The company will use the funds to accelerate the commercialization of its sustainable thermoplastic elastomers, high-performance materials derived from recycled end-of-life tires
Prism Worldwide, a leader in innovative material solutions that is dedicated to advancing end-of-life tire recycling technology, announced today that it has raised $40 million in Series A and Series A1 funds.
Prism is using the funds to consolidate operations, make capital investments in technology and equipment, and expand its team. To date, the funding has provided a foundation from which Prism has reached commercial viability, demonstrated by an initial round of sales and sales commitments for its thermoelastic polymers (TPEs).
The development of these TPEs marks the first time any company has successfully created a sustainable, high-performance polymer derived from end-of-life tires. The funding rounds were co-led by return investors Columbia Pacific Advisors, a Seattle alternative investment firm, and Jim Sinegal, co-founder and former CEO of Costco. The combination Series A and Series A1 funding round also includes participation from Robert “Spike” Anderson, former CEO of Anderson Daymon Worldwide. Anderson is Chairman of Prism Worldwide’s board of directors.
“Prism has achieved what no other company has by successfully developing a novel method to turn end-of-life tires into a useful polymer that can be compounded into a wide range of rubber and plastic products,” said John Bratrud, Portfolio Manager, Columbia Pacific Advisors. “Solving the challenge of recycling tires and transforming them into sustainable, high-quality, and reliable material opens a wide range of revenue pathways in every market that uses elastomers and plastics.”
The first deployment of Series A capital was for the acquisition of CRC Polymer Systems, a custom compounding company that supplies compounds, resins, and colors to the plastics industry. The acquisition enabled Prism to increase its capacity for product development, manufacturing, and distribution throughout the United States and North America.
“Few companies have such a significant number of avenues to achieve financial success,” said Jim Sinegal, independent investor and co-founder and former CEO of Costco. “In addition to individual customers, Prism’s technology holds profound value for large petrochemical polymer companies seeking ways to make their virgin materials more sustainable.”
Prism breathes new life into end-of-life rubber tires, which traditionally have limited high-value uses. Tires are often burned or ground into final-stage materials used on playground surfaces or sporting fields. With its environmentally friendly technology, Prism reverses the polymerization of the end-of-life tire rubber in a novel, energy-efficient, and low capital-intensive manner that allows the end material to be functional and flexible in a wide range of elastomer and plastic applications.
Notably, Prism makes it possible to integrate a higher concentration of recycled materials to be used in both rubber-based and plastic-based products without conceding product quality. Its technology can help companies scale revenues and profitability while helping them achieve sustainability goals by reducing carbon emissions and reliance on virgin petrochemical-based materials.
“Our patented technology has already captured the attention of a significant number of customers in the specialty polymer industry,” said Bob Abramowitz, CEO, of Prism Worldwide. “This novel technology eliminates the common fate of end-of-life tires and waste plastics that often litter landfills or illegal dumps by creating functional polymers from these valuable recycled materials. We’re already fielding inquiries from a host of companies seeking ways to make their consumer and industrial products more sustainable. Even more compelling is that once the products manufactured from our polymer intermediates reach their end-of-life usefulness, they can be recycled again, creating a truly circular, long life.”
Notably, Prism is producing a real-world product that’s available for purchase today.
About Prism Worldwide
Prism was founded on the principle that there should be a better use for end-of-life (ELT) tires. We recognize that to solve this long-standing issue we need solutions that provide performance-oriented products. This requires that we address the problem differently.
Developed and patented in the United States, Prism’s technology and products are American-made and American-sourced. Prism provides a cost-effective solution that helps end users increase profitability by using sustainable materials.
We are bringing new patented technology to the market by producing polymer intermediates derived from ground tire rubber. These performance solutions for TPE, TPV, TPO markets (Ancora), and rubber-modified plastics polymer markets (Ennova) are sustainable and circular, creating higher value uses for end-of-life tires and offering a route to Making Tires More Circular.
In November 2022, Prism acquired CRC Polymer Systems (CRC), a custom compounding company supplying compounds, resins, and colors to the plastics industry. For more information please visit https://prismww.com/.
