British Cellophane

British Cellophane Ltd was a British manufacturing company established in 1935 as a joint venture between the French producer La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds. Its principal industrial base was a large factory at Bridgwater in Somerset, where it manufactured cellophane, the transparent cellulose-based film used widely for food, consumer-goods and industrial packaging. The venture formed part of the wider transfer of cellulose-film technology between French and British companies after the commercial development of cellophane in France during the early twentieth century. The Bridgwater plant was built on approximately 59 acres of former Sydenham Manor fields and was connected to the railway network. Its construction provided substantial employment in a town that had experienced high unemployment. Production began in 1937, but the factory’s normal operations were interrupted by the Second World War. By late 1940, the site had shifted from cellophane to war-related manufacturing, including Bailey bridge components. These bridges were used by the Royal Engineers in the Italian campaign from 1943 and in preparations for the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. After the war, British Cellophane resumed film production and developed into an important export-oriented manufacturer. The company expanded its physical footprint and product range, opening a secondary facility at Barrow in Furness in 1957. It also operated Colodense Ltd in Bedminster, Bristol, which produced printed and coloured bags for food packaging. By 1962, the wider operation employed more than 750 people. In 1974, British Cellophane received the Queen’s Award to Industry, reflecting the importance of its manufacturing and export activities. During the late 1970s, the Bridgwater operation was producing approximately 40,000 tonnes of cellophane packaging film annually and employed around 3,000 people. The business later diversified beyond conventional film. In 1982 it entered the bag-in-box market through Colendense Liquid Packaging Ltd, a new Ashton Vale facility in Bristol producing flexible liquid-packaging bags and associated filling machinery for take-home wine and cider. By 1988, three factories associated with the Bridgwater site were producing cellulose film, polyethylene film and bonded fibre fabric. The company’s later history was shaped by changing packaging technology and environmental concerns. Cellophane faced competition from alternative plastic films, while the viscose process used in its manufacture was increasingly criticized because of pollution associated with carbon disulfide and other chemical by-products. Following the business’s acquisition by UCB Films, later known as Innovia Films, the Barrow facility was closed. In 2004, Innovia assessed whether to close the Bridgwater plant or its competing Tecumseh, Kansas, facility. Despite local efforts to retain the Somerset operation, including a proposed tax incentive, Innovia selected the Kansas site. The Bridgwater factory closed in summer 2005, ending production there and eliminating approximately 250 jobs. The former industrial site was subsequently acquired by EDF in 2012, and the remaining industrial buildings were demolished in 2015 in connection with plans for temporary accommodation for workers involved in the Hinkley Point C project.

Cellulose film technology originated in nineteenth-century research by the English chemists Charles Frederick Cross, Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle, who identified a process for making cellulose film from viscose in 1898. Commercial development took longer. Jacques Brandenberger achieved practical commercial production of thin transparent cellulose film at a La Cellophane SA factory in Bezons, France, in 1913. British Cellophane Ltd was created in 1935 through a joint venture between La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds. The partners began constructing a major factory at Bridgwater in Somerset, selecting a site of about 59 acres on former Sydenham Manor fields. The location had direct railway access and the project became a major source of employment in the town. Production started in 1937. The Second World War temporarily changed the purpose of the Bridgwater works. Cellophane production continued until late 1940, when the factory was converted to war-related manufacturing. Among its outputs were Bailey bridge components, which were used by British military engineers during the Italian campaign in 1943 and in the preparations for the Allied landings in Europe in 1944. Following the war, the factory returned to cellophane production. British Cellophane became an important exporter, supplying transparent film and associated packaging products to markets outside the United Kingdom. A second manufacturing facility opened at Barrow in Furness in 1957. The company also operated Colodense Ltd in Bedminster, Bristol, a subsidiary making specialist printed and coloured bags for loose-food packaging. Employment exceeded 750 people by 1962, and the company received the Queen’s Award to Industry in 1974. The Bridgwater operation expanded substantially during the 1970s. By the end of that decade it was making about 40,000 tonnes of packaging film each year and employing roughly 3,000 people. The business increasingly broadened its activities beyond traditional cellulose film. In 1982, Colendense Liquid Packaging Ltd opened a plant at Ashton Vale in Bristol to manufacture bag-in-box packaging for the take-home wine and cider trade, together with filling equipment. By 1988, three factories associated with the operation were producing cellulose and polyethylene film as well as bonded fibre fabric. The company’s long-term position weakened as competing packaging materials became more common. Cellophane lost market share to other flexible films, while the viscose manufacturing process attracted environmental criticism because of the pollution risks associated with carbon disulfide and related by-products. After British Cellophane became part of UCB Films, subsequently Innovia Films, the Barrow facility was closed. In 2004, Innovia compared the future of its remaining Bridgwater site with that of its Tecumseh plant near Topeka, Kansas. British economic-development officials offered a three-year, $120,000 tax incentive to support the Somerset plant, while Kansas offered a substantially larger incentive for the Tecumseh operation. Innovia ultimately decided to close Bridgwater in summer 2005 and retain Tecumseh. Around 250 jobs were lost, and the former site entered redevelopment rather than returning to industrial cellophane production. EDF acquired the site in 2012, and the industrial complex was demolished in 2015. Records of Colodense Ltd are held by Bristol Archives.

