Devro
Encyclopedia
Devro plc is a multinational company based in Moodiesburn
, Chryston
, Scotland
which manufactures and distributes goods derived from collagen
, principally sausage casings
, a product in which it is the world leader. The firm also produces films
, casings and other specialised collagen products for use in the health care and cosmetics industries. The company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange
since 1993 and was added to the FTSE 250 Index
in August 2010.
in 1962 after its researchers developed a material suitable for the manufacture of sausage casings
from collagen
. The business name was devised as an acronym
of "Development and Research Organisation", the Johnson & Johnson unit from which it emerged.
The firm was subject to a £108 million management buyout
from J&J in 1991 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange
two years later. In 1996 it acquired the American firm Teepak International for US$135 million, including its majority stake in the Czech company Cutisin. The Czech unit was fully acquired in 2004. In the same year the company opened a thin film
manufacturing facility in Hamilton
, Scotland
, but this was sold off in 2007.
In early 2007 Devro engaged in talks with an undisclosed suitor, rumoured to be its then-largest shareholder Acomita Investment (a vehicle controlled by John Magnier
), over a takeover
of the company. The talks were however terminated after an agreement could not be reached on issues relating to its pension scheme
.
The company was promoted to the FTSE 250 Index
on 27 August 2010 after the acquisition of Arriva
by Deutsche Bahn
was completed.
facilities in Jilemnice
and Slavkov
in the Czech Republic
. Devro headquarters are based in Moodiesburn
, Scotland
; significant facilities are also located in Bellshill
, Scotland, close to the firm's headquarters. The company's other manufacturing and technical plants are located in Sandy Run, South Carolina
in the United States
and Bathurst, New South Wales
in Australia
. The firm also has sales offices in Germany
, Russia
, Hong Kong
, Japan
and New Zealand
.
Moodiesburn
Moodiesburn is a residential suburb located 8 miles north-east of Glasgow city centre, in the North Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It is situated on the A80 road, between Stepps and Cumbernauld.-Landmarks:...
, Chryston
Chryston
Chryston is a village in the central belt of Scotland in the county of North Lanarkshire. Founded by James Burns Pollock, It is north of the main trunk road between Glasgow and Stirling ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
which manufactures and distributes goods derived from collagen
Collagen
Collagen is a group of naturally occurring proteins found in animals, especially in the flesh and connective tissues of mammals. It is the main component of connective tissue, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up about 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content...
, principally sausage casings
Casing (sausage)
Casing, sausage casing, or sausage skin is the material that encloses the filling of a sausage. Casings are divided into two categories, natural and artificial...
, a product in which it is the world leader. The firm also produces films
Coating
Coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. In many cases coatings are applied to improve surface properties of the substrate, such as appearance, adhesion, wetability, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and scratch resistance...
, casings and other specialised collagen products for use in the health care and cosmetics industries. The company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
since 1993 and was added to the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
in August 2010.
History
Devro was founded as a new business of Johnson & JohnsonJohnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
in 1962 after its researchers developed a material suitable for the manufacture of sausage casings
Casing (sausage)
Casing, sausage casing, or sausage skin is the material that encloses the filling of a sausage. Casings are divided into two categories, natural and artificial...
from collagen
Collagen
Collagen is a group of naturally occurring proteins found in animals, especially in the flesh and connective tissues of mammals. It is the main component of connective tissue, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up about 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content...
. The business name was devised as an acronym
Acronym and initialism
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...
of "Development and Research Organisation", the Johnson & Johnson unit from which it emerged.
The firm was subject to a £108 million management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
from J&J in 1991 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
two years later. In 1996 it acquired the American firm Teepak International for US$135 million, including its majority stake in the Czech company Cutisin. The Czech unit was fully acquired in 2004. In the same year the company opened a thin film
Thin film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
manufacturing facility in Hamilton
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, but this was sold off in 2007.
In early 2007 Devro engaged in talks with an undisclosed suitor, rumoured to be its then-largest shareholder Acomita Investment (a vehicle controlled by John Magnier
John Magnier
John Magnier is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside of the horse breeding industry....
), over a takeover
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
of the company. The talks were however terminated after an agreement could not be reached on issues relating to its pension scheme
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
.
The company was promoted to the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
on 27 August 2010 after the acquisition of Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
by Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
was completed.
Operations
Some 1,450 of Devro's 2,100 employees are based in Europe, with the majority of these at manufacturing and research and developmentResearch and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
facilities in Jilemnice
Jilemnice
Jilemnice is a town in the Czech Republic.Belonged to the younger branch of counts Harrach.-Notable persons from Jilemnice:*Jan Weiss - Writer*Ales Vodsedalek - Nordic combined skier*Jakub Hlava - Ski jumper*Lukas Hlava - Ski jumper...
and Slavkov
Slavkov u Brna
Slavkov u Brna is a country town east of Brno in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Population: 5,900. The town is widely known for giving its name to the Battle of Austerlitz which actually took place several kilometres to the west of the town....
in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Devro headquarters are based in Moodiesburn
Moodiesburn
Moodiesburn is a residential suburb located 8 miles north-east of Glasgow city centre, in the North Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It is situated on the A80 road, between Stepps and Cumbernauld.-Landmarks:...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; significant facilities are also located in Bellshill
Bellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
, Scotland, close to the firm's headquarters. The company's other manufacturing and technical plants are located in Sandy Run, South Carolina
Sandy Run, South Carolina
Sandy Run is an unincorporated community in Calhoun County, South Carolina, United States. Its elevation is 154 feet .-References:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Bathurst, New South Wales
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The firm also has sales offices in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.