Ilford (company)
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Ilford Limited is a maker of photographic films, paper, and chemicals, which was founded in 1879 by Alfred Hugh Harman as Britannia Works. Initially making photographic plates, it grew to occupy a large site in the centre of Ilford. In 1902 it took the name of the town to become Ilford Limited. Ilford came to worldwide attention for its black-and-white films and papers, as well as its range of Ilfochrome and Ilfocolor colour printing materials. Ilfochrome was formerly called Cibachrome, developed in partnership with Swiss company CIBA-Geigy.
In 1983, their UK headquarters was moved to Mobberley, Cheshire. In 1989, Ilford was acquired by the USA-based International Paper company, also owners of graphic arts materials manufacturer Anitec. The two companies were merged in 1990 to become Ilford Anitec. In 1996, the sales and admin offices were also moved from London to Mobberley. In 2004 the company went into receivership. The UK site was subject to a management buyout, which resulted in the formation of Harman technology Ltd in February 2005. The company, now traded as Ilford Photo, produces high quality monochrome photographic products. The Swiss part of the company was bought by the Oji Paper Company of Japan in July 2005. It produces inkjet products under the name Ilford Imaging Switzerland GmbH.