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TWST: Could you start off by giving us a brief overview of the James Cropper (CRPR.L)?

Mr. Denman: James Cropper is a UK quoted company. It has three operating divisions: Papermaking, Converting, and Technical Fiber Products (TFP). Papermaking is currently our core business. It is very much a niche operation, producing about 40,000 tons of paper per annum. In the context of the paper industry, not just in the UK but worldwide, it’s very, very small. Our specialization is deep colored, high quality papers produced in very small volumes often with specialized surface effects selling at relatively high margins. Converting is allied to the papermaking industry. Basically it produces value added paper related products, mostly in laminated form. Converting has the largest share of the UK market for point of sale display boards. We are also a large producer of picture mount board. TFP are different all together. It was spawned out of our papermaking expertise but in fact has nothing to do with wood pulp or the paper industry. It produces materials made from man made mineral fibers such as carbon, ceramics, and glass for a variety of high tech applications in the industrial sector worldwide.

TWST: In the recent Beeson-Gregory report, in their recent evaluation of your firm, they indicated that the fire retardant materials sold well outside of the United Kingdom, particularly in the United States and the Far East, would you care to comment?

Mr. Denman: We produce Tecnofire 2000, a patent-protected fire retardant product that is used in the construction industry. The market is developing. Our main growth market for this particular product is in the U.S. There the market is being driven by federal and individual state legislation. A similar trend is developing in the Far East and sales have actually picked up above our anticipation. When Tecnofire 2000 is exposed to heat and flame it actually expands up to 20 times its passive thickness. This is ideal for sealing doors and other apertures and conduits within the buildings. In addition Tecnofire 2000 can with stand fire durations of up to 90 minutes. We expect to see a significant amount of growth in the construction industry. We also believe there are considerable opportunities in transport and defense applications.

TWST: Do you have a growth strategy for your TFP section?

Mr. Denman: Basically it is to use our expertise of engineering mineral fibers to apply to different types of applications across the board in aerospace, defense, electronics, fuel cells, insulation and construction industries. Generally speaking it is a field of technology that is going to be growing over the next decade or more. For example composite products because of their lightness and strength will start to replace steel in construction and transport, both private and public. So, there is a lot to go for.