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Innovia Films
Company Profile:
Innovia Films is the world's leading supplier of speciality Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) and cellulose films for speciality packaging, labelling, graphic arts and security products.
With a turnover of 362m, the business employs some 1,600 people worldwide. Total annual film capacity currently stands at more than 130,000 tonnes.
We have production sites on three continents and dedicated sales offices throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia along with agents and distributors across the globe.
Our business is driven by Research and Development with an investment program designed to ensure resources are in place to convert our new ideas into innovative, World Class products.
Innovation:
The innovation process adopted by Innovia Films is focused on rapid development and delivery of new products, product enhancements and the commercialization of new technologies and concepts.
Innovation is at the heart of the organization. Its impact is felt throughout the business due to technology acquisition, knowledge and ideas management, marketing and training and our relationship with customer and suppliers.
We operate a global innovation network which includes like-minded suppliers, research collaborators and key customers who are themselves innovators and early-adopters.
We believe that innovation is vital to maintain a leading position in our five chosen markets - speciality packaging, labelling, graphic arts, industrial and technical and security products - and realizing new market opportunities. By making innovation a strategic priority we believe we will achieve our aim of reducing the time it takes to bring new products to market.
History:
The history of Innovia Films centers on the development of two types of film - cellulose and Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP).
The process for manufacturing cellulose film was discovered by three English chemists, Charles Cross, Edward Bevan and Clayton Beadle in 1898.
There followed a series of joint ventures and technology transfers among a number of companies predominantly in the UK and France. However, it was not until 1913 that Dr Jacques Brandenberger brought thin transparent cellulose film into true commercial production at the Cellophane SA factory in Bezons, near France.
In 1926 The Societe Industrielle de la Cellophane (SIDAC) was founded with a factory in Ghent. Six years later SIDAC formed a company in the UK to distribute its Ghent-produced film. This later became British Sidac Ltd which opened its first production plant at St Helens in 1934. One of the principal shareholders of this business was Baron Emmanuel Janssen who had earlier formed the business Union Chimique Belge - the early UCB SA.
At the same time, British New Wrap Co Ltd was formed in Wigton, Cumbria, UK, and production of cellulose film began at the site which had previously been set up to produce "artificial silk" or Rayon. In 1936 the company changed its name to British Rayophane.
In 1935, Courtalds and La Cellophane SA joined forces to produce and sell Cellophane in the UK. This new venture, British Cellophane Ltd (BCL) began production at a new plant in Bridgwater in 1937. Five years later La Cellophane Espanola was founded in Burgos, Spain.
The next 30 years saw significant growth in cellulose film production across the globe. With no competitor other than paper, each production company enjoyed high levels of activity with BCL, in particular, expanding rapidly with interests in production in Mexico, Canada and a new site in the UK.
Things, however were about to change.
In 1961 ICI developed Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene which, because of its clarity, gloss, sparkle, crispness and grease resistance, resembled cellulose film rather than polyethylene to which it is chemically related.
It was chiefly in the markets dominated by cellulose film that this new Propafilm was offered and at extremely attractive prices. ICI's first bubble and coater production units were commissioned in 1962 in Dumfries, UK.
In 1963 British Rayophane and British Sidac merged under the British Sidac name and, four years later entered into a joint venture with ICI to manufacture BOPP on the Wigton site. A new 3m factory was built to be operated by this new company called Sidex Ltd.
In 1973 British Sidac became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UCB Group. There followed a period of consolidation within the European cellulose film market. In 1982 the British Sidac plant at St Helens was closed and in 1987, UCB Films acquired La Cellophane Espanola.
In 1987 the BOPP production partnership with ICI ended and UCB Films assumed full ownership of Sidex Ltd. ICI Films (Merelbeke) was formed to continue operating the Ghent plant. A little over 10 years later, UCB Films bought the ICI Propafilm business to become not only the world's largest producer of cellulose film but also of speciality BOPP films.
Mr William Lowther greets Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to officially open the company's Sidex II Plant. Baron Georges Jacobs accompanies her.
In 1996 UCB Films acquired British Cellophane Ltd and the trade name Cellophane. A year later the business bought the Tecumseh, Kansas plant from US cellulose film producer Flexel Inc and in 2000 the Mexican company Cydsa was bought and the plant in Burgos closed.
In October 2004 the films business was bought for 320m by a consortium led by the former Managing Director of Hays Chemical Distribution, Dennis Matthewman, who chairs the new company, and Candover Partners Ltd.
Innovia Films has five production sites in the UK, the USA, Belgium and Australia and an annual turnover of 362m.
Mission Statement:
Our objective is to specialize in high added value products, resulting from our own research, development and process improvements, in those markets where we aim to be amongst the world's leaders.
For more information, please contact:
Innovia Films
6000 SE 2nd Street
Tecumseh, KS 66542
Please visit our website at:
http://www.innoviafilms.com
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