Research & Development


Research and Development (R&D) is at the heart of our business and we work closely with customers, suppliers, academics and commercial partners to ensure speed of delivery of new ideas and products all around the world.  We are focused on maintaining a leading position in our chosen markets, capitalising on our unique and speciality technologies, backed by a strong R&D department.

As a consequence Innovia Films is one of only a handful of genuinely innovative companies in the films business today and continues to invest in the development of new BOPP and cellulose films.  This investment is directed towards multi-layer polymer extrusion, cellulose film casting and coating technology using state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, pilot and full-scale production lines.

The innovation process adopted by Innovia Films' business is focused on rapid development and delivery of new products, product enhancements and the commercialisation of new technologies and concepts which generate value for our customers.

We operate a global network which includes like minded suppliers, research collaborators and key customers who are themselves innovators and early-adopters of new products.

The research and development activities are centralised in a £12m R&D Centre at Wigton, Cumbria, UK which opened in 2002.  The technical capabilities include small scale multi-layer film extrusion and biaxial film stretching for OPP and laboratory and pilot scale film casting and stretching for cellulose films. 
 
Pilot coating facilities for both aqueous and solvent based coatings are used for coated film development and up-scaling.  A wide variety of methods is available for film characterisation and testing, including measurement of optics slip, seal performance, printability, barrier or permeability, mechanical properties, surface energy and surface topology.

The Wigton centre is the focal point for films research and development, with activities co-ordinated by four R&D teams and supported by an analytical team.  The technology exploration group ('Greenhouse') is identifying and validating new film and coating technology for future product developments.  Partnerships and longer term developments with other innovation oriented companies and academic institutes are part of our research plan.

New product development activities combine existing and 'Greenhouse' technology into novel or enhanced film types.  Up-scaling and optimisation of new films to ensure an efficient and cost effective production happens by the OPP and cellulose process technology groups.  The whole process from idea generation to launch happens in multi-functional project teams using modern project management tools.

Examples of recent developments include the following:

The innovation process relies heavily on people's creativity, knowledge and skills.  Innovia Films invests a significant amount of time in training and development.  The programme to expand and improve its innovative capability includes the recruitment of excellent scientific talent.  Laboratory technicians with industrial experience and chemistry, materials science or engineering graduates/PhD's are key to our innovation strategy.

We are looking to recruit people with particular skills, why not check out our careers section and in particular our science career vacancies.