Where It All Began

Discover Croxsons’ Rich Heritage

Our story spans five generations, showcasing a legacy of innovation and excellence in packaging. Starting in Berdmonsey, London, with a long stint in Druid Street, under the railway arches, a far cry from both who Croxsons is now, but also how Bermondsey now looks.

A five generation family business is unusual – from William (1st) to Tim (5th), the business has survived two world wars, challenges, recession, and dare we say it family challenges, but we are standing – standing strong, with a team that is also our family.

Explore below each of our generational leaders and a little more of our heritage that has helped shaped Croxsons into who we are today.

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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Scroll Down to explore the company’s heritage with a detailed timeline of key events that have shaped Croxsons over the years.

From humble beginnings to industry leadership, discover our journey and see how Croxsons has evolved to become who we are today.

Welcome to a family of packaging.

Our Timeline

1872

Founded

1872

William Croxson

Where it all began. William Croxson established his wholesale bottle merchant business in London and we haven’t looked back since.

1904

Virgin Glass

Here we began not only cleaning bottles, but also buying in virgin glass. We were buying from a company called Rockware. They’re now Ardagh Glass – and we’re still dealing with them today.

1920

First Export

First export on records. Randolph Croxson sailed to New Zealand representing England in a sports game (unknown but likely ice skating or snooker), and saw the bottles on the quayside upon arrival. It took about 8 weeks to get there; now it takes about 24 hours.

1924

First IS Machine

Glass-making pioneer Henry W. Ingle creates the first IS (individual section) machine. A new automation standard.

1968

Modern Machinery

At this stage we had over 60 staff in Bermondsey. Modern machinery meant we had to reduce it to about 30. We still have one piece of that machinery working today.

1976

First Jars Sold

Our first jars sold – one pallet into the back of a Volvo Estate. This client is now buying over 40m jars!

1985

Moved Into Alpha Place

Croxsons bought Alpha Place – our previous HQ location – in June 1985.

1986

Buying From Japan

We first started buying from Japan.

1996

Topped 100 Million Bottles

Our first very big UK deal, topping over 100 million bottles. We also started buying in the Far East.

1998

Middle East

Next, the Middle East. We first started buying here.

1999

Bottle Partnership

Quinn Glass (now Encirc) started a new factory in Derrylin, Ireland and we ordered our first moulds from them before manufacturing commenced. We still buy those bottles – around 200 million in total.

2000

Tim Croxson Joins

New millennium, new face. The year that Tim joined us.

2001

Gone Global

USA Office- Maine
UK Head Office- LONDON
Hong Kong Office
Australian Office – Perth
New Zealand Office – Aukland

About 15 years ago we hit 150m bottles for a global customer. The purchasing was done in New Zealand – probably the biggest deal done outside of the UK.

2006

Brand Refresh

When we rebranded. Fresh look, fresh sales.

2011

China

We first started buying from China.

2016

New look with traditional values

Our new positioning statement ‘ A Family of packaging’, references both our unbeatable range of products and the fact that our highly-valued customers are part of our extended family.

The Croxsons logo has been brought up-to-date with a contemporary typeface and new green colour. This has been complemented with the William Croxson signature as a sign of approval.

2019

Queens Award

Croxsons win a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, recognised for its excellence in international trade, which saw the firm return continuous growth in overseas sales for the past six years.

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