April 23, 2019
The Novares Venture Capital Fund invests in Quad Industries, a company specialized in printed flexible electronics, to create new systems with intuitive intelligent interfaces for all passengers and add to Novares Group innovative solutions for cars.
Novares Venture Capital was created in February 2018 by the Novares Group to build a startup ecosystem in fields adding value to Novares’ products such as smart surfaces. With a strong R&D internal strike force, Novares assembles a pool of key technologies in open innovation to co-develop and offer disruptive systems and solutions that shift the way cars interact with passengers and their environment. Novares Venture Capital invests in startups with which it develops long term partnerships and has already invested in FlexEnable, APAG CoSyst, and Actronika.
Quad Industries is a Belgium company, with a production site in Slovakia, working on applied electronics. It is specialized in user interfaces and control panels for both consumer and industrial applications. In recent years, the company has extended its activities in the domain of printed electronics, with the development and production of printed, flexible sensor solutions.
Novares’ investment is part of an exciting partnership between the two companies. Novares and Quad Industries have signed a Joint Development Agreement in May 2018 and are collaborating on advanced user experience projects within Novares open innovation lab, the Nova Car. Quad’s technology is already integrated in the Novares “Touch’N Play” concept, incorporated in the Novares demo car, Nova Car #1.
Novares and Quad are working on even more innovative solutions with intuitive intelligent interfaces using 3D shaped electronics for the Nova Car #2, which will be revealed on June 25, 2019 in Paris. Future co-developments include Quad’s technologies in proximity sensing, gesture control, vital signs monitoring or stretchable sensors.
Arne Casteleyn, Quad co-CEO and Sales Director, says ”We are extremely excited about this investment from Novares in Quad Industries which reinforces our long-term collaboration. Novares brings the needed know-how to integrate our technologies into automotive components and systems.”
“This investment of Novares Venture Capital in Quad Industries, along with those in FlexEnable, APAG-CoSyst and Actronika is illustrative of the Group’s strategy to feed our Innovation ecosystem with close and long-term startup partnerships. Quad’s printed electronics are key in our smart surfaces technologies, allowing Novares to propose to its customers disruptive systems and intuitive solutions for all users in the car.” declares Pierre Boulet, Novares CEO
About Novares
Novares group is a portfolio company of Equistone Partners Europe, with BPI France as second largest stakeholder.
Headquartered in France, Novares is a global plastic solutions provider that designs and manufactures complex components & systems serving the future of the automotive industry. The company creates and produces cutting edge automotive solutions with technical plastic injection for cleaner, lighter, connected, cars with intelligent and intuitive interfaces for all passengers.
Novares co-develops and provides engineering and manufacturing expertise to virtually every OEM and many Tier-1 companies in the automotive market. Following MPC integration, Novares’ 2019 revenues should amount to €1.5 billion.
The group, including Novares Venture Capital participations, is present in 22 countries, runs 47 Manufacturing Plants, 8 Skill Centers, 7 Technical Centers and 17 Customer Service Centers, around the globe to partner with customers.
