Felux, an online B2B marketplace and supply chain platform for steel and other metals, has raised a $19 million Series A to digitize commerce for the industrial supply chain. The round was led by EquipmentShare and joined by Signia Venture Partners, Suffolk Technologies, Expa, Lightbank, 8VC and JumpStart Ventures, among others.
“Whenever I see a company tackling an industry problem at the roots, I get excited. The Felux team has done an incredible job at focusing on value for the customers while maintaining a north star of fundamental digitization that will unlock substantial efficiency for this industry.”
Felux, a platform built by steel and technology experts, digitizes every element of the supply chain, allowing steel and metal buyers and sellers to source, procure, ship and finance products with ease, in one end-to-end digital experience. The platform provides much needed visibility across the entire industrial supply chain, through products and services that allow customers to share inventory through digital channels, and get access to freight and lane pricing in real time. The company has already expanded into aluminum and is planning to bring other adjacent markets onto the platform including copper, stainless steel and scrap metal.
The steel and metal market is one of the last remaining major industries to turn digital with more than 95 percent of transactions still offline and paper based. Steel companies and manufacturers grapple with outdated quoting and negotiation processes and a lack of transparency on the movement of goods. The market opportunity of digitizing the industrial supply chain is significant: the US steel and aluminum market is worth approximately $385 billion annually. The global metals market was valued at more than $3.3 trillion in 2020, and is expected to grow at a rate of more than 6 percent annually to more than $4.6 trillion in 2025.
Felux CEO, Dallas Hogensen, has said the company has significant growth potential. “Felux is the future of the industrial supply chain. We’ve built a single digital platform to revolutionize commerce in the traditional industrial sector, which is hugely underserved by technology. We help our customers to digitize their business and save valuable time, instead of chasing quotes and tracking orders over the phone, by e-mail and even fax. Buyers can source inventory, contact sellers, negotiate on price and access financing options before tracking their shipment from order to delivery – all on one platform. For Felux, steel is just the first step. We are incredibly excited to expand into new sectors and new markets as a leader of digital innovation in the industrial world.”
The company has raised a total of $24 million in the last 10 months and has experienced rapid growth, facilitating $454 million of transactions on the platform in 2021, up from $64.9 million in 2020. The platform has 1,000 customers across 1,700 locations, including several Fortune 500 manufacturers, as well as steel mills and service centers across the US, Canada and Mexico. Felux will use the Series A funding to accelerate its growth and product offerings, as well as its employee headcount in the coming months.
William Schlacks, president of Equipmentshare said, “Whenever I see a company tackling an industry problem at the roots, I get excited. The Felux team has done an incredible job at focusing on value for the customers while maintaining a north star of fundamental digitization that will unlock substantial efficiency for this industry.”
Felux currently offers three main products to its customers: A digital platform to help bring suppliers online and create a digital presence; a marketplace to buy and sell materials; and a materials and procurement platform to help large manufacturers manage quarterly and annual contracts. Felux also provides freight pricing and a full suite of financial tools to its customers.
The company is positioned to expand into adjacent markets such as aluminum, copper, stainless steel and scrap metal with plans to add several other commodities and physical goods in 2023 and 2024. It is also expanding its offering to new global markets with plans to launch in the $460 billion European market in late 2023.