Company timeline

From humble beginnings to the world’s largest plastic buoy, here’s a potted history of Corilla Marine’s journey through time.

Click the image to see the full timeline.

1985 – Design begins on the world’s first polyethylene navigation buoy, following the Northern Lighthouse board’s requirement that fish farms in Scottish sea lochs be marked.

1986 – 1250 Navigation buoy displayed for first time at the Scottish Fish Farm Exhibition, Inverness.

1986-1997 – 372 of the 1250 model buoys were built and deployed mainly for fish farms, but increasingly in harbours & rivers in the UK.

1995 – The first split collar buoy, manufactured using separate float sections was successfully trialled in Exmouth, offering the potential for much larger plastic buoys than previously built.

1997 – Eason Marine invited to visit Republic of China to advise their Ministry of Transport.

1998 – EM2000 buoy trialled against Tideland Signal’s after complaints that pilots were unable to see the lights of the Tideland buoy in rough weather.

2001 – First deliveries of buoys to PD Ports.

2002 – EM3000 First true 3 metre diameter buoy displayed @ Seawork.

2002 – EM1750 introduced.

2002 – XJF Plastics take over Eason Marine. Eason Marine name changed to EM Nav-aids & Co. Ltd.

2005/6 – EM3000 takes first place in the Trinity House Lighthouse Service Class 2 ‘Lightweight buoy Trial’.

2007 – Ministry of Defence & Royal Navy purchase buoys and towers for use in British waters at home and overseas.

2007 – PAE sent to the Gambia to help build and deploy 5 new navigation buoys for the River Gambia.

2008 – Design & order of the worlds largest polyethylene buoy for PD Ports

2009 – Corilla Group purchased XJF Plastics.

2011 – Corilla Marine visit Mombasa, Kenya to help build up 8 buoys ready for deployment at the ‘World Food Organisation’ port of Mogadishu, Somalia

2012 – Danish Maritime Authority place an order for 3 metre and 2.4 metre buoys.

2012 – Dutch company ITO order 47 EM3000 Class2 Mk1 buoys for deployment in the Caspian sea.