Carclo in £3.67m fundraising for cutting edge touch screen technology

HI-TECH plastics and lighting group Carclo has announced it is raising £3.67m through a share placing to allow it to “accelerate a number of growth projects” including developing touch screen technology for mobile phones.

The Ossett-based firm which supplies plastic components and produces specialist lighting products for several high performance cars by Porsche, Lotus and Bentley, said that the placing of 2.85m new shares at 128.5p each by stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin was with institutional investors and equated to around 5% of the current share capital of the company.

The cash raised will be used principally in Carclo’s technology business, Conductive Inkjet Technology (CIT) which has signed a deal last week with US-based tech firm Atmel for the development and launch of an innovative new touch screen product.

The $1m (£600,000) deal will use CIT’s patented photolithographic metallisation process to create the screen for use in mobile phones and other electronic devices.

CIT will be installing a new production line at its Cambridge facility to produce touch screen sensors with a view to volume production commencing in 2011.

Over the next two years Carclo will invest up to £2m on the production line and an associated expansion of CIT’s clean room facilities. In addition, it is anticipated that the project will result in an increase in Carclo’s working capital requirements.

The group confirmed today that current trading is in line with expectations.