About
Viscose Closures Limited manufacture a wide range of tamper evident and packaging solutions to numerous sectors across consumer, industrial and pharmaceutical industries. The potential damage resulting from contaminated, leaking or counterfeit products is a tremendous and unnecessary risk. At Viscose we are experts in Protecting your Product and Enhancing your Brand.
The proactive businesses we work with are embracing tamper evidence to enhance their brands and to differentiate from their competitors with the increased product security and integrity that tamper evident solutions provide.
The tamper evident bands produced in Swansea are made from three substrates: Cellulose, PET and PLA and are available in three formats; tubing, cut bands and preforms.
Viscose also manufactures capsules and shrink sleeves in PVC and PET as a secondary tamper evidence seals used in a wide range of packaging.
Sustainability has always been an integral part of our business and we are constantly driving innovation to improve our recycled content levels. Providing greater packaging safety and transparency for our clients and their customers is paramount.
Viscose also supplies plastic closures including sports and flat caps; aluminium closures and crowns. Our extensive range of closures are suitable for food, beverages, consumer products and industrial packaging in a wide range of materials.
Viscose Closures Limited is a proud UK manufacturer of Film and Cellulose tamper evident solutions which are supplied worldwide from our Swansea Headquarters.
Viscose has been manufacturing in the UK for over 125 years and in Swansea for 70 years. We also work with a team of select distributors to ensure we have local values with a global reach.
Customers are at the core of everything we do at Viscose Closures. Throughout our entire business, you, our customers are, and always will be our driving force.
From your first contact through to the development of our partnership we seek to collaborate and support you every step of the way. We are delighted to have worked with customers of all sizes. We love to support our passionate artisan customers (maybe just starting their business journey) just as much as we love to delight our large customers whether they supply major retailers or have global industrial operations. We have agile and committed teams who exist to support our customers of all shapes, sizes and industries.
We offer a seamless service from initial enquiry through to delivery of the finished product and beyond to provide industry leading customer care. We are proud to have a team of experts to establish the right products for you and guide you from design to implementation. Our Technical Support colleagues can provide both on-site & remote support, training and investigative analysis to support line trials, new product introductions and application improvements.
Clients Typically Choose To Work With Us For One Or More Of The Following Reasons:
- Local & Global customer Account Management
- Experienced Customer Services Team
- Technical support
- Stock holding facilities
- Excellent lead times
- Design and Artwork support
- Flexible production scheduling
- High Performance Product, All our products are manufactured to the tightest tolerances from the very best quality raw materials
- Constant OTIF mentality
Our Story
More
Viscose Closures has been proudly manufacturing in the UK for over 125 years and in Swansea for 70 years. Built on strong values and by visionaries including Charles Frederick Cross, the inventor of the Viscose process in 1892. Innovation has been at the heart of Viscose ever since.
Viscose Today
Today Viscose is regarded as one of the market leaders in the UK supplying caps, closures, seals and sleeving predominantly as a tamper evident solution. With over 100 years’ experience, Viscose is known for their manufacturing expertise and exceptional customer service.
SOLD TO PRIVATE INVESTORS AND GROWTH
In 2011, the company was sold with the support of Finance Wales and private investors. The company growth journey began and many products have been added to the Viscose portfolio during this time. Sales of our tamper evident Cellulose bands (Viskrings/Celons) developed a global market across all sectors.
OPENING OF NEW FACTORY
In 1990, the company opened a brand new factory, which houses the manufacturing operation at its current site in Swansea, South Wales. This led to the introduction of a number of new products, including the company’s heat shrinkable PVC sleeves. Cellulose and Shrink sleeving production remain onsite today.
DEVELOPMENT OF SHRINK SLEEVES
In 1985 the Management Team bought the Cellulose process from Spontex. Between 1985 – 1990 Spontex manufactured the cellulose product on behalf of Viscose closures. In the 1980’s Viscose started supplying aluminium crowns and In 1987 PVC shrink sleeves started production at Viscose head office in Crawley.
BIRTH OF VISCOSE GROUP LIMITED
In 1973 Viscose Group Limited was born. The production of Cellulose tamper evident bands known as Viskrings/Celons, today’s core product, continued production.
SET-UP OF VISPLAS DIVISION
In the early 60’s, Visplas division was set up producing Visplas capsules, polythene stretch capsules aimed at the table wine market which was traditionally served by lead and tin foil capsules.
In 1969 another division was established – Viskproof – producing Viskproof capsules. Both the traditional cellulose closure and the polythene Visplas capsule were used a secondary closure primarily as a tamper evidence solution.
