SME News Managing Director of the Year 2025 / 10 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 Exporting Digital Champion of the Year 2025: Jane Smith
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