James Cropper plc

James Cropper plc
IndustryPapermaking
Founded1845
FounderJames Cropper (1823–1900)
Headquarters
Burneside, Kendal
,
England
Key people
James Cropper (Hon. Pres.)
Mark Cropper (Chairman)
Steve Adams (CEO)
Websitewww.jamescropper.com

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.

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
The mill seen in 2010

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]

  1. ^ "Burneside Paper Mill". Industrial History of Cumbria. Cumbria Industrial History Society. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. ^ "James Cropper takes significant step towards recycling coffee cups". Packaging Europe. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. ^ Abbott, Jez (17 July 2013). "Royal visit marks opening of James Cropper pioneering recycling plant". Printweek. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  4. ^ "James Cropper presents 100% recycled paper collection for premium packaging". Packaging Europe. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  5. ^ "The Poppy Story". James Cropper PLC. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Mark Cropper: From Paperback Writer to Power Broker". The Manufacturer. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  7. ^ Witt, David. "Book Review: The Leaves We Write On". SOUE News. Society of Oxford University Engineers. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Sponsors & Partners". Wainwright Prize. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.