Why the Country of Manufacture Matters in Marine Safety Supply
For most product categories, where something is made is a matter of preference. For safety-critical marine equipment specified at navigation bridge windows on classified vessels, it is a matter of verifiable quality, traceable production and supply chain confidence.
Marine procurement managers and technical superintendents specifying anti-glare solar screens for vessel bridges are not buying a commodity. They are specifying a product that will be installed at navigation bridge windows, relied upon by bridge crews on every daylight watch, and assessed by classification society surveyors during periodic surveys. The product must perform consistently to specification across a vessel’s operational life. The manufacturer must be able to demonstrate that what leaves the factory today is the same product that received Type Approval from Lloyd’s Register, DNV, ABS and RINA.
Solar Solve has manufactured SOLASOLV® marine solar screens at its South Shields facility in the North East of England since 1975. Every screen supplied to every vessel in 108 countries — across naval fleets, cruise lines, offshore platforms, ferry operators and air traffic control towers — has been made at this UK facility. This is not a marketing position. It is a statement of manufacturing fact that directly affects the confidence buyers can have in the product they are specifying.
This article explains the Solar Solve manufacturing history, what UK manufacture means in practice for the quality and consistency of the product, and why Made in Britain is a trust signal that carries genuine meaning for marine buyers worldwide.
The Origin: South Tyneside and the Sea
Solar Solve’s roots are in South Tyneside — a region whose relationship with the sea spans centuries of shipbuilding, maritime trade and marine engineering. South Shields sits at the mouth of the River Tyne, a waterway that has been central to British shipbuilding since the 18th century. The first shipyard in South Shields opened in 1720. By 1861, one in three males over the age of 20 in South Shields worked in the shipping industry. The South Shields Marine School, founded in 1837, has trained merchant navy officers and marine engineers for nearly two centuries and remains one of the largest merchant navy training colleges in the United Kingdom.
Solar Solve was founded in this context. John Lightfoot, a qualified marine engineer who studied at South Shields Marine School, and his wife Lilian opened Northern Window Blind Company in Sunderland on 10 November 1975. The business began as a domestic blind manufacturer and retailer serving the local areas of Sunderland and South Tyneside. It was a small operation built on the founding principle that every customer deserved the best service and the highest quality product.
The marine chapter of Solar Solve’s history began in 1986, when North East Shipbuilders in Sunderland were building the Dietrich Oldendorff, a general cargo vessel. Solar Solve supplied 13 roller blinds with anti-glare film for the vessel. John Lightfoot, drawing on his background as a marine engineer, immediately recognised that the marine market represented an opportunity that the existing business could be built around. The decision was made to reorient the company toward specialist marine products.
In 1987, the first prototype SOLAROLA® anti-glare screens were installed at the wheelhouse windows of the Johanna Oldendorff at Sunderland Shipbuilders — the installation that marked the birth of the SOLASOLV® product range. The first export order followed: 336 blackout roller blinds for crew accommodation on timber carriers being built at Malta Drydocks for Soviet owners. Solar Solve Ltd was formally registered in January 1988, and the marine manufacturer that would go on to supply 20,000 vessels across 108 countries was formally established.
The Manufacturing Journey: From Sunderland to Port of Tyne
The physical growth of Solar Solve’s manufacturing operation mirrors the growth of the SOLASOLV® product range and its global reach.
1975: Northern Window Blind Company opens in Sunderland as a domestic blind retailer and small manufacturer.
1986 to 1988: First marine orders from Sunderland Shipbuilders; SOLAROLA® and SOLASAFE® products developed; Solar Solve Ltd registered as a specialist marine manufacturer.
1993: Solar Solve relocates to a factory unit on St. Hilda Industrial Estate in South Shields — a pivotal move that provided the manufacturing capacity to meet growing international demand and enabled the launch of the ROLASOLV® range of specialist marine roller blinds.
2005 to 2006: After expanding into five units on St. Hilda Industrial Estate, Solar Solve moves to a purpose-built facility at the Port of Tyne in South Shields. The new facility increased manufacturing output by 30% and provided the infrastructure to support international distribution through more than 40 distributor locations across six continents.
2015: Solar Solve moves to its current South Shields headquarters, which houses the full manufacturing operation, quality management system and technical team.
2021 to 2023: Following decades of family leadership under John and Lilian Lightfoot and their daughter Julie Lightfoot, the business transitions to new ownership. Solar Solve is acquired by Rivertrace Ltd in 2023, led by Executive Chairman Mike Coomber with Martin Saunders as Managing Director and Andy Hansen as Finance Director. Significant investment in systems, processes and stock follows. The UK manufacturing base in South Shields is maintained and strengthened under new ownership.
