Dealers’ Choice Awards Spotlight: ECP Inc.

ECP Inc. was recognized in the 2024 Dealers’ Choice Awards for a diamond award in the Appearance Protection category; and a gold award in the F&I Ancillary Products category. Following the awards announcement, ADT spoke with Brian Feldman to learn more about what is going on behind the scenes. 

Brian Feldman serves as the Director of Reinsurance Sales and Optional Protection Products at ECP Incorporated. With over 30 years of experience providing F&I products and services for the automotive industry, Brian possesses an extensive background in developing solutions for O.E.M.’s, service providers and large dealer groups.

ADT: Describe some of the product technologies currently on the forefront at ECP. What has your team been working on?

Feldman: At ECP, our team of chemists are always working on improving existing products and new product innovations and formulations.  Our research and development goals are to have the best appearance protection products in the marketplace.

Most recently, we have built upon our existing product technologies to produce some of the most outstanding appearance protection products in the industry today. 

For vehicle paint and exterior surfaces, we have incorporated Graphene into our easy to apply Diamond Ceramic Exterior Protection® product, resulting in a sizeable increase in gloss levels with added surface protection. 

For vehicle interior surfaces, we have made comparable improvements to our All-In-One Interior Protection™ product that has been developed for fabric, carpet, leather, and vinyl surface applications, now with improved, long-term stain repellency. 

Our Carbon Steel® Windshield Protection product has undergone a similar transformation, combining our glass strengthening properties and hydrophobicity into a single, easy to apply, product application. 

ADT: Could you speak more on the Diamond Ceramic with Graphene product. What exactly does Graphene do to enhance the protection of a vehicle’s exterior surfaces?

Feldman: Diamond Ceramic with Graphene™ Exterior Protection is our latest innovation in exterior appearance protection. Our patent-pending formula combines all the attributes of Ceramic, Nano-Diamonds, and Graphene into the first of its kind exterior protection product.

Nano diamond particles provide brilliance to the vehicle’s painted surfaces, while filling, sealing and protecting every square inch of the vehicle’s exterior – including the paint, trim, moldings and wheels. Diamonds are naturally hydrophobic (unable to become wet by water), therefore, tight water beading will form on all treated surfaces.

Ceramic technology chemically bonds to the applied substrate, which then becomes both chemical and water resistant. Once cured, these chemical bonds are hard to break and provide outstanding performance characteristics. Nano Ceramic particles form the backbone of our Diamond Ceramic with Graphene™ Exterior Protection offering superior long-term protection from multiple environmental elements. 

Graphene, by comparison, is harder than diamonds, but more elastic than rubber. It is stronger than steel, yet lighter than aluminum. Graphene’s honeycomb structure gives it a high-water contact angle compared to ceramic coatings alone, producing greater chemical resistance as well as reduced water spotting and staining. It also helps fill in the peaks and valleys of the vehicle’s clearcoat, strengthening and leveling the surface while increasing the gloss levels by 34%. Third party testing shows that Diamond Ceramic with Graphene™ retains 97.8% of a vehicle’s gloss and shine over a 7-year period versus 26.2% on unprotected surfaces. 

ADT: Tell us more about the new and improved All-In-One Interior Protection™ product. What makes this product revolutionary?

Feldman: ECP’s patented All-In-One Interior Protection™ is designed for all interior surfaces, including fabric, carpet, leather, and vinyl. This product eliminates the need for multiple interior protectants (i.e. a separate leather/vinyl protection product and a separate fabric/carpet protection product), and combines the chemistry required for U.V. protection, stain repellency, rips, tears, punctures, and burns into a single product. 

The quick and simplified application process reduces any confusion with product application while providing time savings and tested results never before experienced in the industry, including the reduction of rips, tears, and punctures by 34.3% and the prevention of burns by up to 50%, due to flame retardant chemistry that is added to the product formulation. 

Our newest version of the All-In-One Interior Protection™ is now better than ever due to the added benefit of improved, long-term stain repellency. Staining agents, such as liquids and detergents, simply bead up without setting, providing additional time to remove the contaminant with a simple cleaning regimen. 

ADT: What are some of the benefits associated with ECP’s new Carbon Steel® One-Step Windshield Protection product compared to your previous product innovation?

Feldman: Whereas our previous windshield protection system required a multi-step application process, ECP’s upgraded Carbon Steel® Windshield Protection product offers an increase in glass strength with enhanced visibility and exceptional repellency.  This combination is now offered as a one-step formula, producing an even quicker and simpler application process. 

Treated glass has been independently, third party tested to show over a 32% increase in break strength with extended hydrophobicity to repel water, insects, dirt, and grime. This translates into more chip resistance, less rock damage, and greater visibility. 

ADT: What other new innovative products are on the horizon?

Feldman: We are always looking to improve existing products and launch innovative new products and there is a lot going on.  I’ll share some exciting things that we are working on. First, our Carbon Steel® Windshield Protection has been upgraded to a one step application with advanced hydrophobicity and break strength.   

We are also very excited about our new Ceramic Protectant program that is specifically designed for the service drive.  This program allows a dealer to capture lost revenue and is also designed as a retention tool.  This program is currently being piloted and the results are very favorable. 

Lastly, our vehicle interior touch screen protection program (Sceen Saver) has been upgraded with a new protectant and we have seen amazing growth with this program.  We also continue to work with many in the industry on custom branded innovative solutions that protect consumers from all sorts of unexpected perils and events.