5
training at duPont’s cello
phane plant. The Olin entry
into the cellophane manufac
turing field was as a licensee
of duPont, closely related in
all aspects of construction and
machinery erection, organiza
tional structure and operating
procedures. First production of
the sparkling clear film at Pis
gah Forest was in 1951, when
the first of nine casting ma
chines went into operation. The
cellophane plant, immaculately
clean and atmospherically con
trolled to assure uniformity and
and purity of film, was an addi
tion fully in accord with princi
ples of the quest for quality
that led the Ecusta founders to
Pisgah Forest.
The Ecusta investment
was in the neighborhood of
$20,000,000 when Olin In
dustries, Inc. of East Alton,
Illinois, announced that it
would invest $10-20,000,000 in
order to make cellophane at
Pisgah Forest. Also, according
to the November 1949 news
paper account, the new plant
would add 500 persons to the
1,300-employee payroll.
John Olin, then president of
Olin Industries, was quoted as
saying that acquisition of the
Ecusta facilities, rather than
construction of a totally new
plant, would hasten the manu
facture of cellophane by four to
six months. Although num
erous other cities had bid for
Olin’s cellophane plant, he
stated that Ecusta already had
sufficient capacity for supply
ing treated water, steam and
most of the power; and that
Ecusta provided a nucleus of
trained personnel.
Olin Cellophane was pro
duced on a trial basis in June
1951, and by fall of that year
anticipated an annual produc
tion rate of 33,000,000 pounds.
The Film Division added
polyethylene to its product line
in 1954 and for the next several
years extruded the clear and
black films at the Pisgah For
est plant. A second cellophane
plant, also part of the Film
Division, began production at
Covington, Indiana, in 1956.
It is a fully integrated plant
with eight casting machines.
Product diversification has
been characteristic of the Film
Division from the beginning.
Development of surface coat
ings has opened the way to
many expanded uses of cello
phane. Facilities have been
added from time to time to en
able specialized treatment and
processing. Today’s Film Divi
sion products include a variety
of specialty packaging films,
such as nitrocellulose-coated
and polymer-coated cello
phane, and the new line of re
inforced (RC) films which are
combinations of cellophane and
other materials such as foil, to
combine the best properties of
each.
Present day Olin cellophane
performs two principal func
tions: protection of products
and assistance in merchandis
ing. With protection against
moisture, gas, dust and infes
tation, cellophane enables the
marketer to distribute moist
products in dry climates and
dry products in humid areas.
Delicate flavors are retained
within the package, which is a
barrier also against exterior
odors. The sparkle and trans
parency of cellophane, and its
excellent surface for printing,
offer significant advantages in
the merchandising of products.
Cellophanes are tailored to
meet particular packaging
needs for such end uses as
baked goods, meats, produce,
candies, snack items, tobacco
products, and many others.
Some of the items in the food
and tobacco industries require
specific technical properties,
which are incorporated accord
ing to need.
A quality of environmental
importance is cellophane’s bio
degradability, a characteristic
that allows it to decompose
naturally over a period of time.
Unlike the Ecusta Paper Di
vision, which had its marketing
and research organizations at
Pisgah Forest from the begin
ning, the Film Division Market
ing Department originally was
located in New York City. Its
Research and Development
Department was at Olin's cen
tral research facility at New
Haven, Connecticut. Both or
ganizations relocated to Pisgah
Forest after completion of new
research, sales and administra
tion facilities in August 1964,
a move which further enhanced
the area payroll by adding 225
members of management, tech
nical staffs and services to the
Pisgah Forest operation.
The Ecusta Paper Division
likewise continued its pattern
of growth that was established
as soon as first production of
flax cigarette paper began in
1939. The original four paper
machines had been joined by
five other cigarette making
machines before Ecusta was ac
quired by Olin Industries.
Meanwhile, product develop
ment was already in progress
toward diversification. Spe
cialty papers joined those man
ufactured for the tobacco in
dustry, with printing papers to
follow. These developments
prepared the way for growth in
other directions.
Beginning in the late 1950’s
expansion saw installation of
Note the glistening transparency of cellophane. Cellophanes are
produced to certain customer specifications because of particular
packaging needs. The film is used for baked goods, meats, pro
duce, candies, snack items and others. Cellophane provides an
excellent surface for printing. Here, Roy Millwood of the Slitting
Section in the Finishing Department is running a set-up of film.
three of the world's largest
Fourdrinier paper machines for
the manufacture of lightweight
paper, and the addition of much
converting equipment. Al
though the step into the print
ing paper industry was
somewhat uncertain, by the
1960’s the high quality light-
weight papers had been found
to be one answer to spiraling
distribution costs. Ecusta, a
pioneer in the field that became
a new dimension of the printing
industry, underwent rapid
growth to keep pace with de
mands.
The lightweight, opaque
papers are used extensively in
the publication of Bibles, dic
tionaries and other premium
volumes. Excellent bulk char
acteristics make the papers
ideal for printing and mailing
stock and insurance circulars,
quarterly and annual reports,
and the like. They represent di
versification at a plant that con
tinues as a major world
producer of products for the