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MEET THE INVENTREPRENEUR
JONATHAN QUINN
Tell us about yourself.
I started working life as an apprentice pipe fitter welder for
Studleys Engineering on Liverpool Dock Road. I then went
from mechanical to chemical process engineering and worked
for major engineering houses for international blue chip clients
and from design to completion on international engineering
projects valued up to $150 million.
Although I have knowledge of the engineering sectors in
the food, car manufacturing, petro chemical, fine chemical
and pharmaceutical industries, I feel my best field is now in
research and development through to commercialisation. I
have done this with my own companies and helped others
from a brief idea to fully working profitable owner operated
plants & equipment in a wide range of industries. I have
invented a number of patented technologies to recover base
and precious metals from a number of waste streams and also
to recycle paint waste, carpets plastics and electronic devices in
a range of sectors.
So you have a group of companies which are under the
group Quinnovations, tell us about these companies?
I have four main companies which are all at different stages.
Firstly there is Virtus Concrete Solutions (trading name
Blockwalls) which is a bespoke concrete block manufacturer
providing solutions with a focus on civil, groundwork
and infrastructural projects. We offer a retaining wall
design and supply service, that includes gravity, reinforced
concrete, inclined and earth retaining walls. We are a cost
effective alternative to comparable steel soil reinforcement
or conventional reinforced concrete retaining walls. We
are endeavouring to make these blocks as environmentally
friendly as possible, by making them from 80% recycled
materials, with a view of making this 100% in the near future.
The second company I have is Smart Creative Technologies
Ltd. This company has a patented process for removing all
precious metals from printed circuit boards, rather than the
usual process of smelting them and only recovering a small
amount of the metals. This process offers companies a chance
to recover 100% of all metals within their PCB waste and
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maximise their profits. Thirdly there is EV Range Extenders
Ltd. This company specialises in extending the range of
electric vehicles by using its state of the art technology. They
have a compact, lightweight, efficient system which uses a
wankel rotary genset which is designed to be installed in
any new electric vehicle, providing range and battery life
extension. My final main company is Hygienic Innovations
which has developed the Sonox. The Sonox is a small, portable
ultrasonic cleaning device that provides high intensity cleaning
performance in a convenient, compact device. The Sonox has a
huge range of possible applications in a variety of fields, and lab
tests have shown the mug to be highly effective in the removal
of bacteria. The Sonox unit is especially useful in preventing
the spread of pathogens in hospitals and schools, however can
be used in the workplace and home as well, offering a chemical
free, cleaning solution.
And where did you get the inspiration for all of these?
I have always been passionate about doing my part in helping
our local environment and community. I have worked on and
grown many businesses and projects all involving processes
to help the environment and local community, and finally
decided to start some myself. Virtus Concrete Solutions
encapsulates waste from a chemical process from one of my
other companies, something which I was initially paying to get
rid of and now instead, use to create another item.
You are also involved as a director of other companies in the
Liverpool City region, can you tell us about these?
Well firstly I am a director of Wirral Chamber of Commerce.
I started out as a member and the assistance and advice they
offered was second to none, I don’t think I would be in the
position I am today without them. I strongly advise anyone in
business to look into your local Chamber of Commerce and get
involved! I am also a director for two other companies, the first
being Copeland Group Services, which is a highly accredited,
multi divisional total service provider who support their clients
across the UK with quality security solutions, CCTV and
remote monitoring services. The second company is Complete
Training Solutions, which is a workplace training course