The Qualities That Matter to You
Lower Environmental Impact
The effectiveness of DCOI at lower retentions translates to fewer chemicals overall in the environment.
DCOI is non-persistent in the soil and breaks down readily into harmless compounds.
Compared to other materials such as steel or concrete, DCOI treated utility poles and crossarms use less energy, fossil fuels and water; while producing less acid rain, eco-toxicity, and greenhouse gases.
DCOI is not a restricted use pesticide.
At the end of life, instead of disposing in increasingly restrictive and expensive landfills, DCOI treated utility poles and crossarms have a wider range of disposal options.
The 2020 R&D 100 Awards recognized UltraPole NXT, a technology developed by Viance and DuPont Microbial Control, with two prestigious honors. UltraPole NXT, an advanced wood utility pole preservative that offers low-impact environmental benefits, was honored as one of the most promising innovations in 2020, and the special, additional distinction, with a Silver R&D 100 Special Category Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.
The renowned R&D 100 Awards list, now in its 58th year, is the industry’s leading recognition for the global R&D community, spotlighting the top 100 technology advancements of the past year. This year’s competition received submissions from 19 countries or regions, judged by a panel of nearly 50 well-respected industry professionals across the globe.


Performance and Standards
Twenty-eight years of field data conducted by a leading utility industry research group and university show that the UltraPole NXT and UltraArm NXT provide effective protection against wood destroying organisms. Long-term stake tests indicate performance that is superior to the most common oil-borne pole treatment while using much lower amounts of preservative. Dr. G. L. Willingham with the Rohm and Haas Company, presented to the AWPA in 1999, data from a Mississippi State University test which showed that “DCOI (RH287) is approximately seven times more effective than pentachlorophenol after 14 years exposure in the Dorman test plot”, and later says that “it is approximately ten times as effective as pentachlorophenol when the treated wood is exposed above ground.”
DCOI has been standardized as a wood preservative by the AWPA since 1989, and ground contact uses were added in 2017. AWPA currently lists DCOI in the P-39 standard. Standardization continues today, with data packages submitted in 2017 supporting preservative retentions that are one-third of those for pentachlorophenol.
The Active Ingredient – DCOI
DCOI, the active ingredient in UltraPole NXT poles and crossarms, earned the EPA’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 1996 for its use as an alternative to tributyltin (TBTO) compounds in marine anti-fouling coatings.
DCOI’s formulation is 4,5-Dichloro-2n-Octyl-4-Isothiazolin-3-One.
DCOI is used in, and currently sold as:
a marine antifoulant
an algaecide for cooling towers
a wood preservative fungicide/insecticide component in the AWPA standardized EL2 formulation used for Ecolife® treated wood.
DCOI is very effective when used as a fungicide/bactericide for in-can paint formulations.
Pole Hardware
Pole hardware that is suitable for penta and CCA poles are also suitable for UltraPole NXT poles and crossarms.
50-Year Limited Warranty
DCOI treated poles and corssarms are the only oil-borne wood pole and crossarm preservatives in the industry with a warranty. Viance confidently warrants UltraPole NXT and UltraArm NXT against structural damage caused by termites and decay for 50 years.


UltraPole NXT poles and crossarms are the first major innovations in treated wood pole protection with 28 years of stake performance data.
- UltraPole™ NXT with DCOI is an oil-borne preservative that makes poles easy to climb.
- The active ingredient, DCOI, is not a Restricted Use Pesticide and is not persistent in soil.
- DCOI treated poles and crossarms have low to no odor.
- DCOI treated poles and crossarms use less energy, fossil fuels, and water to produce; with lower ecotoxicity than other materials used in poles.
- DCOI treated poles and crossarms have a wider range of disposal options at the end of life.
- DCOI, the active ingredient in UltraPole NXT poles and crossarms, earned the EPA’s President’s Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 1996 for its use as an alternative to tributyltin (TBTO) compounds in marine antifoulant coatings.
- DCOI is also the active ingredient in Ecolife®, the best performing, non-metal based, above-ground residential deck preservative on the market.
- DCOI is also used in water treatment, paints and coatings, adhesives, vinyl roof membranes, vinyl flooring, marine upholstery, outdoor furniture and shower curtains for example.
- DCOI is stable and leach resistant.
- DCOI is effective against wood decay fungi and termites.
- Standardized by the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA)
- UltraPole NXT poles and crossarms are the only oil-borne wood pole and crossarm preservative in utility infrastructure with a 50-year warranty.
- Perfect for industrial wood pole and crossarm applications in all ground contact decay hazard zones
- Crossarms – both Southern yellow pine and Douglas fir
- Utility poles – Southern yellow pine, Douglas fir and red pine
- Barn poles – Southern yellow pine
- Posts (guardrail and fence) – Southern yellow pine
