James Cropper plc is an English papermaking company based in Burneside, Kendal, Cumbria, England. The company was founded in 1845 by James Cropper (1823-1900), whose great-great-grandson James Cropper is the Honorary President of the company.
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Industry | Papermaking |
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Founded | 1845 |
Founder | James Cropper (1823-1900) |
Headquarters | , England |
Key people | James Cropper (Hon. Pres.) Mark Cropper (Chairman) Steve Adams (CEO) |
Website | www |
The company have been at the same site at Burneside since 1845. There were earlier mills on the same site including a sickle mill and a fulling mill which were bought in 1750 by John Wakefield who built a woollen mill on the site in 1760 and converted the sickle mill for cotton 1770. In 1828 the mill was leased to Hudson and Forster who installed second-hand papermaking machines, and in 1845 James Cropper rented the premises.[1]
![A complex of brick and stone buildings of different ages with various chimneys and a cupola](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Entrance_to_James_Cropper%2C_Burneside_Mills%2C_Burneside_%28geograph_2164035%29.jpg/220px-Entrance_to_James_Cropper%2C_Burneside_Mills%2C_Burneside_%28geograph_2164035%29.jpg)
Croppers have pioneered the recycling of disposable coffeecups,[2][3] and have also produced a range of recycled paper for the luxury packaging market.[4]
The company produces specialist paper for the manufacture of The Royal British Legion's Remembrance poppies: when a decision was made in 1978 to move from fabric to paper poppies, Croppers produced a paper which could be crimped into shape and with colour which could be sure not to rub off onto clothing.[5]
A historian was commissioned to write a history of the company but failed to deliver, at which point the current chairman Mark Cropper (great-x-3-grandson of the founder) stepped in to write The Leaves We Write On: James Cropper, a History in Paper-Making (Ellergreen, 2004: ISBN 0954919114).[6][7]
In 2021 the company entered a three-year agreement as "headline sponsors" of the Wainwright Prize for nature and conservation writing.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Burneside Paper Mill". Industrial History of Cumbria. Cumbria Industrial History Society. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "James Cropper takes significant step towards recycling coffee cups". Packaging Europe. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ Abbott, Jez (17 July 2013). "Royal visit marks opening of James Cropper pioneering recycling plant". Printweek. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "The Poppy Story". James Cropper PLC. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Mark Cropper: From Paperback Writer to Power Broker". The Manufacturer. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ Witt, David. "Book Review: The Leaves We Write On". SOUE News. Society of Oxford University Engineers. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Sponsors & Partners". Wainwright Prize. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.