Battery Ventures Acquires Specialty Materials Supplier Goodfellow

Battery Ventures, a technology-focused investment firm, has acquired Goodfellow, a specialist supplier of high-quality materials for research and development, prototyping and specialized manufacturing. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1983, the firm backs companies at all stages, ranging from seed and early to growth and buyout, and invests globally from six strategic locations: Boston; San Francisco and Menlo Park, Calif.; Herzliya, Israel; London; and New York.

Headquartered in Cambridgeshire, UK, Goodfellow has subsidiaries in China, France, Germany and the United States to serve its global customer base. Customers include advanced manufacturers, government research facilities, laboratories and top universities worldwide. “Clients turn to Goodfellow to procure high-quality raw materials and semi-fabricated components that meet the most rigorous quality standards for their research as well as specialized manufacturing requirements, such as new product prototyping,” states the company.

The broad research and development (R&D) market is poised for growth as the proportion of the global population that works in engineering and research increases, driving additional R&D activity and spend. At the same time, as scrutiny of materials in the global supply chain increases, businesses and laboratories recognize the importance of turning to a trusted partner that can guarantee purity and the exact characteristics of the materials used across researchers’ workflows.

Goodfellow’s product catalog includes more than 70,000 products, consisting of over 700 different materials in multiple forms, including alloys, ceramics, composites, compounds, glass, metals and polymers. In addition, the company also provides custom-made services for its clients. “By employing highly sophisticated scientists and engineers, with extensive technical knowledge of materials and their processing requirements, Goodfellow collaborates with its customers to recommend suitable materials and products to meet the requirements of their specific applications,” claims the company.

“Goodfellow has built a strong reputation for first-class customer service in an industry where quality, reliability and expertise is critical,” said Battery Ventures General Partner Jesse Feldman.

“We look forward to continuing this heritage and further serving Goodfellow clients worldwide by growing the company’s international business and broadening its product range, including through targeted M&A, as well as improving customers’ digital-procurement experience—allowing them to more easily buy more materials online.”

“Our goal has always been to be a trusted supplier of the most comprehensive range of materials for research, development and specialized manufacturing to ensure that our customers can have whatever they want, whenever they need it, wherever they are,” said Goodfellow Sales Director Simon Kenney.

“Battery Ventures, a well-capitalized, global investment firm, will bring additional resources and a deep expertise in the industrial-technology market to help us accelerate growth in the next phase of Goodfellow’s journey. We look forward to continuing to build on Goodfellow’s legacy and thank Stephen for his key contribution to the business up to this point.”

Battery is continuing to expand its investment activity in the industrial-technology markets and has completed more than 60 industrial-related transactions across the U.S. and Europe since 2003. For a full list of Battery portfolio companies, please click here.