Steelike Inc., creator, producer and supplier of Steelike ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and a new supplier-member of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, announced today that it raised $2 million in a seed investment. As part of the transaction, its predecessor, Kulish Design Co. LLC, changed its name to Steelike Inc.

The round was led by a Chicago investor group, and with participation from members of New York Angels. The funding will be used to step up growth to meet increasing demand.

“The industry has been seeking a UHPC for infrastructure applications that is both easier to work with and competitively priced," says William T. Kulish, co-founder and president of Steelike Inc. and inventor of Steelike UHPC.  "After years of development, testing, and production, Steelike delivers on those needs and more, with a product that meets or exceeds performance specifications required by federal and state agencies for highway infrastructure projects. With this funding, we're looking forward to bringing the advantages of Steelike UHPC to our growing number of customers across the U.S.”

The demand for Steelike UHPC, which has been commercially produced and available for construction projects since 2014, has been increasing. Most recently, Steelike UHPC was successfully used to connect precast deck panels for the accelerated bridge deck replacement of the I-64/77 bridges over WV-94 in Marmet, W.Va. Contractors are increasingly selecting Steelike UHPC due to its superior performance, ease of use, and competitive pricing.

“This investment round enables Steelike to accelerate its business and serve more customers,” says Chen Wang, co-founder and CEO of Steelike.  Demand for Steelike UHPC in construction projects, especially for highway infrastructure, has been growing and now we'll be able to meet that demand. We’re delighted to work with our investment partners to meet this tremendous opportunity."

The funding will expedite Steelike's research and development of innovative UHPC products and methods and empower the company to continue to build relationships with contractors, precast concrete producers, engineers, and the academic community. The company's groundbreaking innovations include eliminating the need for expensive and hard-to-find specialized mixers by enabling ready-mix trucks to mix Steelike UHPC and eliminating the need to overfill and grind UHPC connections. The funding will also speed the development of a cutting-edge technology for mixing and placing Steelike UHPC, with the goal of making on-site placement even faster and easier.

UHPC, a composite material that is the closest thing to steel in the concrete world, is being increasingly specified and adopted in the U.S. where the UHPC industry is poised for substantial growth. Steelike UHPC is positioned to capitalize on this growth due to its ability to be mixed onsite in standard and widely available ready-mix trucks, ease of application and finishing, superior material performance, and competitive pricing. 

Link to the press release here.