Meeting the demands of a changing cruise industry

Interest in products with a lower climate impact for cruise ship interiors is increasing, both in newbuild and refurbishing projects. For Metalcolour, this development is expected, and the company is well positioned to meet these needs as they arise.

“For us, it is very much about the climate impact of raw materials, and we maintain a close and continuous dialogue with our suppliers to drive development and improvement. Among other things, we have for some time offered products made from recycled steel and bio-based, phthalate-free vinyl foils, says Per Nord, Sales Manager at Metalcolour Sweden.

To start with, if we look at the overall development of the cruise industry over recent years and consider what the coming years might hold, the outlook appears quite promising. Looking at statistics from CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), the figures show a clear and sustained upward trend. Although the pandemic brought the industry to an abrupt halt, it has since recovered and comfortably surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

The number of cruise passengers worldwide increased by approximately 25% between 2019 and 2025. The supply side shows a similar trend. Over the same period, the number of available passenger berths (lower berths) increased by around 21%. The statistics also show that the number of cruise ships in operation is growing. The fleet operated by CLIA member cruise lines increased by approximately 15% between 2019 and 2025, with a further 55-plus ships currently on order for delivery by 2036.

Within their field, Metalcolour is proud to say that they have been pioneers for more than fifty years. They were among the first companies in the industry to develop a fully certified fire-resistant film laminated steel product.

“We were also among the first to introduce heat-applied protective film and may still be the only company to offer it as standard across our entire product range. Heat-applied film is easy to remove and leaves no residue whatsoever. After years of focused dedication, we have also reduced the minimum order quantity to just 10m² – by far the lowest in the industry, says Per.

Many industries recognise that Scandinavian manufacturing has some of the highest standards in the world and Metalcolour is very pleased to play a role in that strong tradition. Alongside maintaining a safe and healthy work environment, they continually strive to reduce their environmental impact.

“At our factory in Ronneby, we have set ambitious environmental goals and have been taking action over a long period of time. For example, we use only electricity from renewable energy sources in our production process, and solvents with negative environmental effects have long been phased out, says Per Nord

Continually delivering the highest quality is one of the core values at Metalcolour. It requires commitment, and they are extremely proud of their employees, who fully understand the importance of their work and the value it brings to Metalcolour. Markus Nordkvist is CEO at Metalcolour Sweden:

“The depth of knowledge and experience within the organisation is second to none, with the average employee tenure exceeding twenty years. There is a reason why our products are regarded among the best on the market: they are backed by decades of expertise, rigorous quality assurance and dependable delivery guarantees.”

The entire team at Metalcolour shares a passionate belief that there is always a better way – to deliver faster, to be more flexible and to achieve even higher standards. This philosophy led them to develop their own unique set of guarantees: commitments to customers covering delivery times, quality standards and even gloss levels. These self-imposed standards were previously unheard of within the sector and were not created by external industrial committees. They do this not only to provide the very best products and service to customers, but also to challenge themselves continually to improve – to become slightly better tomorrow than they are today.

Have a look at our video: https://youtu.be/U9AnpQe3p9Q?si=GbF25hYjyF16XKcD