10 Jul 2008 07:00
SECOND LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY SPIN OUT
POLYFECT SOLUTIONS LIMITED
IPSO Ventures plc, the IP commercialisation specialist, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Ipso Management Limited ("IPSO") has created and invested in its second spin out company, Polyfect Solutions Limited ("Polyfect" or the "Company"), under its Framework Agreement with Loughborough University.
Polyfect, which has been spun-out from Loughborough University's Institute of Polymer Technology & Materials Engineering, has technology which demonstrates the ability both to reduce the cost of manufacturing plastic products and improve the quality of the plastic from which they are made.
The technology achieves savings and quality improvements through the highly efficient incorporation of functional fillers into plastics. Functional fillers are the materials which are used to change the properties of a plastic, for example, to make it non-static, to create gas barriers or change its pigmentation. Conventional processes for incorporating functional fillers in plastics achieve far from optimal results with a significant proportion of the material being poorly dispersed. This necessitates the use of large quantities of filler to achieve the desired properties. The fillers are typically more expensive than the virgin plastic and also degrade the mechanical properties of the plastic. Polyfect's technology allows significantly less filler to be used, resulting in both cost savings and quality improvements as well as having a positive environmental benefit. The process allows for a significant reduction in fillers such as carbon black. Polyfect's technology also improves filler dispersion within plastics by up to around 10 times that of conventional processes.
Polyfect's technology has the potential to enable the mass production of:
Cheaper plastics using smaller quantities of expensive functional fillers
Plastics with improved mechanical properties
New classes of materials with highly attractive properties
IPSO is investing up to £400,000 in two tranches. The Lachesis Fund, the University Challenge Fund for the East Midlands, is also involved in this transaction.
Polyfect will license this technology to operators in the plastics' supply chain for integration into their existing processes. Capital expenditure and running costs of using this technology are low whilst the potential material cost savings are high, making it profitable for licensees with a short payback time. Initial feedback from potential licensees on the technology has been very positive and IPSO believes that this business model should quickly generate high-margin royalty revenues for Polyfect. Initially, during scale-up, Polyfect will seek to work with a limited number of organisations that recognise the potential of the technology for their applications and wish to be amongst the first to realise its benefits.
Simon Hunt, Executive Chairman of IPSO, said: "We are very pleased to have created our second spin-out company under our agreement with Loughborough based upon a new process which enables a significant reduction in the cost of functional fillers in polymers. This process also has positive environmental benefits. We have assembled a strong team to take Polyfect forward and have appointed Ian Balchin as Interim CEO. Ian has over 20 years experience commercialising a wide range of technologies, including polymer related technologies. Amongst other achievements, he presided over a period of rapid growth during his time as president of Biotec Holdings GmbH, one of the largest manufacturers of biopolymers in Europe. We are also very pleased to have co-invested with the Lachesis fund."
Shirley Pearce, Vice-Chancellor, Loughborough University, added: "We are really excited about IPSO's second Loughborough spin out resulting from our partnership. We believe this is a further excellent example of how Loughborough enterprise can be translated by the right commercialisation partner from raw technology to the commercial market place. It is our second deal with IPSO in what is turning out to be a very positive relationship. The investment also includes the Lachesis fund with which the University has a long standing relationship."
Ian Balchin, CEO of Polyfect said, "Polyfect's technology has the potential to create significant savings for polymer processors through reduced filler costs, light-weighting of components and the creation of new polymer materials without having to use chemical processing to ensure good dispersion of fillers. In particular, at a time when high oil prices are impacting on polymer feedstock prices, Polyfect's technology should be welcomed as a way of reducing manufacturing costs and environmental impact. My initial focus will be on scaling up the technology and engaging with a select number of organisations that recognise its potential and wish to be amongst the first to realise its benefits."
Further information, please contact:
IPSO Ventures plc: Tel: 020 7395 1500
Simon Hunt, Chairman simon@ipsoventures.com
Nick Rodgers, Chief Executive nick@ipsoventures.com
www.ipsoventures.com
Ambrian Partners Limited Tel: 020 7776 6421
Tim Goodman tim.goodman@ambrian.com
Rawlings Financial PR Limited Tel: 01653 618 016
Catriona Valentine catriona@rawlingsfinancial.co.uk
www.rawlingsfinancial.co.uk