Wigton's Innovia to officially open new polymer bank note plant.

31-Aug-16

Innovia Films will officially open its state-of-the-art polymer substrate manufacturing facility at Wigton next week. The company has invested £40 million at Wigton to gear up for a contract to produce the base material for the Bank of England’s first polymer banknotes. This included a new polypropylene line and construction of an opacification plant to coat the polymer prior to printing.
The first ‘Made in Wigton’ £5 note is due to enter circulation on September 13, followed by a £10 note next year. The facility will also produce bespoke polymer bank notes for other central banks around the world. The new £5, featuring Sir Winston Churchill, is the first Bank of England banknote to be printed on Innovia’s Guardian material, a flexible plastic film, made and coated at Wigton and then printed by De La Rue in Essex.
It incorporates advanced security features making the notes even harder to counterfeit. The polymer is also harder wearing, as well as resistant to dirt and moisture, so we expect it to last for at least 2.5 times longer.