Altix

Who owns Altix?

Altix is a French Industrials company, formerly owned by InnovaFonds, exited in 2018 (exit via MBO). No current private equity owner is on file.

About Altix

Altix, formerly Automa-Tech, is a French industrial-equipment maker based in Val-de-Reuil in Normandy that designs and manufactures UV imaging systems for the electronics-production industry. Its machines cover contact exposure, direct imaging and inkjet processes used to pattern printed circuit boards, flexible printed circuits, photo-chemical parts and touch panels, integrating precision mechanics, automation, optics and machine vision. The business is heavily export-oriented, generating the large majority of its turnover outside France and supporting customers through commercial and technical subsidiaries in China and the United States. According to its own disclosures, more than 600 of its machines are in service in production facilities worldwide, serving international manufacturers across the semiconductor and electronics supply chain.

Ownership journey

Altix traces its origins to specialist exposure-equipment engineering established in the early 1990s under the Automa-Tech name, built around imaging technology for printed-circuit production. In 2012 InnovaFonds backed the company through its Fonds Industries et Technologies I, providing growth capital to support the group's international development alongside management. InnovaFonds held the position for roughly six years before exiting in 2018 via a management buyout, in which the management team took part in the recapitalization. The identity of any incoming financial partner in that 2018 transaction is not named here.

Under PE ownership

The 2012 capital was directed at international expansion and product development, and over the holding period the company deepened its export footprint, with subsidiaries in China and the United States extending its commercial and technical reach across Asia and North America. It broadened its range beyond contact exposure printers into direct imaging systems and inkjet platforms, addressing higher-resolution and next-generation electronics-manufacturing processes. The Automa-Tech operations were consolidated under the Altix brand, positioning the group as a focused supplier of UV imaging equipment to global printed-circuit and semiconductor customers. When InnovaFonds exited in 2018, the business had established an installed base of more than 600 machines in production worldwide, per company disclosures.