2025: Solar Solve marks 50 years in business. The company acquires UK distributorship rights for Ziptrak®, its first major new product in over 15 years, extending the range while maintaining the core SOLASOLV® marine product line manufactured in South Shields.
What UK Manufacture Means for Product Quality
Manufacturing in the United Kingdom, to ISO 9001:2015 quality management standards, is not simply a national preference. It carries specific and verifiable implications for the quality, consistency and traceability of the product that marine buyers receive.
ISO 9001:2015 quality management. Solar Solve has held a formal quality management certification continuously since the early years of the business. The system began as British Standard BS5750 and transitioned through ISO 9002 and ISO 9001:2008 to the current ISO 9001:2015 standard. External audits by the British Standards Institution across this period produced an outstanding record — with zero Non-Conformities raised during 12 consecutive years of external audits at one point in the company’s history. This record of quality compliance is not achievable by accident. It reflects a manufacturing culture and a management system that are deeply embedded in the business.
Every screen made to the specification that received Type Approval. Type Approval from Lloyd’s Register, DNV, ABS and RINA requires that the approved product continues to be manufactured to the approved specification. Periodic audits by classification societies confirm this ongoing compliance. When Solar Solve dispatches a SOLASAFE® screen from South Shields, the product leaving the factory is the same product that was evaluated and approved by four classification societies. The buyer does not need to verify this independently. The quality management system and Type Approval maintenance programme provide that assurance by design.
Custom manufacture to exact vessel dimensions. Every SOLASOLV® screen is manufactured to order. No standard sizes are held for marine bridge window applications — each screen is produced to the exact dimensions and window profile provided by the buyer. Custom manufacture to order requires a manufacturing process that can execute consistently against a wide range of bespoke dimensions, shapes and product configurations. This is what Solar Solve’s South Shields factory delivers every working day, across a product range that covers 12 window shapes, four film colours, over 400 aluminium profile colours and manual, electric and remote control operation variants.
Dispatch within three to five working days — same day when needed. Vessels operate on fixed sailing schedules. Refit windows are tight. Urgent replacements for screens damaged in service cannot wait weeks for delivery. From its UK manufacturing base, Solar Solve manufactures and dispatches SOLASOLV® screens within three to five working days as standard. Where a vessel’s schedule requires it, same-day dispatch is available. This manufacturing responsiveness is only possible because the full production capability sits within a single UK facility under direct operational control.
The Export Record: British Manufacturing Serving the World
Solar Solve’s export record is one of the most compelling demonstrations of what UK manufacture has delivered for the marine industry worldwide. The company began exporting in 1987. By the time Julie Lightfoot received her MBE for Services to International Trade in 2012, exports represented 86% of total turnover — the product made in South Shields was serving vessel operators across six continents. The company has now supplied SOLASOLV® screens to over 20,000 vessels across 108 countries.
This export achievement has been formally recognised. Solar Solve and its founders have won more than 15 awards for export achievement, good business practice and excellence in the marine industry. John Lightfoot received an MBE for Services to International Trade in 2002. Julie Lightfoot received the same honour in 2012. Both awards reflect the same thing: a British manufacturer producing a world-class specialist product at a UK facility and exporting it globally.
The Made in Britain designation — which Solar Solve holds formally — carries meaning for buyers in export markets that goes beyond national sentiment. In the marine industry, where counterfeit and non-approved products are a recognised procurement risk, a manufacturer with a 50-year UK track record, an ISO 9001:2015 quality system and four Type Approvals from internationally recognised classification societies provides a level of supply chain confidence that newer, lower-cost alternatives cannot match.
For guidance on the full SOLASOLV® product range manufactured in South Shields and available for marine vessel specification worldwide, visit the marine solar screens page.
Why Marine Buyers Specify British-Manufactured SOLASOLV® Screens
For procurement managers, technical superintendents, fleet operators and shipbuilders specifying solar screens for navigation bridge windows, the practical reasons to specify a UK-manufactured product from Solar Solve are specific and verifiable.
A supply chain that can be audited. Solar Solve’s single UK manufacturing facility means the entire supply chain from raw material to finished product is visible and auditable. For procurement teams that operate formal supplier qualification processes, this transparency is a practical advantage.
A manufacturer whose products have a 50-year service record. The SOLASOLV® product range has been in active use on vessels at sea since 1987. The screens currently installed on HMS Queen Elizabeth, on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, on US Navy logistics ships and on ferry fleets across Northern Europe were all manufactured at the South Shields facility to the same quality management standard. The 50-year service record is the most reliable indicator available that the manufacturing process is producing what it is supposed to produce.
