Oct 2 2008
Nanoledge Inc., a high performance resins manufacturer specializing in the integration of nanoparticles into composites and the development of environmentally friendly materials, announced today the closing of a multi-million dollar Series A financing round. The co-leads were ID Capital and iNovia Capital with participation from Emertec Gestion.
Nanoledge was founded in France in 2001 and has over the years developed expertise in manufacturing resins that incorporate nanoparticles into composites while significantly improving overall product-performance. Since moving their headquarters and establishing manufacturing presence in Montreal, Canada, the company has been able to offer new solutions to sporting goods, high-tech, wind energy, aerospace and other industries. The NANO IN™ base resins product line demonstrates third-party-validated improvements in strength, flexibility, toughness, conductivity and material fatigue.
“This investment is a testament to our success in the marketplace and investors’ recognition of our ability to continue the challenge of enabling performance for a better and safer world of composite materials. We are now well positioned to innovate working on joint projects with partners such as Structil, Seal, SK Chemicals, Look Cycle, Babolat, Cobra, Suzlon Huntsman,..., improving their latest high-performance solutions. Nanoledge is looking forward to strengthening its North American customer base as well as further growing its presence in the Asian and European markets.” said Nanoledge President & CEO, Franck Bennardi.
“ID Capital was particularly impressed by the energy and drive of these entrepreneurs”, said Jean-Paul Tardif, Managing Partner of ID Capital. ”Nanoledge’s management has a problem solving approach versus a box moving approach and we are looking forward to assisting them in rapidly growing their business worldwide and expanding their product portfolio to meet the market demand per niche applications.”
Nanoledge currently works with all types of partners including formulators, pre-preggers and end-product manufacturers. Nanoledge expects to also act as a commercialization channel for other innovations in the composites industry, with particular focus on nanoparticles integration.
“What attracted us to Nanoledge was their ability to translate technical and manufacturing excellence into tangible products and business results, and proverbially - get out of the lab,” said Joško Bobanovic Principal with iNovia Capital responsible for cleantech investments. “The resin market is a multi-billion dollar market and Nanoledge is enabling its customers to deliver innovative, safer and high-performing composites. We are particularly excited about the high growth opportunity in the ecologically friendly materials.”