GRAND RAPIDS – Grand Angels, one of four angel investing groups in Michigan, has had its first portfolio company exit. RF Identics was acquired recently by label giant Avery Dennison for an undisclosed amount.
The other good news for Grand Angels is the exit came within 18 months after they pumped cash into RF Identics, which designs and manufactures high-performance, low-cost tags and labels for the rapidly growing U.S. and international RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) market.
RF IDentics is led by Co-Founders Gary Burns, General Manager, and Peter Phaneuf, Director, Manufacturing and Engineering. Burns is the former vice president of Siemens Dematic’s Parcel & Postal operation. Phaneuf was the President of Agile Technologies, a computer integration company and distributor of custom-made labels for hospital and medical supplies.
?The participating Angels are very pleased with their return on investment,? said Scott Spoelhof, RF Identics board member and Grand Angels investor.
Grand Angels Board Chairman, John Jackoboice also added: ?We usually tell entrepreneurs about our ?patient exit strategy? but welcome a quick exit when it comes. RF Identics is a great example of the type of business that, properly managed, can benefit enormously from an Angel investment.?
The April 2005 investment by Grand Angels in RF Identics was the fourth for the barely year old group. Since then Grand Angels has expanded from eight founders to a roster of forty-four committed members who have invested in seven carefully chosen entrepreneurs.
RFID tag technology uses antennas and microchips to automatically collect information on products, places, times and transactions. Unlike bar codes, RFID relies on advanced microchip communication, allowing users to write, read and store data on individual tags. The U.S. Department of Defense, along with retail giants Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Target, have directed their suppliers to comply with newly created RFID global standards, offering promising, long-term opportunities for firms like RF IDentics.
RF IDentics used its own proprietary assembly process to produce a high performance, low-cost family of tags and labels. The growing RFID market, including hardware, software, services and tags, is expected to exceed $2.6 billion in 2006 and $7 billion by 2008.
“RF IDentics brings another valuable set of technologies, manufacturing assets and talent to the Avery Dennison team,” said Dean Scarborough, president and chief executive officer of Avery Dennison. “It is a great complement to the technology transfer program for our converter partners and is consistent with our goal of empowering converters to add more value with greater flexibility and responsiveness for their customers. RF IDentics has developed significant technology that will be included in the package of tools that we offer converters.”
For more information, click on GrandAngels.Org
