Glass reinforced plastic (GRP), is sometimes referred to as; glass reinforced polyester, fibreglass, glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP), fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) or fibre reinforced polymer (FRP).

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It is a composite, laminate material that was first developed in the 1930’s and consists of glass fibres used to reinforce a plastic, typically a polyester resin. The glass fibres can be use as ‘random’ short chopped strands formed into a mat, or they can be gathered together into ‘rovings’ (bundled rope), or woven into a fabric.

GRP can be mass produced or built up by hand, and after curing, forms a complex matrix of plastic and glass fibre. The composite properties of high-strength glass fibre and highly-resilient plastic, make GRP strong, lightweight and weather and corrosion resistant. It can also be manufactured to be fire retardant. As a result, it is suitable for a very wide range of applications such as boat building, car bodies, cabinets, helmets and so on.