Cleaning systems specialist gets funding to go Stateside
MSIF has recently provided Liverpool-based business Alphasonics with a £75,000 loan, allowing it to expand its global market position by establishing a second base in Virginia, USA.
The funding comes from the NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance Fund, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
Alphasonics is a premier supplier of Ultrasonic cleaning systems. The business was created in 1993, by managing director David Jones.
Over the past 24 years, Alphasonics has gained a worldwide reputation for technical excellence and unrivalled service in the field of Ultrasonic Cleaning Systems.
Innovation, and a huge importance for solving customers’ problems, has led them to develop an array of products that can be tailored to suit almost any cleaning requirement in numerous sectors.
The business currently has over 2200 customers across the globe, with customers including Heidelberg, Amcor and more recently negotiations have taken place with an NHS Trust.
Although the company has enjoyed significant success exporting their products worldwide, it currently only has a small market share in the US, hence the requirement of a sales office.
Alphasonics has previously tried to utilise US-based agents and distributors to sell their products, but this has not been as effective as anticipated.
After receiving advice from the DIT and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, the decision was made to secure funding and create a permanent presence for Alphasonics in the US.
Sales and marketing manager, Chris Jones, will be relocating to Virginia, to drive activity, marketing and sales for the business.
Duncan McCann from MC Vanguard assisted David Jones throughout the process, including management accounts, assisting to update the business plan and creating the financial projection documents which were used to secure the funding.
David Jones said: “It has been clear to us for several years that unless we actually had feet on the ground in the US, we were never going to gain a foothold. So, it made very clear sense to us to approach MSIF once again to assist us with the cost of this set up.”
“It’s great to have more choice when raising finance and MSIF has always been a pleasure to deal with and I always get the feeling that we are working with someone who is actually on our side.”
“We have made great strides in our product development in the past few years and are now in a position to move forward to market. MSIF has been by our side throughout.”
MSIF investment manager, Andy Jones, said: “It was great to work with Dave again – he is a pre-existing MSIF client, and someone I really enjoy working with. I’ve seen Alphasonics go from strength to strength over the years, so I’m really excited to see them develop even further into America with this funding. The unique products they supply are really impressive.”
McCann said: “It was a pleasure being involved in yet another successful fundraising project for Alphasonics, which will assist the business in reaching another important milestone in its growth, allowing David & Chris to expand the Alphasonics brand and customer base in a major strategic location.”
Grant Peggie, director at British Business Bank, said: “We are delighted that MSIF has provided Alphasonics with the support needed to expand their global market presence.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
