SilkoTek’s steady climb to success has paid off for the Ben Franklin Technology Partners, who agreed to fund this startup in 2009. SilcoTek was born out of Restek Performance Coatings (RPC), a business unit of Restek that was acquired by local entrepreneur Paul Silvis and a group of RPC employees.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Restek’s silicon coatings were used almost solely for analytical chemistry and chromatography. In just a short time, the use of SilkoTek’s silicon coatings grew tremendously. This growing number of applications for coatings beyond the chromatography business is what inspired Silvis and the RPC team to create a company that specializes in coatings. In 2004, R&D Magazine recognized Silcosteel®-UHV as one of the 100 most technologically significant products of the year, and in 2013, SilcoTek was named the Outstanding Technical Company of the Year by the CBICC. Now, due to a growing customer base, Silvis plans to be generating $100 million in sales by 2020.
Thanks to their expanding customer base and a growing need for their silicon coatings, SilcoTek has achieved the success required to pay off its remaining debt to Ben Franklin Technology Partners. This money, which is over $300K will be used to invest in three new startups!