DURHAM – Emerging entrepreneurial company Phononic says it is responding to demand for its solid-state cooling and heating tecnology by striking a production deal through a factory in Thailand. But the venture capital backed firm is at the same time pleding to keep its current business and manufacturing operations in the Bull City.
“Phononic corporate headquarters, R&D, product development and production will continue to operate at full capacity and strength at the company’s headquarters and facilities in Durham,” the company said in Monday’s announcement.
The company announced a deal with Fabrinet to utilized the latter’s firm in Thailand in order to “scale global production” and meet growing demand for its thermoelectric products.
The deal will “dramatically expand high-volume manufacturing capabilities” beyond its Durham plant.
Durham startup Phononic begins mass production of ‘sustainable’ freezers, refrigerators
“The voracious appetite for data consumption and communications worldwide is a key driver behind Phononic’s growth in its optoelectronics business,” the company said. “With 12 straight quarters of growth, Phononic forecasts to increase revenue in 2020 from their optoelectronics business unit by over 150% compared to 2019. Thermoelectric devices are mission critical components needed inside many of the fiber optic transceivers that deliver and transmit data to laptops, mobile phones, smart TVs and vehicles.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Kevin Granucci, Vice President and General Manager of Phononic added: “We share the same customer base, so Fabrinet deeply understands the performance, quality and reliability standards required of products in this arena, and they have an unparalleled track record for meeting them.”
Phononic products are utilized across multiple industries.
Phononic, which ranked No. 66 on the latest Deloitte Fast 500 in tech list, has raised some $160 million in venture capital, and has drawn priase for Triangle investor and serial entrepreneur Scot Wingo. He included the firm on his 2019 “Tweener list” of emerging Triangle companies to watch:
“Solid state electronics have revolutionized computing, lighting (Cree) and now Phononic has figured out how to apply it to refrigeration. From cooling CPUs to residential and commercial applications, Phononic is revolutionizing the 100yr+ old stagnant cooling market with a green solution that eliminates the need for energy hungry compressors, heat sinks and other traditional refrigeration mechanisms.”
