How EFSI benefits SMEs in Europe - Millennium BCP case study: Critical Materials (Portugal), Engineering

Critical Materials is a small company based in Guimarães, Portugal, that focuses on the development of solutions and products in critical applications of material systems and structures. In simple terms, this means developing sophisticated software that will monitor the structural elements of, for example, wind turbines, analyse the data and provide prognostic and diagnostic information that in turn can be used to improve performance, reduce maintenance costs and avoid accidents.

Set up in 2009, Critical Materials has a dedicated team of researchers and engineers with academic and industrial backgrounds, providing integrated health & monitoring solutions to current and future challenges in specific focus industries: Aeronautics, Space, Defence, Energy and Infrastructures.

They offer a combination of approaches across materials, software and hardware, that allows them to look at any challenge with multiple perspectives and develop the best possible solution for their clients across Europe and beyond. The company provides services ranging from consulting services and structure health monitoring to the analysis of advanced materials, electronics and instrumentation.

In a field in which research and innovation is key, Critical Materials has developed PRODDIA, the company’s international innovative star-product based on patented proprietary technology. It constitutes a structural systems health management tool that evaluates the material condition and structural integrity of critical components in aircraft, wind turbines and complex infrastructures.

Looking ahead, this company of 25 employees wants to continue to invest in PRODDIA and grow its engineering team accordingly. For this reason, Critical Materials secured an EU-guaranteed loan backed by EIF through their long-standing partner, Millennium BCP. This support came under the Investment Plan for Europe, which aims to generate new investments by facilitating access to finance for European small and medium enterprises. The loan has allowed Critical Materials to accelerate the company’s growth and intensify the development of their star-product, PRODDIA, but also to focus more on the business development side of the company. As the company’s CEO, Gustavo Rodrigues Dias puts it, “the support from the EU has allowed us to consolidate our position in the market and start work on growing the company, both in terms of improving our products and in terms of reaching out to new clients beyond the EU.”

Company: Critical Materials S.A. (Portugal)

Type of business: Engineering

EIF financing: InnovFin SMEG, EFSI

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Portugal, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/pt