Xemex Static Mixer, a Madison, WI-based startup that’s developing a nozzle for mixing two-part adhesives, raised $250,000 in equity financing from a single investor, according to a federal securities filing. Potential users of the disposable device, which contains no moving parts, include groups in the construction industry and manufacturers that sell to medical and dental care providers, said Eric Ronning, co-founder and CEO of Xemex.
The company plans to use some of the proceeds of the funding round, which could top out at $500,000, for research and development purposes and as general working capital. Xemex has not yet started bringing in revenue, according to the filing.
One of Xemex’s selling points is that users of its nozzle, who typically need to combine two fluid components into an adhesive right before applying it to a surface, do not waste as much adhesive in the mixing process as they do with some static mixers that are currently on the market.
“The product allows customers to use less adhesive. The volume of wasted adhesive is reduced by half,” Ronning said while pitching at the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest in June. Xemex took second place in the advanced manufacturing category at the competition.
Ronning said that his startup is open to selling to large companies, such as Maplewood, MN-based 3M (NYSE: [[ticker:MMM]]). In June, Ronning said Xemex was in talks with 3M, which makes adhesives and a host of other products. 3M is both a formulator and a distributor, Ronning said, meaning that if it were to work with Xemex, it would package nozzles with 3M-made adhesives. Or, he added, Xemex could opt to work with lesser-known businesses that are only focused on distribution.
The two-person startup—Xemex’s other co-founder is Brian Pekron, who like Ronning studied engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—is a graduate of Discovery to Product, a program that helps students, faculty, and staff at the school turn concepts into companies.
According to a report from UW-Madison’s news service, each year 120 million static nozzles are sold to groups in industries like electronics and autos in North America. Ronning and Pekron came up with the design for their nozzle by using software to test out different part shapes, the university said.
