Q&A with Jim Posa
In October 2022, we shared the great news of our strategic investment from Ahlström Capital, one of Finland’s largest investment companies. We’ve asked our President and CEO, Jim Posa, three questions about the financing:
1. What does this investment mean for BFT?
This investment means a lot to our day-to-day operations, as we will be able to scale up our technology, and create new value for our customers, shareholders, and partners. It is exceptional to be working with Ahlström Capital as we can draw on their in-depth expertise in the fibre and nonwovens industry to help grow our own operations and our knowledge base. Our primary goal is to provide the nonwovens industry the means to sustainably replace as much synthetic fibre as possible, and in order to achieve this goal, it is crucial for us to increase capacity now. We have several customers introducing products containing our sero™ fibres to the market, as well as additional customers in late-stage commercial validation trials.
2. Why did BFT choose Ahlström Capital as an investment partner?
Ahlström Capital is one of Finland’s largest investment companies with a 170-year history and a mission to create a better world for future generations through sustainable value creation. The family-owned company has an excellent reputation for investing in clean-tech companies supporting sustainable industrial solutions. It’s important to us to work with an investor that shares our values and our vision of moving away from plastics towards a zero-waste future. Additionally, Ahlström Capital has several complementary portfolio holdings in the nonwovens and sustainable fibre industries, including Suominen Corporation and Ahlstrom. They take an active role in the companies they invest in, which will be beneficial for us as we grow.
3. Why do you and Ahlström Capital believe Bast Fibre Tech has such high growth potential?
First, we’ve seen a significant increase in market demand for sustainable fibres. This demand is driven by plastic-free and anti-deforestation legislation, environmentally conscious supply chain targets from consumer goods companies, and strong consumer preference for natural products that eliminate plastic waste.
We believe that we’re poised to take advantage of this unique opportunity with our innovative and proprietary processing technologies, our novel regional supply chain approach, and our sero™ technical natural fibre, designed for nonwovens.