NEWPORT COMPANY GIVEN A HAND TO GET A HEAD

A South Wales specialist medical device manufacturer is showing how to get ahead by supplying its high-tech silicone prosthetic materials to the film industry for the manufacture of body parts and special effects makeup.

Principality Plastics Limited, a family owned and run company based in Rogerstone, Newport, has been involved in injection moulding for the electronics and medical industries for over 30 years and is widely experienced in all aspects of polymer manufacturing.

It established a sister company, Principality Medical Limited, in Newport 15 years ago, to allow the expansion of business activities further into the medical industry by offering large scale manufacturing of third party medical devices. The company has gone on to develop its own-brand range of ‘Cosmesil’ silicone based prosthetic materials in collaboration with Cardiff University.

“Over the past 10 years this collaboration has grown, resulting in significant improvements to material performance,” said company director Leo Basil.

These improvements mean that, in addition to their medical use for maxillo-facial prosthetics, the company has now moved into supplying the prosthetic special effects industry, developing further innovative materials specifically for the market through ongoing University-based R&D projects.

These materials include products for creating custom bald caps, used to hide hair when an actor needs to wear a wig or have a bald head, a glass replacement made from a safe rubber material which looks and breaks like the real thing, and a range of internal and external colouring agents.

Its main product, however, is a range of silicone gel/rubber materials used for the creation of realistic scars and wounds, ageing effects and for complete prosthetic appliances worn by actors and used in films such as the Harry Potter series.

“Film makers are becoming more and more demanding in the level of realism they want to achieve in their films,” said Mr Basil. “'We have been able to exploit this new market because the materials developed over some years for the medical profession are sophisticated enough to allow such realistic looks to be created.

“It means that the appeal of our products for the special effects people in the movie industry has been inevitable, and although we’ve only just begun to get established, we have great hopes for the potential that exist in this exciting new market.”

To enable them to develop into the new market, professional advisors Broomfield & Alexander have offered the companies advice and guidance during a recent period of restructuring and business and tax planning in order to be more robust and better prepared for future growth and expansion.

“Broomfield & Alexander have been invaluable in this process,” said Mr Basil. “The silicone and research arm has been restructured with the introduction of Professor Mark Waters who, additionally, retains a University post as Commercial Director of Cardiff University Bio-Materials Centre.”

B&A lead director Mark Jones said they had worked to put what had been a complicated business of several parts into a coherent whole.

“Over the past six months, we have restructured the businesses to provide tax benefits and advised on a more efficient corporate tax planning strategy to ensure that Principality Medical Limited is well positioned financially to take advantage of exciting new possibilities.

“I’m glad we’ve been able to give them a hand – albeit a different one to the kind that their film industry customers make from their products!”

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