Nonprofit Matric becomes the for-profit firm AVN

The operations of the nonprofit Mid-Atlantic Technology & Innovation Center (Matric) have been purchased by AVN, a for-profit firm founded by Matric management.

Matric was established in 2003, 2 years after Dow’s purchase of Union Carbide, on the site of the once-sprawling Carbide R&D center in South Charleston, West Virginia. Matric inherited some labs and equipment from Dow and built its workforce with former Carbide employees.

Now called AVN, the operation has more than 85 employees who conduct process development and scale-up for clients. It has pilot plant facilities and offers custom chemical manufacturing services. An arm in Morgantown, West Virginia, is dedicated to software engineering.

According to a tax filing, the nonprofit had $13.8 million in revenues in 2020 and $6.4 million in assets.

AVN’s client list over the years has included big names such as Air Products & Chemicals, BioAmber, Dow, ExxonMobil, and Sabic. Last year it became a sub-awardee of a grant from the US Department of Commerce aimed at reshoring the production of pharmaceutical raw materials. For this project, the firm is working with the RAPID Manufacturing Institute of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

“Our not-for-profit status was impeding our ability to grow substantially,” says Steven B. Hedrick, AVN’s CEO and the former head of Matric. He explains that the company was unable to raise large amounts of capital for ambitious projects.

Terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed. Former Matric employees have transferred to AVN and will receive stock in the new firm. A surviving nonprofit, Matric West Virginia, is getting the money from the transaction as well as a small stake in AVN. The nonprofit will continue to award scholarships and promote science education.