COMPANY VISKASE LIMITED FORMED
In 1951, experimental work started on the production of a dried tubular casing for use in sausage manufacture. From this innovation, the company Viskase Limited was formed as a joint venture of Sponcel and the American Company, the Viskring Corporation of Chicago.
In 1951, Viscose joint venture formed with American Company the Viskring Corporation of Chicago – this is no longer trading. Our core product the Viskring is sold via two distributors Kaufman Container Company and Walter H Jelly Limited.
EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CELLULOSE TUBING STARTED
In the early 30’s the Company was engaged in the manufacture of moulded plastics which began at Bromley , Kent and this section of the Company continued until 1954. It was here that the early experiments in the manufacture of cellulose tubing started, and much later the printing process was developed. Experiments too, were carried out into the manufacture of cellulose sponges by various methods, and a little later a new company, Sponcel Limited was formed in conjunction with the French company Novacel.
Work began on the Swansea factory in 1948/9 and during this time training of operators began at temporary premises in Llansamlet. Production started in the new factory in 1949/50.
VISCOSE PROCESS FIRST DISCOVERED BY CHARLES FREDERICK CROSS
The Viscose process was first discovered by Charles Frederick Cross who patented his discovery in 1892 with a view to developing the Viscose process for textiles. The Viscose Spinning Syndicate was formed in 1894 under the Chairmanship of Mr A. Pears (of soap fame). This Company ran until 1902, when the spinning rights of Viscose were acquired by the late Samuel Courtauld, who was then the Chairman of a fairly small Company manufacturing natural silk. This business has since become the vast Courtauld Empire with which we are so familiar. In 1902 the Viscose Development Company Limited was formed to operate all other uses of the Viscose process other than those relating to textiles, and this Company absorbed the original Viscose Spinning Syndicate.
In 1916 the Company started the construction of a factory at Woldham Road, Bromley but completion of this was delayed by the First World War, and it was not occupied until 1920.
Our Passion
More
Here at Viscose we are passionate about the environment. For us the environment means our interactions with:
- The people we employ
- Our manufacturing and distribution operations
- The sustainability of the products we sell
- The community
Our passions help to drive quality in our business and provide focus on our passion for you, our loyal customers.
Viscose has a history of manufacturing in the UK for over 125 years. The testament to our longevity is our People. We are fortunate to have the most committed, dedicated team and we believe strongly in nurturing, developing, and recognising their talent. Our People are the beating heart of our business.
Our teams provide our customers with a bespoke service. Their goal is to build and maintain valuable long term relationships for you. Exceptional Customer Service and Ethical, Strategic Account Management have always been leading values for Viscose and our People are passionate in driving the very high standards we set.
Viscose is operated by a small number of shareholders, enabling us to be agile and committed to our People, our Customers and our Suppliers across the world. We are proud to operate locally and reach globally.
At Viscose we are experts at what we do. We also enjoy strong relationships with select supply partners. We believe that our combined expertise is essential for delivering high-quality products and services to you. Viscose therefore carefully chooses partners and suppliers that meet our own high levels of service and quality. Our supply chain is ethical, reliable, diverse and continuously investing in quality systems to adhere to the highest industry standards.
Of course, the benefit of all this is that we are able to source the most optimum materials and products for our customers. It’s what enables us to provide a bespoke service, tailored to our customers’ needs, regardless of size or scale.
Our driving principle is to validate the commitment we have made to protecting our environment and reducing our carbon footprint. We are fully committed to our quest to be an increasingly sustainable manufacturer, driving innovation to improve our recycled content levels and reducing the impact of our processes.
Future investments will build on our already strong eco-credentials. As a manufacturer of compostable and biodegradable tamper-evident packaging solutions we continue the critical research into bioplastics and closed-loop supply chains to help create a sustainable world. The Viscose commitment to innovation has been evident since 1892 and as we continue with this journey, sustainability will remain at the core of our values.
Charity begins at home and at Viscose we believe that it is our integrity as a local employer that drives the business. This integrity is driven from ensuring the safety, security and well being of our People to being environmentally conscious about our products and manufacturing processes.
Corporate and Social Responsibility is of paramount importance to all in the Viscose Family and driven by great teams across the business. We strongly believe we can act and make a difference by looking at practical ways to impact our People, customers and partners, both locally and globally.
The pillars of our values at Viscose are essential to ensure the integrity of our business. These are:
– Positive Relations with all stakeholders
– Ethical Practices
– Active Safety & Environmental focus
– Community Involvement & Charitable activities
– Employees at the heart of everything we do
Where we serve
More
Proud to operate locally and reach globally
Viscose exports to over 30 countries from our Swansea HQ. Our specialist customer Service Team will organise door to door transport and logistics as well as necessary customs documentation.