Episode 3 of The Scintam Podcast: a conversation with Texture Jet CEO Jonathon Mitchell-Smith
In this episode, Scintam's CEO Duncan Kerr sits down with Jonathan Mitchell-Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Texture Jet, to unpack how a university research project grew into a high-precision manufacturing business serving aerospace, defence and power generation customers around the world.
Jonathan shares how Texture Jet's electrochemical jet machining (ECJM) technology works in simple terms - using a tiny jet of salt water and electricity to remove material at the atomic level, without heat or surface damage. He talks through the journey from undergraduate project to PhD, patents and Innovate UK support, and ultimately to founding Texture Jet in 2019 - just in time to run straight into the challenges of COVID as a hardware startup.
Duncan and Jonathan also explore why the Midlands has such a strong aerospace and engineering ecosystem, how UK hardware companies struggle with funding compared to software and AI, and which regions of the world are quickest to adopt new industrial technologies. Jonathan reflects candidly on what he’d do differently, the importance of the right investors and team, and what it really takes to build deep-tech hardware in the UK.
Learn more about Texture Jet:
• Website
• LinkedIn
• Connect with Jonathon on LinkedIn
Learn more about Scintam:
• LinkedIn
• Connect with Duncan on LinkedIn
The full episode is available on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts (see below), or wherever you listen to your podcasts.