#Nonwovens / Technical Textiles

2021-04-22

Solesis announces investment from Altaris Capital Partners

Solesis Inc. (“Solesis” or the “Company”), the healthcare subsidiary of Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin SCA (“Michelin”), announced today that Altaris Capital Partners, LLC (collectively with its affiliates, “Altaris”) has entered into an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Solesis from Michelin. Michelin will maintain a 49% interest and will formalize a research and development initiative with Solesis to develop advanced polymers for life sciences and medical technology applications.

Solesis is an innovative provider of biomaterials, tools and services for the life science and medical technology industries. Solesis operates through two primary business divisions, Secant Group and Charter Medical. The Secant Group, which includes SanaVita Medical, is a leading supplier of biomaterials and implantable textile structures that enable repair, recovery and regeneration of human tissue, as well as technical materials for the specialty chemical and aerospace markets. Charter Medical supplies single-use tools for cell culture expansion, cryopreservation and fluid management that are used during the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, including cell and gene therapies.

“Over the years, Solesis has established a successful business built on differentiated technology platforms. We are thrilled to enter the next phase of our journey in partnership with Altaris and Michelin, which will enable us to accelerate our business strategy and growth plans. Through increased investment in R&D and enhanced access to capital, we intend to continue to develop innovative technologies to meet the evolving needs of our customers and their rapidly expanding end markets. This is an exciting time for Solesis, our customers and our dedicated team,” said Karen West, CEO of Solesis.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to partner with Solesis and Michelin,” said George Aitken-Davies, Co-founder and Managing Director of Altaris. “We believe Solesis is a market-leading provider of biomaterial technologies and will continue to make significant contributions to advancements in the life science and medical technology fields. We look forward to working closely with Michelin and the Solesis team to develop and grow the company in the years to come.”

As part of the transaction, Solesis will formalize a research partnership with the Advanced Research Group of Michelin to develop novel polymer technologies for medical applications, including the Company’s [PGS] biopolymer platform, which is currently being commercialized in several therapeutic categories as Regenerez® and Hydralese™.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

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Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

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DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

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Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.