From the foothills of the English Lakes District to the forefront of global innovation, James Cropper has spent 180 years pushing boundaries, shaping industries and making a material difference. This year, the sixth-generation family business celebrates nearly two centuries of papermaking excellence and advanced materials, with festivities at its Burneside mill, where employees and their families came together to honour a legacy built across generations.
Founded in 1845, James Cropper has grown from its Cumbrian roots in Burneside to a global group, with sites in Cornwall, Crewe, and Schenectady, USA. Across generations, its people have earned an international reputation for colour mastery, craftsmanship, technical excellence and sustainable innovation, a culture that continues to define the business today.
That spirit of restless curiosity has shaped defining moments in the company’s history: producing paper for the British government during WWI, supplying the iconic red paper for Remembrance Day poppies and welcoming Her Majesty The Queen in 2013 to open the revolutionary CupCycling® plant – the world’s first facility dedicated to recycling coffee cups at scale.
Today, that same mindset drives its pioneering work in advanced materials. From high-performance nonwovens and electrochemical materials that used to deliver clean energy, aerospace and medical applications, to moulded fibre packaging that accelerates the shift to circular packaging, James Cropper’s innovations are helping address the world’s most urgent challenges.
The company’s passion for colour remains as strong as ever. Since creating its first coloured paper in the 1850s, it has honed its craft to an unmatched level. Its state-of-the art colour lab now offers more than 2,000 live shades, including 184 blacks and 62 whites, with limitless potential for designers and brands. Most recently, it unveiled Coloursource, a collection of 50 signature shades honed over half a century, available in numerous weights and embossed patterns.
“Our story has never been about standing still,” said David Stirling, CEO at James Cropper. “For 180 years, change, challenge and creativity have been our fuel. The dedication, curiosity and skill of our people continue to shape the future of sustainable materials and advanced technologies.”
The Burneside site remains at the heart of the group, a centre of excellence for manufacturing, innovation, and sustainability, located within the Lake District’s UNESCO World Heritage landscape. It has been the launchpad for multiple world firsts, from coloured paper in the 1850s to today’s leadership in moulded fibre packaging and advanced materials that support the global shift to clean energy.
As James Cropper marks its 180th anniversary, the focus is firmly on the future. With two core divisions driving its next chapter – Advanced Materials and Paper & Packaging – the company is expanding into high-growth markets, from clean energy and next generation battery technology to sustainable luxury packaging, while strengthening its role as a trusted partner to global brands, designers and manufacturers.
“As we celebrate 180 years, this is as much about what comes next as what came before” Stirling said. “This is a moment to recognise the people, partnerships and ideas that brought us here and to reaffirm our commitment to innovation, sustainability and growth. The same bold spirit will guide us into the next century.”
With heritage as its foundation and innovation as its compass, James Cropper stands ready to shape the next era of sustainable materials and advanced technologies – making a material difference for another 180 years and beyond.
Photo/James Cropper
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