Over 75 Years of Development
The history of Innovia Films centres on the development of two types of film - cellulose and Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP). Below we highlight the evolution of the company and key dates.
The process for manufacturing cellulose viscose was discovered by three English chemists, Charles Cross, Edward Bevan and Clayton Beadle in 1892. Dr Brandenberger developed this and invented cellulose film nearly sixteen years later.
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 Société 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.
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.
Early 2005 the company announced the closure of their Bridgwater Cellulose manufacturing plant.
Innovia Films has four productions sites in the UK, Belgium, Australia and the US.