applications; ceramic industrial components for erosion and corrosion resistant applications; ceramic powders, including boron carbide, boron nitride, titanium diboride, calcium hexaboride, zirconium diboride and fused silica, which are used in manufacturing armor and a range of industrial products and consumer products; evaporation boats for metallization of materials for food packaging and other products; ceramic diesel engine components; functional and frictional coatings primarily for automotive applications; translucent ceramic orthodontic brackets; ceramic-impregnated dispenser cathodes for microwave tubes, lasers and cathode ray tubes; and ceramic crucibles for melting silicon in the photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing process. The company's products also include: ceramic missile radomes (nose cones) for the defense industry; fused silica powders for precision investment casting (PIC); neutron absorbing materials, structural and non-structural, in combination with aluminum metal matrix composite that serve as part of a barrier system for spent fuel wet and dry storage in the nuclear industry, and non-structural neutron absorbing materials for use in the transport of nuclear fuel rods; nuclear chemistry products for use in pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors; boron dopant chemicals for semiconductor silicon manufacturing and for ion implanting of silicon wafers; and ceramic bearings and bushings for oil drilling and fluid handling pumps. The company's products are sold into four principal markets: defense, industrial, automotive/diesel and commercial. Defense Ceramic Armor: The company has developed and manufactures ceramic armor capable of protecting against threats as great as 12.7 millimeter armor piercing machine gun bullets. The company supplies ceramic body armor for the U.S. military and ceramic armor for military helicopters. It also supplies armor systems for military vehicles. Boron Carbide Powders: The company manufactures boron carbide powder. Missile Radomes (Nose Cones): The company manufactures conical shaped, precision machined ceramic radomes which are designed for the front end of defensive missiles. The company's ceramic radomes are used on the PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) missile and various future missile system prototypes. Industrial Fluid Handling/Wear Parts: The company supplies products made primarily of its EKasic silicon carbide, silicon nitride and boron carbide. Products furnished are used in pump seals, bearings for fluid handling, blast nozzles and chemical processing. Boron Compounds and Metallurgy Ceramics: The company's silicon nitride products are used for transportation of liquid aluminum, for use in low and high pressure casting and in liquid aluminum processes. Evaporation Boats: The company's evaporation boats are used in the metallization of various surfaces such as plastic, paper or glass. Metallization is a process based on the deposition of a metallic vapor under vacuum to coat a substrate surface with a thin layer of aluminum, zinc, copper or silver. Industrial Wear Components: The company's industrial wear components are made primarily of its Ceralloy 147 sintered reaction bonded silicon nitride (SRBSN). The company's wear resistant parts are used to replace parts made of materials such as tungsten carbide or ceramics such as aluminum oxide. Applications include paper making equipment, abrasive blasting nozzles, metal cutting tool inserts, as well as custom products. Radioactive Waste Management: The company's Boral product line consists of a rolled sheet containing a core of uniformly distributed boron carbide and aluminum particles that is enclosed with in layers of aluminum. The company also produces the boron isotope 10B. This isotope is a neutron absorber and is used for both nuclear waste containme