The Australian Business Growth Fund (ABGF) is rolling out the red carpet for soft flooring innovators Modra, providing a $15 million investment in the Victorian advanced manufacturing firm.
Modra develops technology for use in the global carpet manufacturing industry, a sector Custom Market Insights estimates will be worth $197 billion by 2030.
Founded by CEO Tim Modra in 1993, the firm offers solutions designed to speed up the carpet prototyping process.
Its core offerings include prototyping machines like Kibby and Mtuft, and CreelMT, a robotic system the company says is smaller and more efficient than existing alternatives.
Tufted carpet manufacturing machines are fed yarn from hundreds, and sometimes thousands of bobbins, but manually arranging those bobbins is a time-consuming process.
“People were putting these bobbins of yarn behind tufting machines manually, and also not putting accurate amounts on there that the process required,” Modra tells SmartCompany.
“So we take the labour away from that.
“We measure it accurately in the order the pattern requires, and make it very easy to connect it to the tufting machine.
“So we’re automating, in a precise way, the raw material requirements for tufting machines.”
The company says its precise CreelMT yarn winders can cut waste by up to 80%, a significant efficiency boost for large-scale manufacturers.
Customers must also balance machine setup time versus runtime in the hunt for profitability.
“If we can pull the setup time down and make it less, we actually help people increase the availability of their upstream process,” says Modra.
“That’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Modra intends to use its new funding for research and development, and the expansion of its workforce to around 50 people.
The business currently boasts 200 clients spread over 35 countries, but Modra itself is proudly based in the regional Victorian hub of Warragul.
There are no intentions to decamp, Modra says.
“All my workforce is around the Warragul area. So if we’re expanding, we would stay here.
“There’s not much negative of being in a rural area, and there’s lots of benefits.
“I’ve got a highly skilled workforce who are very dedicated, and so I won’t be moving — there’s no reason to move to a metro area.”
More broadly, the company intends to lean on the expertise offered by ABGF itself.
Other investors “could have actually absorbed us into their own manufacture,” adds Modra.
“It could have changed our distribution methods.
“The great thing about ABGF is all that stays the same, and they just help us optimise it without huge disruptive change.”
In a statement, ABGF investment manager Alexandros Collivas said Modra was a neat fit for its investment philosophy: an established firm with proven revenue growth, that is keen to expand at a realistic pace.
“The company has solidified its position as the global leader in carpet manufacturing technology, backed by strong intellectual property and a loyal customer base,” wrote Collivas.
“We see tremendous growth potential as Modra continues to enable manufacturers worldwide to embrace automation and drive sustainability.”
With the Modra investment, the ABGF has now invested $180 million of its $540 million capital fund.
Previous investments include industrial laundry firm Consolidated Linen Service, specialty pipe and fitting manufacturer Derwent Industries, and UV-protective clothing innovator Solbari.
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Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
