Finnish Industry Investment, Via Venture Partners and private investors have invested altogether EUR 9 million in the Finnish cleantech company Beneq, a supplier of production and research equipment f…
Finnish Industry Investment, Via Venture Partners and private investors have invested altogether EUR 9 million in the Finnish cleantech company Beneq, a supplier of production and research equipment for advanced nano-scale thin film coatings used for example in solar cells, glass coatings, and flexible electronics, such as OLED lighting. Sampo Ahonen, CEO of Beneq comments on the investment: “This investment in Beneq is, on the one hand, a definite sign of confidence in our corporate strategy, our technical expertise and our projected continued growth. On the other hand, it is also a guarantee of constant expansion and development of our services for our customer base, be that full-scale industrial production, research or R&D.” Beneq, founded in 2005, currently employs over 60 people in its headquarters in Vantaa, Finland and in its sales offices in Germany, China and the US. The company has exhibited an average annual growth rate of 93% during the last three years. In 2010, its turnover was approximately EUR 10 million. The company is currently moving from piloting to industrial production. Juha Lehtola, investment manager at Finnish Industry Investment comments: “Beneq is a pioneer in the Finnish nanotechnology sector. The company“s technology and equipment bring added value for example to the production of solar energy and many other fast-growing application areas. The company has already proven its growth capabilities and we are expecting strong export-driven growth also in the future.” Via Venture Partner has been an investor in Beneq since 2007 and has taken an active part in the company ever since. Peter Thorlund Haahr, partner in Via Venture Partners comments: “Beneq is an extremely promising company with a strong management team that has proven capable of bringing Finnish technology to the global scene. We hope to find equally good investment opportunities in Finland in 2011.”