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The Hague, 2 March 2016 – Airborne International, manufacturer of composites (high performance fiber-reinforced plastics), has received a capital injection of € 12 million specifically to foster its growth in the aerospace sector. The Hague-based company wants to invest in new technologies that will allow them to produce composites more efficiently. Additionally, Airborne sees opportunities to expand its maintenance services at the Woensdrecht Air Base. Hans de Boer, President of the Employers’ Association at VNO-NCW, officially announced the investment during his working visit to the Digital Factory, which is the field lab of Airborne Composites Automation.
The growth capital comes from a consortium consisting of four investors: InnovationQuarter, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), Pangaea Ventures and HPE Growth Capital. In 2010, HPE already made an important growth capital injection in Airborne. For Pangaea Ventures, which focuses on modern materials, this is their first investment in the Netherlands.
Airborne delivers its advanced composite solutions to key players in the fields of Aerospace, Defense and Marine Industries. As a preferred supplier, Airborne develops, engineers, qualifies, produces and maintains composite products, for use under the most demanding conditions.
In the rapidly growing market for composites, the emphasis is increasingly being placed on the broad industrialization of the composite production process. Besides the development and production of composite components, Airborne builds and implements automation solutions which are both large-scale and flexible, while at the same time, providing industrial production at internationally competitive price levels.
Automation and maintenance
Founder and CEO Arno van Mourik is pleased with the investors’ confidence: “Part of the capital injection will be used to improve our automation. We also plan to put some of the capital into building and expanding our maintenance activities at Woensdrecht Air Base. The demand for lightweight and low maintenance solutions is increasing rapidly, and the major challenge now is affordability. Composite production needs to be brought up to a truly industrial level, and there are no standard solutions currently available. With the support from investors, such as InnovationQuarter and BOM, specialized companies, such as Airborne, can obtain a leading position worldwide in this development.”
Investment Partners from two provinces
It is the first time that the regional development agencies InnovationQuarter (Province of South Holland) and BOM (Province of North Brabant) are working together to provide growth capital. Both agencies invest venture capital in promising innovative enterprises that strengthen the regional economy. Airborne is represented in both provinces, hence the close co-operation.
In The Hague, where the company was founded, Airborne developed automated production lines for composite products, together with Siemens and Kuka. This ‘digital factory’ is an example of the Smart Industry Action Agenda – a self-managed factory where people issue the commands, but computers provide the information on which production should run. Airborne Services was established in Woensdrecht. The maintenance site for military helicopter rotor blades is still being used, but the company sees many opportunities to expand their services to civil aviation, including services for international customers.
Deputy of the Province of South Holland Adri Bom-Lemstra heartily welcomes the development agencies’ joint investment: “Aerospace is a market segment in the high-tech manufacturing industry of South Holland with promising prospects. Airborne is a major player in this market, and through more efficient production of composite products, the company can further strengthen its position.”
Employment and innovation
The investors see Airborne International as a very progressive company, with a technological edge in robotic automation. Airborne strengthens employment and innovation in both regions. Francis Quint, Head of InnovationQuarter Capital, stated: “Since the very beginning, Airborne has offered solid employment opportunities and innovation to the region. It is expected that the number of employees in South Holland will increase by 50% over the next five years (currently 115 positions). South Holland has a strong maritime and aviation sectors, and an investment in Airborne can therefore be seen as a direct reinforcement of these sectors. Major clients are located here, and to remain innovative, Airborne works closely with key regional knowledge offices, such as the Technical University of Delft, and the Dutch technical research bureau TNO. ”
BOM finds the innovative power of Airborne a major asset to achieve its ambitious growth plans. Miriam Dragstra, Director of BOM Capital, stated: “Our joint investment with InnovationQuarter will provide part of the capital. This investment underscores our goal to further strengthen the maintenance, logistics and smart manufacturing sectors, and we expect to achieve employment growth of more than 60 positions. ”
Deputy of the Province of North Brabant Bert Pauli (Economics and Internationalization) is happy with the arrival of Airborne to the Woensdrecht Air Base. “Airborne’s high-quality products and services are not only important for Aviolanda and the Air Base, but also for the ecosystem we are building around aircraft maintenance. That ecosystem unites different key sectors, and is also of great significance for the rest of Brabant and the Netherlands. As a region with the highest density of these important industries, we are in an excellent position. The ultimate goal is to create as many jobs as possible! ”
Also the Ministry of Economic Affairs welcomes this financial contribution. The Ministry has supported Airborne on previous occasions. In January during the informal Competiveness Council in Amsterdam, Minister of Economic Affairs H.E. Mr. Kamp presented Airborne as a smart and innovative company. During this event all European Ministers presented a high profile entrepreneur from their own member state.
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For more information on this topic please contact:
Airborne International
Arno van Mourik, CEO
+31 6 21 25 00 01
a.vanmourik@airborne.nl
www.airborne-international.com
Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij
Monique Beukers, P.R. & P.A. Manager
+316 24 74 75 59
mbeukers@bom.nl
Jurgen van Eck, Senior Investment Manager
www.bom.nl
Twitter: @bom.nl
InnovationQuarter
Karolien Sas, Communication Advisor
+31 6 23 04 21 63
karolien.sas@innovationquarter.nl
Nienke Vledder, Senior Investment Manager
www.innovationquarter.nl
Twitter: @InnoQuarter
About the Brabant Development Agency (BOM)
The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) endeavors to promote an innovative and resilient economy in the Dutch province of Brabant, giving the region a lasting competitive edge in a rapidly globalizing world. The emphasis in this policy is focused on the top economic clusters, crossovers between these clusters, and linking these clusters to social issues.
BOM encourages companies, local and national authorities, and knowledge institutes to realize the economic ambitions nurtured by the Province of Brabant. The starting point in this is to provide smart solutions to social problems. BOM’s core tasks involve forging alliances between companies and institutions, attracting foreign companies, investing risk capital in both innovative startups as well as growing companies, and developing business sites. At present, BOM has an investment portfolio of 65 companies, and the investment assets total € 222 million under management.
About InnovationQuarter
Innovation Quarter is the regional development agency for West Holland. InnovationQuarter finances innovative and fast-growing companies, assists international companies in establishing their businesses in West Holland, and facilitates (international) collaboration between innovative entrepreneurs, knowledge institutes and government. In this way, and in cooperation with the business community, InnovationQuarter supports the development of West Holland to become one of the most innovative regions in Europe.
The InnovationQuarter investment fund – which currently consists of € 58 million – offers venture capital to young technology companies and SMEs with growth plans in the region to bring new innovations to market. Through the fund, InnovationQuarter can raise the regional economy to a higher level. In 2016, the fund’s assets are expected to increase to € 80 million.
Innovation Quarter is an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Province of South Holland, the Cities of Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Delft, Drechtsteden, Westland and Zoetermeer, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Leiden University, the Leiden University Medical Center and Erasmus Medical Centre.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]