Businessman to launch pioneering system
A YORKSHIRE businessman is working on the final stages of launching his revolutionary pothole repair system to fix the region’s roads.
Matthew Lobley is a former Leeds City councillor, who held responsibility for road maintenance during a period of major road investment in the mid 2000’s.
He said that during this time, he saw there was no affordable near-permanent way to repair potholes and so he started sketching ideas for a system which could banish potholes from roads for good.
He formed Leeds-based Road Ahead in 2009 working with two local engineers to develop his idea with the support of investment.
The idea, which Mr Lobley describes as “an elegant solution” is now in the process of being patented.
Mr Lobley said: “It has taken £100,000 of investment but we now have a patent application pending and we have developed a prototype system to prove our concept.
“It is a simple and elegant solution. Our system mills the pothole into a larger, standard lozenge shaped recess with a flat base and right-angle edges, we add sealant and drop in a pre-formed tar macadam block of the same shape as the recess. We call it the ‘Jigsaw’ system because it is like putting the final piece in a jigsaw puzzle. It is such a simple and effective concept that it is incredible no one else in the world has come up with it.”
Road Ahead is looking to raise a further £100,000 of equity funding by selling a stake in the company to small investors using CrowdCube crowd funding website – these range from investments of £50 to £5000 so far.The money will be used to complete design and fabrication of a pre-production machine to then begin marketing the system.
Mr Lobley said: “It has been hard work getting to where we are now but I am excited about our next phase in the project.
“We will be seeking major engineering partners with a view to refining and launching the pothole repair system to a market which is desperate for such an affordable and long lasting pothole repair system. If everything goes to plan we hope to have a pre-production machine to demonstrate in a matter of months.”
