Lineat has been named a finalist ahead of the South West England Final of the StartUp Awards.
The StartUp Awards has been launched to recognise the booming startup scene across the UK which has accelerated since the 2019 pandemic. Over 800,000 new businesses were founded in the UK since 2021, a 4.3% increase from the year before.
A record number of businesses applied to this year’s StartUp Awards, with 1,100 firms shortlisted across ten UK nations and regions. The contribution of these firms – all of which were started in the last three years – is significant, having created over 5,000 new jobs since they were established and generating annual sales of £584 million.
Lineat is a cleantech start-up, creating next generation advanced lightweight material out of carbon fibre waste. It uses its patented Aligned Formable Fibre Technology (AFFT) to create new highly aligned carbon fibre tapes that can substitute virgin material and have unique formability advantages to simplify and speed up manufacturing steps. The business has been nominated for the Manufacturing StartUp of the Year.
Dr. Lourens Blok, co-founder and CTO of Lineat Composites, said: “We are thrilled to be a finalist for South West Manufacturing StartUp of the Year. We started less than two years ago and I’m extremely proud on what our team has accomplished in that short time, growing from three to thirteen people and demonstrating we can turn single-use expensive carbon fibre into a multi-use material with leading manufacturers. And it is just the start. I am looking forward to the future, working together with other innovators and make more out of carbon fibre.”
Supported nationally by Starling Bank, British Business Bank, BT, Creative Ideaz, GS1 UK, Jeeves, Join Talent, ScoreApp and The Purposeful Project, the programme will celebrate the achievements of the amazing individuals who have turned an idea into an opportunity and taken the risk to launch a new product or service.
The cohort of finalists will be considered for the regional prizes by a panel of seasoned judges with experience founding or supporting entrepreneurial ventures.
Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, the creator of the StartUp Awards, said: “Start-up businesses are the lifeblood of any economy, being responsible for new jobs, innovation and in supporting communities in every nation and region across the UK. All of the finalists this year represent the best of those entrepreneurs who have spotted an opportunity and through their sheer hard work, talent and perseverance, have created an amazing new business that is creating real impact in its sector.”
The StartUp Awards was created in collaboration with the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, one of the most successful awards programmes in the UK. The StartUp Awards are running for the second year after launching in 2022.
This year’s StartUp Awards finalists can be found online at: The StartUp Awards
