Powder Metallurgy start-up SINTERmat receives funding boost
November 26, 2018
French Powder Metallurgy start-up SINTERmat, Dijon, France, has received development funding from the Definvest Fund, the fund of France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces, managed by French investment bank Bpifrance, as well as from a number of private investors. This funding will enable the company to acquire equipment and initiate industrial production, as well as finalising its installation in new premises in Montbard, France.
SINTERmat is a spin out from the University of Burgundy which aims to promote university public research in the field of PM and in the emergence of Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technology, and to provide its customers with innovative materials solutions based on PM techniques. The company stated that its solutions are designed to meet the needs of manufacturers for small and medium-scale series production in emerging markets such as luxury goods, defence, aeronautics and energy.
SPS makes it possible to agglomerate nanopowders of different types under the effect of a strong electrical impulse, and thus to obtain parts of very high strength and density that are suitable for use in fields such as automotive, aerospace and defence, as well as in the luxury consumer goods industry. The funding boost is expected to allow SINTERmat to begin industrial production immediately with the purchase of a sintering machine with unique capabilities in France and Europe.
“I am very pleased to have the support of the Definvest Fund,” stated Foad Naimi, Director and Founder of SINTERmat. “This involvement gives our project the solid foundation that we will need to accelerate our growth and industrialise SPS technology. This stage marks the beginning of a human adventure for SINTERmat. I will be attentive to encourage the cohesion and the involvement of the teams around the business project and its values: eco-responsible attitude, customer-centric innovation, autonomy, responsibility and excellence.”
Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces of France, commented, “Research, audacity, duality in innovation and the technical challenges identified are assets for defence, assets that we must encourage and make profitable. I am convinced that research and technological success are intimately linked. For our defence, I cannot imagine one without the other… SINTERmat concentrates all the qualities that the Ministry of the Armed Forces looks for in its ambitious will to innovate. I am proud of this new investment from Definvest.”
