Finnish Industry Investment, Via Venture Partners and private investors have
invested altogether 9 million euros in the Finnish cleantech company Beneq.
Beneq is 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 USA. The
company has exhibited an average annual growth rate of 93% during the last three
years. In 2010, its turnover was approximately 10 million euros. 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".