British Cellophane Ltd (BCL) was a joint venture company formed in 1935 between La Cellophane SA and
Courtaulds
Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds ...
, when they began building a major factory for producing
Cellophane in
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
, Somerset, England.
History
19th century
The process for manufacturing cellulose film from
viscose was discovered by three English chemists,
Charles Frederick Cross
Charles Frederick Cross FRS (11 December 1855 – 15 April 1935) was a British chemist.
Born in Brentford, Middlesex, his fatherCharles James Cross (14 October 1827 - 19 November 1910) was a schoolmaster turned soap manufacturer. After graduatin ...
,
Edward John Bevan and
Clayton Beadle
Clayton may refer to:
People
*Clayton (name)
*Clayton baronets
*The Clayton Brothers, Jeff and John, jazz musicians
*Clayton Brothers, Rob and Christian, painter artists
*Justice Clayton (disambiguation), the judges Clayton
Places Canada
*Clayto ...
in 1898.
20th century
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 La Cellophane SA'' factory in
Bezons
Bezons () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
Population
Transport
An extension of the tramway line T2 to Pont de Bezons opened in 2012. With Bezons not served by any stations o ...
, France.
In 1937 British Cellophane set up production on a site in
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
, when unemployment levels in the town were high. The new buildings covered of the former
Sydenham Manor fields, and had direct railway access. The factory produced cellophane up until late 1940 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when it started switching production to war munitions and specifically
Bailey bridge
A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units. A ...
s for the pending invasion of Europe. These were first used in Italy in 1943 by the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
. Production ramped up through early-1944 for
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
.
After the war the Bridgwater factory returned to producing cellophane, with its products exported worldwide. In 1957, a secondary facility was started at Barrow in Furness in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
(now in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
). A subsidiary
Colodense Ltd, of
Bedminster, Bristol produced specialist printed and coloured bags for loose food packaging in supermarkets. In 1962 it was employing 750+ people. In 1974 the company won the
Queen's Award to Industry and by the late 1970s the site produced 40,000 tonnes of cellophane packaging film a year, employing 3,000 people. In 1982 it entered the 'Bag in a Box' market with a new plant at Ashton Vale Bristol, (CLP) 'Colendense Liquid Packaging Ltd', producing liquid packaging bags for the growing take home consumer wine and cider market and producing associated filling machines. In 1988 three separate factories on the site were producing
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
and
polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
film, and bonded
fibre fabric. The rail link closed in 1994, and the Barrow factory was closed after the company was bought by UCB Films (later
Innovia Films
Innovia Films, a division of CCL Industries, is an international manufacturer and supplier of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films for speciality packaging, labelling, tobacco overwrap and industrial products. It was once known as UCB F ...
). The Barrow-in-Furness plant then employed 450 people.
21st century
In 2004, due to dwindling sales of
cellophane as a result of alternative packaging options, and the fact that
viscose was becoming less favoured because of the polluting effects of
carbon disulfide and other by-products of the process, Innovia decided to close one of its two plants at either
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
or
Tecumseh
Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...
, east of
Topeka,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. British
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
officials offered a $120,000 tax break over three years to Innovia to preserve the Bridgwater plant, while
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
offered $2 million if it kept the plant at Tecumseh open. As a result, the Bridgwater factory closed in the summer of 2005, while the factory in Tecumseh remained ope
250 jobs were lost, and the site is still under development as of January 2013.
In 2012
Electricité de France, EDF purchased the site, including the Grade II
listed 16th century building. In 2015 the industrial site was razed to the ground. It is intended for construction of temporary accommodation for 1,000 workers involved in the construction of
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
Archives
Records of Colodense Limited are held at
Bristol Archives
Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...
(Ref. 43979).
References
* '' "Bridgwater with and without the 'e' " , Roger Evans,
* ''A History of Bridgwater'', J.C. Lawrence,
* ''The "Cellophane" Story'', Ward-Jackson
* ''Wembdon: Economic history – A History of the County of Somerset, Volume 6: Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds''
External links
British History – A history of the County of SomersetArticle "British cellophane incentive less than Kansas"BBC News article on plant closureBeat details of Sydenham from Avon & Somerset PoliceBristol Archive online catalogue Records of Colodense Ltd
{{Authority control
Companies based in Bridgwater
Chemical companies of the United Kingdom
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Manufacturing plants in England
British companies established in 1935
Manufacturing companies established in 1935
1935 establishments in England