During a recent interview with TU Delft on the topic of technological pioneering, Josefien Groot talked about how she managed to bring Qlayers to one of the most innovative companies in the Netherlands.
]Starting a new business from scratch is certainly not an easy task, bringing that business to a technological breakthrough is even harder. Josefien Groot, CEO of Qlayers, had recently an interview with TU Delft during which she shared the story of her entrepreneurship journey, founding Qlayers, the obstacles she faced, and her vision for the future of the company.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Josefien always wanted to start her company and make a sustainable impact:
“I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My dad had a bulb-growing company and my sisters and brother are all entrepreneurs. The vibe when we were growing up was more one of, ‘as long as you’re happy’. But I guess we’ve all got a bit of that entrepreneurial spirit in us.”
She met Ruben Geutjens during her study at TU Delft university and together they founded Qlayers, aiming to introduce a innovative method for applying a coating with special microstructures that reduces the resistance of water and air and can be used on ships and aircraft, and which then results in considerable fuel savings.
They soon realized that the issue with the coating industry is that the application is still done by hand and this process hadn’t really changed much in a hundred years. With a mind open for changes, they started developing a innovative robotic technology that enable coating large industrial surfaces fully automated and in a safe and sustainable manner.
“We are gradually making progress, and people are seeing the benefits of our automated coating application technology, such as minimising paint wastage. Our product has the potential to make a huge impact in today’s value chain.”
As Qlayers makes its appearance on the global stage, Josefien has even bigger plans for the future “ I first want to build Qlayers into something really big and I still have plenty of aspirations for this company, but this certainly isn’t the end of the road for me. I am always looking for ways to make the biggest impact”.
You can read the full interview of TU Delft with Josefien here.
