MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries has led a USD12million Series C financing round in FRX Polymers Inc., Chelmsford (USA). Its corporate venture capital fund, Evonik Venture Capital GmbH, invested USD2.5 million in the round, according to the company's press release.
FRX is the manufacturer and marketer of a new, environmentally friendly family of inherently flame retardant plastics and oligomers, trade named Nofia. The closing coincided with the opening of FRX’s first industrial scale flame retardant polymer plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
Nofia products are a family of halogen-free, phosphorus-containing oligomers and polymers that are inherently flame retardant and display unique physical properties. FRX’s products have applications in consumer electronic, building and construction, and transportation markets.
"We are delighted to have become an investor in FRX. This is an exciting company with a unique product offering that has come a very long way and is strategically well positioned to carve out an important market share in the years to come", said Dr. Bernhard Mohr, Managing Director of Evonik Venture Capital, who are also represented on the Board of Directors of FRX.
Investments in technology companies and specialized venture capital funds provide Evonik with rapid access to new technologies outside of the existing portfolio covering the most important technologies trends and geographic regions.
As MRC reported before, with a level of purity approaching 99%, SEPURAN green high performance polymers from Evonik Industries make biogas processing much more efficient. For this achievement, the company has recently received the 2013 German Innovation Prize for climate and the environment in the "Environmentally friendly technologies" category.
FRX Polymers, Inc. was founded in 2007 following over five years of intensive research and development in the field of inherently flame retardant plastics. The company operates two pilot plants in Chelmsford MA, a polymer pilot plant in Switzerland and a full scale plant in Antwerp Belgium.
Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2012, the company generated sales of around EUR13.6 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.6 billion.
MRC