A relationship with the marine engineering community. Solar Solve’s founding in South Tyneside — a region with deep roots in marine engineering and shipbuilding — is not incidental. John Lightfoot’s background as a qualified marine engineer shaped the technical approach that produced SOLASOLV® screens. The connection to the South Shields Marine School and the broader North East maritime community remains part of the business’s identity and its understanding of what vessels and their crews actually need.
Rapid custom manufacturing and dispatch. No other manufacturer in this product category can offer the combination of fully custom manufacture to exact vessel dimensions and same-day dispatch from a single UK facility. For fleet managers managing refit schedules and vessel operators dealing with urgent replacement requirements, this manufacturing capability is a direct operational advantage.
For product specifications and to request a quotation for custom-manufactured SOLASOLV® screens for your vessel, visit the SOLASAFE product page or the SOLAROLA product page.
The Manufacturing Timeline at a Glance
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Northern Window Blind Company founded in Sunderland by John and Lilian Lightfoot |
| 1986 | First marine order — roller blinds for Dietrich Oldendorff at North East Shipbuilders |
| 1987 | First SOLAROLA® prototype installed on Johanna Oldendorff at Sunderland Shipbuilders |
| 1987 | First export order — blackout blinds for Malta Drydocks |
| 1988 | Solar Solve Ltd registered; marine manufacturing formally established |
| 1993 | Relocation to St. Hilda Industrial Estate, South Shields |
| 2001 | Lloyd’s Register Type Approval granted for SOLASAFE® and SOLAROLA® |
| 2002 | John Lightfoot awarded MBE for Services to International Trade |
| 2006 | Purpose-built facility at Port of Tyne — 30% increase in manufacturing output |
| 2012 | Julie Lightfoot awarded MBE for Services to International Trade |
| 2015 | Move to current South Shields headquarters |
| 2023 | Solar Solve acquired by Rivertrace Ltd; investment in systems and stock |
| 2025 | 50 years of UK manufacturing — 20,000+ vessels, 108 countries |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where are SOLASOLV® marine solar screens manufactured?
A: All SOLASOLV® screens are manufactured at Solar Solve’s facility in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, in the North East of England. Every screen — regardless of destination or vessel type — is made to order at this single UK facility.
Q: How long has Solar Solve been manufacturing marine solar screens in the UK?
A: Solar Solve was founded in 1975 and began manufacturing specialist marine solar screens from 1987 following the first SOLAROLA® installation at Sunderland Shipbuilders. The company has manufactured at its South Shields facility continuously since 1993 and has operated from its current headquarters since 2015.
Q: Does UK manufacture affect the quality of SOLASOLV® screens?
A: Yes. UK manufacture to ISO 9001:2015 quality management standards ensures that every screen leaving the South Shields facility is produced to the same specification that received Type Approval from Lloyd’s Register, DNV, ABS and RINA. The quality management system includes regular external audits and has maintained an outstanding compliance record across the company’s history.
Q: How quickly can Solar Solve manufacture and dispatch custom screens?
A: SOLASOLV® screens are normally manufactured and dispatched within three to five working days. Same-day dispatch is available for urgent vessel requirements, allowing screens to reach the vessel at its next port of call on time for sailing schedules.
Q: Does Solar Solve hold the Made in Britain designation?
A: Yes. Solar Solve holds the Made in Britain designation, confirming that SOLASOLV® products are manufactured in the United Kingdom. This is supported by ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification, four marine Type Approvals and a 50-year UK manufacturing record.
Q: Who founded Solar Solve and what is the company’s background?
A: Solar Solve was founded by John Lightfoot, a qualified marine engineer, and his wife Lilian in Sunderland in November 1975. The business initially traded as Northern Window Blind Company before transitioning to specialist marine manufacturing in 1987 and registering as Solar Solve Ltd in 1988. John Lightfoot received an MBE for Services to International Trade in 2002. His daughter Julie Lightfoot, who served as Managing Director, received the same honour in 2012. Solar Solve was acquired by Rivertrace Ltd in 2023 and continues to manufacture at its South Shields facility under new ownership.
Q: Has Solar Solve won awards for its UK manufacturing and export record?
A: Yes. Solar Solve and its founders have won more than 15 awards for export achievement, good business practice and excellence in the marine industry. The company has been recognised at British industry award events and both its founder and former Managing Director hold MBEs for Services to International Trade.
