XAMPLA has appointed Iain Argyle as head of engineering and Stanley Mitchell as business development manager as the firm prepares to launch its first products.
The business, which creates natural alternatives to single-use plastic, revealed that Iain has over 10 years’ experience in the development of ‘breakthrough’ technologies and manufacturing processes for the consumer goods, water and pharmaceutical sectors. He was previously as head of engineering at Entomics and principal process engineer at PA Consulting.
Stanley joins Xampla from his role as innovation consultant at Innovia Technology, where he worked with corporations to develop new technologies across sectors including healthcare, FMCG, oil and gas, and aerospace.
These latest moves bring Xampla’s team to 22 employees, having only made its first hire in January last year.
The product of more than 15 years’ research at Cambridge University, Xampla’s plant protein material is said to mimic the molecular structure of spider silk, creating a natural alternative to single-use plastic. Its technology has applications in flexible films, microcapsules and coatings.
Xampla CEO, Simon Hombersley, said, “Xampla is at an exciting point of growth and we are delighted to welcome Iain and Stanley to further bolster our team of experts. After years of research and development, we are now at the point of commercialising our products with customers and their combined expertise will be extremely valuable in this next stage for Xampla.
“More and more people are seeking plastic alternatives in a bid to reduce their environmental impact. Iain and Stanley are joining our group of experts committed to our mission of reducing plastic pollution and we look forward to harnessing their knowledge as we launch our initial products.”
