ten questions Stuck on you


GCUasks ten questions of Irish artist and inventor, Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh who won the 2018 European Inventor Award for Small and Medium Enterprises for Sugru, an innovative mouldable glue that was described by Time magazine as one of the world's best inventions.


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t’s now been 10 years since Sugru was launched and in that time people have used it to fix and improve over 20 million things around the world - something the product’s inventor and company founder, Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh is very proud of. Over the years, there have been many changes to the business but only one or two to the product itself. It’s still the same award- winning material with all the incredible benefits and features, only much more versatile and friendlier to use. It’s been years in the making for the R&D team and we’re really proud of what’s been achieved.


creatively. Then two years ago we joined up with tesa in Germany.


Tell us about your role? I started as an entrepreneur with a vision to build a company that supports a team and is customer focused. I also wanted to make a sustainable product range around reducing plastic.


The official name of this new and improved product is Sugru Mouldable Glue by tesa which the company describes as the world’s first multi-purpose, mouldable glue designed for creative fixing and making. From a retail perspective, as Sugru moves into 2021, it aims to continue to build a global online presence, in line with the company’s mission to inspire a generation of fixers across the world. So let’s find out more about Sugru Mouldable Glue from the product’s inventor, Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh…


Tell us a bit about the company? Sugru started very small with just eight us, made up of product designers, scientists, and manufactures. Now we are 40 people. The company sees DIY as a way to live, both sustainably and


GCU Winter 2020


How long did it take to develop Sugru? The initial development took 15 years for the original glue that was then launched in 2010. Since then I’ve been working on it again to get to this latest new improved product launch.


What have been the main challenges? To develop a product that has a good smell, with strong properties and long shelf life. It has to have the exposure time to give 30 minutes to work with, before it goes to the strong rubber stage and cures.


How would you describe the new product? It’s the world’s first mouldable glue, that’s multiuse. It’s ideal for the toolbox, craft kits, the experienced DIYer as well as the less expert DIYer, as the product is easy to use and gives confidence.


What would say are the product’s USPs? Where liquid glues simply don’t work, tapes are temporary, and epoxies are rigid and hazardous – Sugru Mouldable Glues step in. With its unique combination of properties, Sugru delivers results regular glues can’t touch. It will fill awkward gaps, works well with unusual shapes, will bond permanently to most materials, and turns into a surprisingly flexible rubber.


When will we see it on the shelves? Over the next few months the new and improved Sugru will be available in-store and online from 10 November.


What’s the price point?


A three pack is priced at £5.99 retail and an eight pack at £14.99.


What advice would you give to retailers stocking it?


Get the staff using it, then you can understand what you can do with it and how durable and user-friendly it actually is.


Going forward, what’s keeping you busy? Expansion with tesa and working on the product leading up to this launch. Whilst we retain some of our strategic retail relationships, tesa is leading the charge with taking our new Sugru formula into retail within Europe - so both parties are playing to their strengths in that regard. We’ve also been working on our Covid-19 safety, making Sugru a good place to work and building the culture of the company.


More information To join Sugru’s repair revolution this


autumn and explore the range of eco-friendly fixing favourites and creative repair kits, visit sugru.com


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