soft and dusted with
coconut and the other containing tapioca mixed with some kind of sweet
milky thing. It’s great!

This is the plate I had. I went back for second helpings…

SARBEX 2004 is going to start opening its doors to the public
tomorrow. This event is located at the Permata Carpark Building on
Level 5 and is organized by IDA, the very same people who brought us
BTS 2004 and ICT 2004. SARBEX is The Sarawak Builder’s Expo property
roadshow and we are going to have a presence there. This will have been
the third expo I’ve gone to under the banner of Huygens Asia and
organized by IDA.

The event is not as large scale as previous ones, due to the
relatively niche market it represents. The roadshow only occupies the
inside of the modified carpark, instead of extending into the outer
areas, like in previous events.

Huygens Asia is located in Booth #5, which is the side booth near
the stage. We were allocated a 2 x 4 meter space, but was later
upgraded to a 2 x 8 meter floor space. We’re not done setting up yet,
as you can see from the photo.

The stage is just to the side of our booth…this is usually a Good Thing (TM).

I went there to see the progress of the exhibitors and noticed that there were only two other exhibitors setting up besides us.

It’s all partially set up, tomorrow is the day when the roadshow
opens to the public, and the day before is usually earmarked for
exhibitors to get their booths ready.

I went inside the administration office, and found, not to my
surprise, the same good people in IDA who managed the previous two
expos I’ve attended. Well, SARBEX 2004 is going to open tomorrow, so
expect daily from-the-expo-floor reports. 🙂