Series B Funds Granted
Having recently secured $75 million as part of its Series B funding, Noveon Magnetics is planning to use the capital for expansion projects. The funding will be primarily used to grow its current facilities and increase production capacity.
Located in San Marcos, Texas, the 145,000-square-foot commercial facility owned by the neodymium rare earth magnet manufacturer is currently on course to produce approximately 2,000 tons of magnets yearly by 2024.
“EcoFlux” Magnet
In contrast to traditional methodologies, Noveon’s EcoFlux magnet only necessitates 80% of what is usually required in terms of heavy rare earth material. Unlike other production procedures, this technique can accommodate both brand-new, recycled, and end-of-life feedstock materials.
Scott Dunn, Chief Executive Officer of Noveon, explains, “We basically wanted to bring a supply chain solution to the marketplace given the geopolitical stage that’s been set for a couple years,” Dunn said. “There’s also a pretty significant environmental impact associated with the materials, all the way back to mining and concentration and everything else.”
Without compromising on performance, Dunn asserted that the EcoFlux magnet was the perfect solution for Noveon. According to him, it “checked all of the boxes” for the needs of the company.
Dunn noted that the firm partners with several outlets to secure recycled feedstock, including some of the premier North American recyclers. Working towards better magnetic recovery systems and increasing semi-automated disassembly procedures are currently his major objectives.
A Need for Rare Earth Recycling
The need for rare earth magnet recycling has recently attracted attention from the U.S. federal government. This is attributable to restrictions on the supply chain and increased political tensions arising with China, a major producer of metals used in making magnets.
Noveon’s entry into the rare earth magnet recycling market was “a little bit of luck”, because “you can’t really know how things are going to go.” Nevertheless, a decade ago it became clear that because of the rapid growth of the sector, materials available, and a number of different available technologies, recycling of rare earth magnets was becoming increasingly necessary.
“We want to at least to offset the supply chain risk associated with China and – closer to our hearts and our customer’s, hopefully – offset as much of the need for mining activities as we can,” Dunn added.
Large Sources of Supply
Dunn also disclosed to E-Scrap News that the company’s supply is sourced from some of the biggest recyclers in North America. This offers a wide range of materials such as electric motors, energy systems, medical devices, and data storage.
According to him, Noveon’s initial focus was the creation of a magnet manufacturing firm that employed a “resource, material-agnostic technology that allows you to even kind of redefine a supply chain using recycling material as a feedstock to directly support the magnet manufacturing process.”
New Financing
NGP and Aventurine Partners initiated a portion of financing and in return, James Wallis from NGP is now part of Noveon’s board of directors.
According to a statement from Dunn, the new funding will “allow our company to continue ramping up production to help fulfill our robust sales pipeline and meet the skyrocketing global demand for critical rare earth magnets.”
Targeted Growth
When Noveon first opened its doors, only 15 individuals were part of its team. However, Dunn is thrilled to report that the company has grown significantly since then, and as production continues to ramp up in coming years, he is confident that the firm will easily exceed 100 staff members as additional shifts are added.
With an emphasis on recycling as the future continues to evolve, there is also a focus to increase domestic post-consumer recycling of recyclable materials, according to Dunn. This will ensure that more commercial demand is met.
Noveon looks forward to the coming months, and its continued growth endeavors.
