DetraPel – the advanced materials company that manufactures sustainable coatings – recently announced the completion of its $7.6 million Series A funding led by Material Impact. And additional investors in this round include multi-billion dollar packaging ink manufacturer INX International, Touchdown Ventures, FitzGate Ventures, Boro Capital, Icebook Investments, and others.
The new funding round will enable DetraPel to build on the market traction of the company’s recently rebranded industrial arm, Impermea Materials. And DetraPel has also rebranded its consumer operations to ProofPlus. The funding round is earmarked for the scale-up of its commercial coatings production to meet the demand of customers. The current industrial customers include four of the largest paper suppliers in the world and industry-leading consumer packaged goods companies who are aiming to offer premium and environmentally friendly packaging options to their increasingly eco-conscious customer bases.
Impermea Materials offers various industries, including paper and paperboard packaging, textiles, healthcare, etc., better-performing products for everyday use with its patented protective coatings that are made from PFAS-free and Fluorine-Free, bio-based chemistries. And the barrier coatings, which are being produced at scale, address the complex challenges facing businesses around product performance, while addressing environmental concerns by maintaining recyclability, repulpability, and compostability.
The recent pieces of legislation banning PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, in industrial manufacturing processes have driven interest in alternative chemistries like those from Impermea to mimic the performance of PFAS without the harmful effects on the environment and human health.
For textiles, Impermea’s protective coatings provide the industry with the ability to repel liquids, resist stains, and prevent fading from UV and flame retardancy. And in food packaging, Impermea’s barrier coatings provide best-in-class oil and grease resistance, address moisture sensitivity, provide release properties, and withstand temperature fluctuations allowing companies to transition to plastic-free options without making compromises. Impermea also offers coatings to protect against viruses with antimicrobial coatings in healthcare.
The recent funding round will be used to continue to expand Impermea Materials production processes to fulfill the growing demand for safer protective coatings in manufacturing, including ongoing product development, a new state-of-the-art synthesis laboratory, an application and commercialization laboratory, sales, marketing, and more.
KEY QUOTES:
“INX and Impermea Materials both serve the paper & paperboard packaging markets with a commitment to sustainable solutions. We see Impermea’s product offering as highly complementary, and we are excited to partner with DetraPel in accelerating sustainable barrier coating solutions to market.”
– Shane Bertsch, INX Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Innovation
“Since our inception a decade ago, we have been developing PFAS-free (100% fluorine-free), water-based chemistries that outperform their fluorinated counterparts. Our team is now at the forefront of the industrial manufacturing transition currently underway to remove toxic chemicals from the everyday products we come into contact with. For brands looking to accelerate the transition to safer solutions and match performance goals, our team at Impermea works directly with manufacturing teams to remove the chemicals and plastics without sacrificing the everyday performance of the products, and creating new efficiencies across their supply chain.”
– David Zamarin, Founder and CEO of DetraPel
“Businesses across the country and the globe are facing mounting pressure to deliver both plastic-free and PFAS-free products and coatings. Until now, finding solutions that meet the unique high-performing standards each business and applications require has been a significant challenge. DetraPel has a platform and proven record of delivering the necessary and customized solutions their customers require, with safer chemistry and formulations for human health and the environment. We look forward to continuing our partnership with DetraPel to address this growing need.”
– Adam Sharkawy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Material Impact
