The company was set up 10 years ago by Ken Battrick, who had no idea that within a decade, a third of his growing business would be in the art and design sector.
“I sold my house and bought a waterjet cutting machine; it was 2009 and the country was in recession,” he says. “I envisaged working as a subcontractor for other engineering firms and that’s how we started.”
Accujet then got its first art commission from Dorset-based maze maker Adrian Fisher, and from then on the company’s reputation grew and it started to take on other art-related work – often at very short notice.
“We bought a second waterjet machine and hired another engineer who has experience in graphic design and 3D modelling,” says Battrick. “Later, we invested in our own laser-cutting machine and fabrication department.”
Accujet is now a team of seven and has taken over three units on the Upton Industrial Estate.
“The art side of things is something we want to develop further,” says Battrick. “In engineering, you never really see the end product, but with art I can go and see a piece of work that we have made for an artist and be proud of it. Artists choose to work with us because we are able to understand their concepts and designs, and show enthusiasm for their work.”
Art projects with which Accujet has been involved include The Edinburgh Gates for 1 Hyde Park, a 30-m long Cor-Ten steel replica of the old walls in Southampton for the Bow Square development, and a 7 m high mosaic for Oundle School, near Peterborough.
Says Battrick: “British installation artist Luke Jerram asked us to work on his pixelated statue Maya, which was on display at Temple Meads railway station, and we recently made a wonderful 8 ft copper horse’s head for Tom Hiscocks, which has been displayed at Newbury and Ascot racecourses. Increasingly we are working with very contemporary design agencies, something I could never have believed when I started Accujet.”
