FreshTracks Capital II, L.P. (“FreshTracks”), a Middlebury-based venture capital fund with primary interest in Vermont investments, announced that it has invested an undisclosed amount in NEHP Inc. NEHP is a highly successful Vermont company that has developed a patented modular method of tool installation for semiconductor manufacturing and also provides hygienic piping and skid solutions to the life sciences industries.

NEHP manufactures the high purity, SEMI compliant modules at its facility in Williston, Vermont and ships finished product to its customers around the world, including Applied Materials, IBM, Intel, and Nikon. FreshTracks’ investment was structured to accelerate the sales and marketing efforts of NEHP, as this profitable company executes the next stage in its growth strategy.

“FreshTracks is very pleased to be a key part of NEHP’s expansion,” said Tim Davis, Managing Director of FreshTracks. “The market opportunity for NEHP’s patented modular solution for the semi-conductor industry is compelling. NEHP’s management team has done an excellent job growing the company since it was founded in 2000. FreshTracks has been monitoring the company’s impressive progress for the past 4 years, and we feel that now is the right time for an equity investment to truly accelerate growth. We are very excited to work alongside NEHP’s management in the coming years to realize that vision.” Davis joined the Board of Directors simultaneously with the closing of the transaction.

“FreshTracks Capital has already been a great benefit to our company, and many others throughout Vermont,” said Adam Tarr, CEO of NEHP. “They were instrumental in helping us find our CFO, Robin Morris, and worked with our team to structure NEHP’s banking relationship prior to the transaction. I am looking forward to working with Tim Davis. His background and experience provide the perfect fit to help fuel NEHP’s continued growth.”

NEHP is the second investment in FreshTracks’ second fund. FreshTracks provides a broad spectrum of equity financing to growing companies. Investments out of FreshTracks’ first fund include seed-stage financing provided to re-launch EatingWell, a food and nutrition media company located in Charlotte, early-stage financing for Mophie, an open-source, consumer-driven product design company based in Burlington that is currently focusing on iPod accessories, and later-stage financing during the going-private transaction for the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, the direct-to-consumer business based in Shelburne, VT.

“FreshTracks is often the first stop for successful entrepreneurial Vermont companies seeking equity financing, no matter their size,” said Davis, “and now we are even more enthusiastic about the prospects we are seeing in the market, and the expanded capacity we have to invest in Vermont growth businesses with the recent closing of our second fund.”