KFB Acoustics has been active in the field of acoustics and noise management since 2009. Providing solutions for industry in the area of vibro-acoustic analysis, noise attenuation and vibration reduction it supports customers in the design of machinery and equipment in the field of vibro- and psycho-acoustics, based on its own research methodologies. The company serves many manufacturing and industrial plants in the DACH (Germany-Austria-Switzerland) area and its clients include some of the largest industrial and manufacturing companies in the world including SwissKrono, Ciech Group, PKN Orlen, PKP, 3M, Veolia, Volkswagen, Ikea, Volvo, BMW, Unilever. In 2019. KFB Acoustics obtained the status of Research and Development Center, where, in addition to providing measurement services, projects related to virtual prototyping, rapid-prototyping and testing of prototype noise management solutions are implemented.
Demand continues to grow
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified noise as the second most important cause of ill health in Western Europe, behind only air pollution. One in five people in Europe are exposed to noise levels that are harmful to health. The WHO attributes 12,000 premature deaths and 48,000 ischemic heart diseases per year in Europe to chronic exposure to noise. Given the negative effects of noise, noise reduction and protection of citizens from noise have been included in the key health and environmental policies of the European Union.
The noise reduction objective is reflected in the provisions of the EU’s Seventh Environmental Action Program and the Environmental Noise Directive. At the same time, despite the increase in noise pollution in open spaces, the level of negative impact of industrial noise is decreasing, as a result of stringent and constantly increasing EU requirements in this area. Large architectural firms and manufacturing companies, in order to meet the growing expectations of investors and regulators, must supplement their competencies in this area by working with specialized entities. According to available estimates, the market for industrial noise management will grow at an annual rate of 4.5%, reaching $5 billion by 2025. The acoustic insulation market will reach USD 19.6 billion by 2027 (annual growth rate of 5.9%) according to Emergen Research. Meanwhile, the global vibro-acoustic testing (NVH) market will grow at an annual rate of 5.5% from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion by 2026, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets.
Big Data in noise monitoring
KFB continuously conducts R&D and invests in innovative solutions gaining a competitive edge. In recent years, KFB has strongly focused on the area of Big Data, developing, among others, a system for intelligent noise monitoring in a distributed architecture with algorithms automatically expanding the sound library. Ultimately, the system will be expanded with predictive maintenance functionalities allowing for minimization of costly downtime in production operations by identifying potential problems in the operation of machinery and equipment based on the sounds and vibrations they emit. Partnership with Nunatak Capital, from which KFB raised PLN 3 million, will significantly support this area of the company’s operations.
– KFB Acoustics intends to rely on advanced data analysis, which we believe is the future of this industry. A good example is the so-called predictive maintenance developed by the company. The standard solution of this type is vibration-based condition assessment of machines, while KFB Acoustics goes a step further and, by using sound analysis, wants to identify problems faster and more accurately – says Piotr Cizkowicz, Managing Partner of Nunatak Capital.
Nunatak Capital team has years of experience in science and business, as well as know-how in the area of data science, with which it will support KFB Acoustics in scaling the business and raising capital for further development of the R&D center. – With this round, we will launch Europe’s most advanced acoustics R&D center and the next step will be to internationalize the business by creating a network of branches across Europe,” says Filip Baranski, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of KFB Acoustics.
Nunatak Capital is a fully private Venture Capital fund focused on investing in companies that build their value based on data science and AI solutions. The fund’s team has over 20 years of business and academic experience in data analytics, machine learning and optimization. Nunatak Capital operates under an Operational VC model, actively supporting its startups with a dedicated data science team (including several PhDs and researchers), as well as leveraging its business networks (including over 100 private fund investors) to support startups in the development and commercialization of their products.
