Founded in 1999, Jointine Products (Lincoln) Ltd is a Lincoln-based manufacturing company specialising in taking base paper and transforming it into a cellulose paper gasket material that is resistant to oil, petrol, and water. Its paper is then used across the automotive industry and beyond worldwide, with Flexoid® – Jointine’s trade name – enjoying a leading reputation across this space. Jane Smith is the managing director here, and, on the back of her recognition with this award, we had the opportunity to catch up with Jane to learn more about her work with the company.
From its home in the East Midlands, Jointine has been manufacturing and distributing a wide range of high-quality paper gasket materials in roll format for more than 25 years. These materials are then used right across the international automotive sector, with Jointine’s customers taking these paper rolls and cutting them into gasket shapes, which are then used as seals between connected vehicle parts to prevent leakage. Across the process, Jointine utilises sustainable, ethically sourced materials, reflecting its eco-friendly nature.
Diving a little deeper into this process, Jointine’s method sees it reinforce base paper with both glue and glycerine, before drying it in a special manner that makes it resistant to fluids. Few other materials in this sphere can compete when it comes to both the cost and low-temperature performance of Jointine’s solutions, resulting in the company having today supplied enough paper to wrap the entire circumference of the globe more than two and a half times – solidifying its impact over 26 years and counting of family ownership.
“As one of only three major producers in the world, we strive to provide the best product and service to maintain our competitive advantage.”
Celebrating 20 years since joining the company later this year, Jane Smith has been at the helm of Jointine for some of the most pivotal moments of its quarter-century journey thus far. With a robust educational background, including graduating from the University of Leicester with a master’s degree in the study of security management, Jane worked as a civil servant for the Department for Work and Pensions for more than 20 years, culminating in a senior executive role where she was placed in charge of the Lincoln Contact Centre.
Seeking a new challenge, 2005 saw Jane secure the role of Jointine’s MD, where she has served diligently ever since. Exploring this transition further, Jane told us: “Back then, my pull for change was constant. So that, along with my people management and governance skills, ultimately secured me this role. I’ll admit, the leap from public service to manufacturing wasn’t something I’d fully mapped out, and it certainly took effort to adapt. But, looking back, I’m profoundly grateful for taking that step.”
Jane’s first few months in this role, which is undeniably at the heart of a male-dominated environment, saw her feel as if she needed to adopt ‘male talk’ and attitudes as a way of fitting in. However, with this approach quickly proving to be both unfulfilling and unsuccessful, Jane made the decision to change – to stop trying to fit into a mould she knew was not for her and instead trust in her own foresight and intuition.
The result was a transformation, not only in Jane’s leadership style but also in the dynamics of her team. Jane explained: “I empower them to challenge every process, to constantly ask: Can this be done better? More intuitively? More sensibly? This shift has led to remarkable results. My team are no longer just showing up to do a day’s work; they are highly engaged and actively contributing to our company-wide excellent outcomes.”
Despite the strengths of her approach and the profound impact this has had upon Jointine, things have not always been easy for Jane, something especially true of the last five years. Right around the time the world went into lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jane became a widow. With no support network to sustain her through the arduous task of keeping her business afloat at a time where unprecedented disruption had hit, Jane was facing two of the most difficult challenges life could have thrown at once.
Even when the immediate impacts of the pandemic presided a little, factors such as widespread disruptions in supply chains, Brexit, and global conflicts made it incredibly difficult for a business that exports around 95% of all the goods it manufactures to thrive. It therefore became a necessity for Jane to tackle these challenges with her signature head-on gusto, leveraging her old ‘pull for change’ to guide herself, her teams, and the company through the darkness and into the brighter future that is the present.
“If I can deal with the last five years, I know I can deal with anything.”
With the past five years having reshaped Jane perspectives, reinforced within her the importance of keeping an open mind, and nurtured a deep appreciation for every day, Jointine is now in a better position than ever to thrive. Its culture, for example, embodies resilience, empowerment, and continuous improvement at every turn. The latter of these in particular can be seen in one of the company’s newest initiatives, which revolves around preparing SMEs for digital trade through a partnership built on common ground.
SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, with approximately 5.8 million of these enterprises in existence today. Despite this impressive figure, which is also on the rise, Jane told us how only around 12% of these businesses engage in international trade. More worryingly, she added, is that this figure is on the decline. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the current climate makes exporting feel like an uphill battle.
At the heart of these frustrations is the fact that the standard accounting software used by many SMEs is not suitably equipped for exporting, with this putting many people off. Going one step further, Jane commented: “I know that export requirements are not straightforward, since paperwork, origin statements, and documents vary by product and country. And that goes some way in explaining why solutions don’t readily exist. But if you strip it down to basics, there are a small number of common requirements needed.”
On the back of this insight, Jane decided to take a proactive approach to preparing SMEs for digital trade, a vision made possible by a partnership with Boex. Sharing Jane’s motivation for improving lives through the power of export, Boex leveraged the capabilities stemming from its affordable platform and transferable data to work on a solution that would help eradicate the headache of electronic documents for these businesses.
Together, Jane and Boex have created a ground-up solution that has been designed and executed with SMEs in mind. Today, the Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI) is working to drive £25B in combined SME growth, as well as a further £1B through SME trade finance. Thus, this is more than just a piece of software, it is a platform setting the standard for growth, efficiency, and empowerment, thanks to its provision of an accessible and affordable electronic trade method offering numerous benefits for SMEs.
Breaking things down, C4DTI strongly advocates automated digital trade processes, since it reduces manual errors, accelerates transition times, and frees up SMEs’ invaluable human resources. The results are increased productivity and an immediate quantifiable value (or financial asset) when an order is placed. This is just the beginning, with plans in place for Boex to be able to fully finance the order on its own, without waiting for payment to mature.
Ultimately, the Boex and Jointine co-venture achievement is especially noteworthy because it directly benefits a key segment of the economy that has historically been overlooked, as well as underserved by the complex technological solutions that are today inherent in other areas of industry. It provides SMEs with the essential tools they need to compete and thrive in an increasingly digital world, and this is certainly a feat worth championing.
Recognised as the Exporting Digital Champion of the Year 2025 as a result of this initiative, it is clear that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the success and lasting impact Jane Smith has nurtured through her tenure as the MD of Jointine Products (Lincoln) Ltd. We wish this influential leader all the best as she continues to drive lasting change.
Contact Details
Contact: Jane Smith
Company: Jointine Products (Lincoln) Ltd
Web Address: https://jointine.co.uk/