• 2005

  Bridgwater plant closes

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Innovia Films closed the Bridgwater facility after deciding to retain its Tecumseh plant in Kansas.

• 1994

  Bridgwater rail link closes

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  The railway connection serving the Bridgwater site closed, reducing a longstanding element of the factory’s industrial infrastructure.

• 1988

  Diversified film and fibre production

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Three factories associated with the operation were producing cellulose film, polyethylene film and bonded fibre fabric.

• 1982

  Entry into bag-in-box packaging

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Colendense Liquid Packaging Ltd opened an Ashton Vale plant producing flexible liquid bags and filling machines for the take-home wine and cider market.

• 1974

  Queen’s Award to Industry

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  The company received the Queen’s Award to Industry for its industrial contribution.

• 1957

  Barrow facility established

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  British Cellophane opened a secondary manufacturing facility at Barrow in Furness.

• 1940

  Factory switches to wartime manufacturing

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  The Bridgwater works moved from cellophane to war munitions and Bailey bridge production during the Second World War.

• 1937

  Bridgwater factory begins production

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  The new Bridgwater factory entered production on a large railway-connected site built on former Sydenham Manor fields.

• 1935

  British Cellophane joint venture formed

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds formed British Cellophane Ltd and began developing a major production site at Bridgwater, Somerset.

• 1913

  Cellophane reaches commercial production

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Jacques Brandenberger achieved true commercial production of thin transparent cellulose film at the La Cellophane SA factory in Bezons, France.

• 1898

  Viscose-based cellulose film process developed

  [1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Charles Frederick Cross, Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle discovered a process for manufacturing cellulose film from viscose, providing an important technical foundation for later cellophane production.

A large British industrial packaging manufacturer centered on cellulose film, with later diversification into printed bags, polyethylene film, bonded fibre materials and flexible liquid packaging systems.

• Cellulose packaging film · 1937

  Cellophane film

  The company’s core product was transparent cellulose film made through a viscose-based process. It was used for packaging food and other consumer products and became the basis of British Cellophane’s export-oriented manufacturing business. Production expanded significantly after the Second World War and reached approximately 40,000 tonnes of packaging film per year at the Bridgwater site by the late 1970s.

• Flexible food packaging

  Printed and coloured packaging bags

  Through its Colodense subsidiary in Bedminster, Bristol, the business produced specialist printed and coloured bags intended for loose-food packaging, including packaging used in supermarket settings. The line represented a move from basic transparent film into more customized presentation and packing formats.

• Liquid packaging · 1982

  Bag-in-box liquid packaging

  Introduced through the Ashton Vale operation in 1982, the bag-in-box business supplied flexible bags for the growing take-home wine and cider market. The associated plant also manufactured filling machines, giving the company a systems-oriented offering rather than selling packaging film alone.

• Plastic packaging film

  Polyethylene film

  By 1988, facilities associated with British Cellophane were producing polyethylene film alongside cellulose film. This diversification allowed the operation to participate in packaging applications where conventional polyethylene film was preferred over cellophane.

• Industrial fibre materials

  Bonded fibre fabric

  Bonded fibre fabric was another product made at the group’s later multi-factory operation. The product extended the company’s manufacturing scope beyond packaging films into engineered or bonded fibre materials.

• 2004

  Choose between Bridgwater and Tecumseh plantsStrategy

  Background

  Declining cellophane sales, competition from alternative packaging materials and environmental concerns surrounding viscose production led Innovia Films to review its manufacturing footprint.

  Action taken

  Innovia compared the Bridgwater plant in England with its Tecumseh plant in Kansas and decided to retain the Kansas facility.

  Aftermath

  The Bridgwater factory closed in summer 2005, with approximately 250 jobs lost.

  Proposed public incentives. United Kingdom offer: $120,000 over three years; Kansas offer: $2 million (2004-2005)

  Source

• 1982

  Launch of bag-in-box packaging operationsProduct launch

  Background

  The take-home wine and cider market was creating demand for flexible liquid packaging and compatible filling equipment.

  Action taken

  The company established Colendense Liquid Packaging Ltd at Ashton Vale in Bristol to produce liquid bags and filling machines.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened the company from cellulose film into integrated flexible packaging systems.

  Source

• 1940

  Convert the Bridgwater works to wartime productionStrategy

  Background

  The Second World War created a national demand for military materials and infrastructure components.

  Action taken

  British Cellophane halted normal cellophane production at Bridgwater and shifted the factory toward war munitions and Bailey bridge manufacture.

  Aftermath

  The bridges were used by Royal Engineers from 1943, while the factory returned to cellophane production after the war.

  Source

• 2015

  Former Bridgwater industrial site demolished[1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The former British Cellophane industrial site was cleared as part of redevelopment plans connected with temporary accommodation for workers involved in the construction of Hinkley Point C.

• 2012

  EDF acquires former British Cellophane site[1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Other

  EDF purchased the former Bridgwater industrial site, including a Grade II listed sixteenth-century building. The location was later associated with plans for temporary accommodation for Hinkley Point C construction workers.

• 2005

  British Cellophane closes Bridgwater factory[1]British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Bankruptcy

  Innovia Films closed the Bridgwater cellophane plant after choosing to retain its competing Tecumseh, Kansas, facility. The closure ended production at the Somerset site and resulted in the loss of approximately 250 jobs.

1. 1British Cellophaneen.wikipedia.org