Company History

The Inveresk Paper Company Limited was incorporated in 1922 in Musselburgh, Scotland and appears to have been the vehicle for bringing together a number of independent paper mills in both England and Scotland.

Many of the mills had been associated with each other in the past and soon after incorporation St Cuthberts Paper Works purchased 39,000 shares in Inveresk giving it a controlling interest. St Cuthberts purchased more shares in 1924 and 1925 with a view to going public at a suitable opportunity. St Cuthberts, which had had a chequered past, was going through a profitable period and had been investing in other paper mills such as Carrongrove, Caldwells and Westfield. The Inveresk Paper Company subsequently purchased Carrongrove in 1924 and Caldwells in 1928. At that time the Caldwells mill had 4 machines adding the new No. 5 machine in 1928.

In the early 1930's the paper industry as a whole was going through a difficult time and the value of all the shares held by the St Cuthberts Paper Company fell dramatically forcing them to borrow money from Inveresk to repay some of their loans. Finally in 1938 Inveresk took over the St Cuthberts Paper Company and began a period of steady growth purchasing a number of other mills and getting involved in some major investment projects including the Port Hudson pulp mill in Louisiana, Donside mill and the start up of British Tissues.

In the late 1960's the company found itself with major projects that were not performing and these became a drain on the companies resources. Through the 1970's this continued until the company was finally taken over by Georgia Pacific in 1981. At that time the company owned the following mills:-

Caldwells Mill, Inverkeithing
Carrongrove Paperboard Mill, Denny
Stoneywood Mill, Denny
Westfield Paper Co, Bathgate
Woodhall Paperboard Co, Midlothian
Witchampton Board Mills, Wimborne
St Cuthberts Mill, Wells
Lochmill, Linlithgow

There were also a number of other businesses associated with papermaking and a trading estate at Northfleet, Kent on the site of the old British Vegetable Parchment Mills.

The changing nature of the paper industry, a lack of investment caused by major projects absorbing all available resources, together with significant currency fluctuations resulted in a number of mills being closed as unprofitable. The remaining mills Caldwells, Westfield, Carrongrove and St Cuthberts were the subject of a £40m management buyout in 1990 and there followed a period of growth resulting in the company being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1993. Subsequently in 1995 the company purchased the Weir Paper Mill in Alloa, which together with the Caldwells Mill was, renamed Inveresk Graphic Papers.

Unfortunately Inveresk was a major exporter and the changes in exchange rates between European currencies and the pound over the next 10 years caused significant problems. Mills that had been profitable suddenly found themselves with much lower prices, which made them unprofitable and were closed as a result.

Today Inveresk opperate just with St Cuthberts Mill who produce speciality products in niche markets, with higher operating margins they have been able to compete with mills in continental Europe. Exporting paper around the world, where their reputation for quality and service is unsurpassed.