Shropshire materials firm Jesmonite sets sail for uncharted waters

P&O's new £473 million cruise ship Britannia took to the waters for the first time last month.

And it did so replete with artworks made by Bishop's Castle-based materials company Jesmonite.

Nearly 6,000 pieces of wall art on the new cruise liner were made using the company's moulding system, with all cabins containing a triptych – an artwork made up of three panels – made of cast jesmonite.

The unusual material also features in two of the ship's main restaurants.

Managing director Simon Pearson said: "The artist Regina Heinz did the original work, but ceramics are heavy, slow to make, and to produce the 5,800 that were required would have taken years.

"We used some highly specialised engineering techniques, and ultimately we were making 60 units per day, so over six months we had time to make the many thousands that were required.

"We had to set up a new unit, train people from scratch, and put in place a dedicated team."

The move could open up whole new markets for the company, Mr Pearson added, because of the stringent rules that are in place for materials that can be used on board boats.

"It launches us into the marine industry," he said. "We have the right credentials in terms of fire performance, and it can replicate so many different finishes that are nor permitted on board.

"Large private yachts are now falling under the same regulations because of the number of staff they have on board. It's a target audience for which we have a specific answer which nobody else has."

Jesmonite is a water-based material which is used to produce decorative mouldings on high-end building projects, as well as for art projects and sculptures.

The cabin artwork was initially proposed in ceramic, however this presented problems in cost, speed of manufacture and weight.

Tom Tempest Radford, of Tempest Radford Limited, who was consultant curator of all the artworks on board, said: "The Jesmonite solution was exactly what we needed given the strict fire rating and weight restrictions. I am sure this will be a game changer for both the cruise and hotel industries."

Jesmonite panels were also used to create large relief panels for the Sindhu Restaurant and to mimic origami paper boats in the Horizon buffet restaurant.

The company currently turns over approximately £1 million a year, and has around 18 employees at its Bishops Castle base, but is expanding thanks to international deals which have seen it achieve new contracts in Asia.

It brought in five additional staff to work on the short-term project, and retained three.