CARY – Atmospheric Plasma Solutions, a startup which has developed technology to treat and remove industrial polymeric coatings, has closed on $3.5 million in new financing.
The company also added Richard McNeel, the former CEO of LORD Corporation, to its board of directors.
The funding comes as APS has customers across four continents. Clients include the US Navy, US Army, pharmaceutical firms and other Fortune 100 companies. APS said it plans to invest in new products and technology while also offering a leasing program. APS technology removes paint, sealants, adhesives and other protective coatings from a variety of surfaces, according to the company.
The funding, which came from a previous investor that was not identified, was announced Thursday.
In announcing the funds, CEO Glenn Astolfi said the company management and board discussed then decided to pursue capital that would allow the company to offer more options to customers, such as a leasing program.
“As we were wrapping up our convertible note round, our Board challenged us to think bigger and present a case for a larger investment. I worked with Founder-CTO Peter Yancey and COO Robert Ross to develop a strategy for APS to accelerate market adoption of our newest product-line for coating removal and surface preparation, PlasmaBlast, and more rapidly develop the next-generation of APS products,” Astolfi explained in the announcement.
“The Series B investment allows us to initiate this plan.”
The company, which earlier raised $3 million in convertible notes, also is hiring, looking to add engineering and technical support personnel.
“With the close of the Series B financing, we’ve strengthened our balance sheet, which allows us to offer leases to our customers. As our customers look to modernize their coating removal processes, now offering leases for PlasmaBlast allows adoption of our technology to only be an OPEX-decision.” Ross said.
The company says its technology provides “a significant advancement in coating removal technology, offering precision coating removal on surfaces that cannot be addressed by other means, such as by grit blasting or water jetting.”
Also joining the board are Bill Carter, a former executive at Advance Auto Parts, and Anthony Lengerich, a retired rear admiral.
