Creating a luxury feel

When it comes to

designing a space on

a cruise ship, major

companies should have

an idea of the type

of environment they want to create. If

luxury is a priority, leather is often the

natural choice.

“Leather speaks to your senses,” says

Jimmy Ahlgren, sales and marketing

director at Elmo Leather. “It has a great

touch, great appearance, comes in a number

of colours and has a pleasant smell, which

adds a sense of luxury. In a number of

industries, including marine, more and

more leather is being used.”

Elmo has been in the business of

leather since 1931, and currently has its

headquarters in the Swedish town of

Svenljunga. The company stocks a huge

number of different leather options,

available in more than 300 colours.

“We think of ourselves as a kind of dream

factory for architects, where they can find

more or less any colour they are looking for,”

Ahlgren explains. “And if they don’t find it,

we do custom colours as well.”

Elmo Leather creates a variety of leathers

with different textures and grain structures.

Due to the nature of the material, leather

offers greater durability than fabric for

example, and is also easier to clean.

“Our strength has been providing

leather that meets all the international

standards, and we have our own

laboratory to ensure we achieve this,

not only one time but every time,” says

Ahlgren. “When it comes to delivering

reliability, it doesn’t mean only shipping

the right quality on time, but doing so

time after time.”

The company has recently embarked on

projects in a number of global markets,

including working with Hurtigruten

Cruises in Norway, Royal Caribbean in the

US, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine

Engineering in South Korea.

Ahlgren also says that it is important

for the company to maintain strong

relationships with architects, and that Elmo

works closely with a number of marine

designers in both Europe and the US.

In recent times, the company has invested

in a new wastewater model which sees all

the water used during the leather creation

process turned into drinking water.

“This was a vision we had many years ago,

and is now the way we work,” Ahlgren adds.

“Instead of telling our customers about lots of

different chemicals reductions, which could

be confusing, everyone can grasp ‘you can

drink our wastewater’. The reason we do it is

to have a minimal impact on our surrounding

environment, and we are very aware of the need

to be very environmentally-conscious.”