Company Performance Metrics
- David Byker: Co-Founder
- Harlan Byker: CEO
Pleotint develops and sells self-tinting dynamic glass windows for architectural and other applications called Suntuitive®. Pleotint was founded by Harlan Byker, Ph.D., the sole inventor of the electrochromic (EC) technology used by Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) in its auto-dimming automotive rearview mirrors. As a result of that invention,
Gentex is worth over $5 billion today. Suntuitive utilizes thermochromics, a completely different technology than the EC technology used by Gentex. It’s also significantly different than the solid-state EC technology used in its competitors' products. Suntuitive is a robust commercial product that Pleotint is selling, and the company believes that Suntuitive will have broader appeal than the EC windows as Pleotint ramps up its marketing efforts and generates greater awareness that Suntuitive exists and is a great alternative, energy-efficient product. Suntuitive is the only dynamic glass technology that does not require electricity and human and/or software intervention or controls to work. Suntuitive dynamic windows are based on a sunlight-responsive, thermochromic interlayer, which is activated by heat from direct sunlight, causing the window to tint as necessary. The thermochromic elements are embedded in a PVB (polyvinyl butyral) interlayer, which is then laminated between two sheets of glass. This laminate is then incorporated into the final product, a dynamic insulated glass unit (d-IGU). The Suntuitive interlayer darkens in direct sunlight to block excess solar heat gain. It also blocks virtually all the ultraviolet, while maintaining a view and maximizing daylighting since it clears up in the absence of direct sunlight (https://suntuitiveglass.com/optimized-daylighting/). There is no electricity used to make this resilient product work and the window unit installs in the same way a traditional unit does. Suntuitive adapts to all seasons and weather, and the glass tints to a neutral gray. Tinting takes place only when there is direct sun and the potential for excess solar heat gain. The tinting is largely independent of ambient temperatures. Our competitors’ EC windows add complexity, as they have to be hardwired in the building, require electricity and controls to work, and tint to blue. Suntuitive windows are at pricing parity with those EC windows prior to their added costs for wiring and controls. Suntuitive is the only truly “green” dynamic window on the market.