James Cropper, a global market leader in advanced materials, luxury packaging and paper products, announces a strategy to accelerate growth across the Group.
Since the appointment of Steve Adams as Chief Executive Officer in August 2022, the Company has made significant progress in repositioning James Cropper to capitalise on growth opportunities within its core and emerging end-markets. The fast-growing renewable energy and decarbonisation markets are creating an ever-greater need for novel and high-performance materials, while sustainable fibres, and low, or zero, carbon processing are driving growth within paper and packaging.
In order to position the company to accelerate growth, the Group is today announcing three strategic changes:
1. Brand profile: reorganisation and renaming.
2. A step change of investment in innovation and systems.
3. Streamlining the Paper division to improve productivity and margins.
The Group will invest in the James Cropper brand by reorganising itself from three separate divisions (James Cropper Paper, Technical Fibre Products and Colourform) into four market-facing segments, unified under the Group name:
The Group’s historic business supplying specialist paper markets with a world leading range of coloured and embossed papers, and unique sustainable fibre options including CupCycling.
Incorporating James Cropper’s multi-award winning Colourform moulded pulp innovation and the packaging papers made for the world’s leading luxury brands.
Another key element of the Group’s strategy will be significant changes to the Paper division. In order to create a more resilient and higher margin business that is less exposed to the multiple headwinds it has faced for many years, the Group is proposing to reduce the number of paper machines in operation from four to three, with two machines anticipated to be in production at any one time.
Together with the reorganisation and streamlining of Group functions and related investment (as outlined above), this will lead to a change in overall headcount, and accordingly the Company has today submitted an advance notification of redundancies, with a 90-day consultation period commencing with immediate effect. Overall, approximately 10% of employees will potentially be affected, predominantly within the Paper and Group functions.