History
A 50-year trading history is the backbone of our reputation for reliable and cost effective engineering solutions and support.
Working exclusively on naval contracts, J&S Marine Ltd began life in Kent in 1956 but relocated to our current site in Barnstaple, North Devon in 1969. The "J & S" of J & S Marine refers to Mr Johnson and Mr Smith, the founders of our company.
We remain committed to the naval element of our business despite diversification into the wider defence and energy markets: In 1985 we developed and produced the only LAN then installed on Royal Navy Ships, the CSH (Combat System Highway). Supporting and updating the CSH continues to be a key branch of our work.
Change of ownership in the early 90's brought about a change in name for J&S Marine, with half the workforce becoming Cray Marine while the other half were tasked to work on wet-end sonar solutions as Cray Sonics.
After just 4 years the two elements were officially rejoined as Basys Marine before a Management Buy-Out in 1999 saw the original name, J&S Marine, re-instated.
Acquiring Lancaster-based technology group Eskrigge in April 2001 gave us strong links with Lancaster University and the technology development therein. The integration of Eskrigge advanced our sonar processing capabilities.
Our presence in the Oil and Gas industry began in 2000 with a single member of staff operating in Aberdeen, expanding to our current facility in Dyce in just two years.
The Aberdeen site has grown considerably since 2002 and now has over 20 employees and provides a recognised operational support service to the industry both in the UK and overseas.
The Barnstaple facility with 110 resident employees continues to provide engineering and production services to the defence, oil and gas and marine renewable energy sector.
In 2008 the company underwent a major rebranding programme and became J+S Ltd with a new website and new image. The purpose of the name change and rebranding was to ensure that our customer base is aware of our transformation from a naval defence support company to an all-round defence support services organisation with a growing presence in Land and Air defence support.
In 2009, the Company won a ten-year contract, from the MoD, to provide equipment support services to a range of equipments, collectively known as the Miscellaneous Sonar Equipment. The value of this contract was £14.0m and the services are provided under a fixed fee Contracting for Availability basis.
In 2010, the Company won the PricewaterhouseCoopers sponsored West of England Business of the Year Award, in the under-£25.0m turnover category. That year, we also won the KPMG/RBS sponsored South West Business Challenge Award in the Innovation category and we were national runners-up in the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards in the Climate Change Opportunity category.
