Our Story
CelluComp was founded by Dr David Hepworth and Dr Eric Whale, two expert material scientists based in Scotland. In 2005 they combined their knowledge of cellulosic materials and passion for sustainability to develop the first generation of Curran®. The first successful application of Curran® was in composites in the form of an award winning fishing rod. This application made full use of the unique strength and stiffness of the nanocellulose based fibres.
Since its creation and initial commercialisation, the patented process for Curran® has been further developed to produce new generations of product suitable as a rheology modifier for use in a broad range of industrial applications.
In January 2011, Christian Kemp-Griffin, an early stage investor, joined CelluComp as CEO. Christian strengthened the management team and brought in new investment to compliment the existing support from early investors and Scottish Enterprise.
After progressive development and material qualification for diverse applications over the past 10 years, the company is now scaling to satisfy large scale production requirements.
With the help of Innovate UK and other industrial partners, CelluComp successfully developed an application use for Curran in Food, whereby Curran could be used as an excellent replacement for sugar and fat in a number of different recipes. CelluComp is now going through the regulatory process to take advantage of this opportunity in the future.
In 2018 CelluComp began its development in using Curran for fibre-based barrier packaging, answering the need for the market to replace plastic and other undesirable chemicals. With the support from the UK government and a partnership with The Danish Technological Institute and other collaborators, in 2020 CelluComp developed a proprietary pulp called Nest and began marketing a barrier coating, called Reef. At the same time CelluComp reconfigured its manufacturing facility in Scotland to a more efficient process and opened up a company in the Minnesota, where it plans to build a larger facility.
