James Cropper celebrates 180 years in papermaking and advanced materials

Source (All Images) | James Cropper.

From the foothills of the English Lakes District to the forefront of global innovation, James Cropper (Schenectady, N.Y., U.S.) 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 honor 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 in the U.S. Across generations, its people have earned an international reputation for color 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 CupCycling plant, a facility dedicated to recycling coffee cups at scale.

Today, that same mindset drives the company’s work in advanced materials. From high-performance nonwovens and electrochemical materials used to deliver clean energy, aerospace and medical applications, to molded fiber packaging that accelerates the shift to circular packaging, James Cropper’s aim is to help address some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

The company’s passion for color remains strong. Since creating its first colored paper in the 1850s, it has honed its craft. Its state-of-the art color 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 available in a variety of weights and embossed patterns.

“Our story has never been about standing still,” says 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 center of excellence for manufacturing, innovation and sustainability, located within the Lake District’s UNESCO World Heritage landscape. 

As James Cropper marks its 180^th 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 — standing ready to make a material difference for another 180 years and beyond.