ANN ARBOR – The Frankel Commercialization Fund has invested $80,000 in Fusion Coolant Systems, a developer of an advanced coolant and lubrication system that makes manufacturing more efficient.
The Frankel Fund’s investment was part of a $600,000 series A round that also included the Amherst Fund, Spark’s Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and previous investors.
Part of a trifecta of student-led venture funds at the University of Michigan, the Frankel Fund is a pre-seed investment fund established to identify and accelerate the commercialization of ideas generated within the University community and the surrounding area. The Fusion Coolant deal marks the fund’s seventh investment and the third investment in a manufacturing enhancement technology company, including SurMod and Arbor Photonics, which was recently acquired by nLIGHT.
“The Frankel Fund provides graduate students unparalleled, behind-the-scenes access to early stage investing,” said Tom Porter, director of the Frankel Fund and executive in residence at the Ross School. “The teams function as independently financed venture capital companies and did a stellar job identifying the investment opportunity in Fusion Coolant and driving the entire due diligence process on behalf of all investors. We were pleased that we could lead this round of investment.”
Detroit-based Fusion Coolant has developed a disruptive metal-working innovation that cools and lubricates metal in a novel way that eliminates the cleaning process for tools and extends machining tool life. The company’s patented CHiP Lube system reduces metalworking cooling fluid costs and cleans without any toxic chemicals. The response to the Fusion Coolant System by customers has been very positive and the company intends to utilize the Frankel Fund seed money to finance new product development and initial customer development.
“It’s gratifying to bring a disruptive metal working coolant technology to market that offers customers the opportunity to achieve the next level of lean manufacturing processes,” said Tom Gross, CEO, Fusion Coolant Systems. “With the lead funding from The Frankel Fund, we’re now able to accelerate our growth and excited to deliver increased value to customers seeking ways to improve productivity while saving money.”
“We’re really excited about Fusion Coolant and their potential to transform the manufacturing industry. Not only does the company have a unique technology with customer traction, but it also has a superbly qualified team that has the understanding and capability to meet the challenges of integrating it into the production environment,” said Daniel Itsara, MBA 2014 and a fellow on the Frankel Fund’s Tech team. “In addition, we’ve been able to leverage the Frankel Fund’s resources within the University of Michigan community to provide valuable resources to the team.”
