Ilford seeks fresh start

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After a management buyout in 2013, Ilford had to restructure. Of the 230 employees, 66 were made redundant, while 26 others left for other jobs. The company, which owned 370,000 square metres of land and buildings, sold 115,000 of them to a property developer to cover the costs associated with the redundancies and to finance a fresh start. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The area where Cibachrome and Ilfochrome photo paper were invented and developed. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Colour charts show the results of tests in the dark-room. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The office of Jean-Noël Gex, head of technical support. He will soon leave the office where for 27 years he worked with photographers and artists, laboratories and research institutes from around the world. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The facade of the building housing the tunnel, where 200 metres of paper could be coated every minute. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

On the floor under the tunnel, a complex and top-secret system make it possible to apply eight different coats of chemical products simultaneously. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Like the paper mill that stood on the site for five centuries, the Ilford factory needs large amounts of water drawn from a nearby lake, purified in its own treatment facility. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Colour prints are tested for five years in the open air at the factory, but also at other sites around the world to measure their resistance to the weather and climate. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Upon their arrival at the factory, the huge paper rolls are measured, cut up and placed in containers to protect them from air and light. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Ilfochrome paper is sold around the world. The eight layers of emulsion are distributed simultaneously via a complex network of tanks and pipes. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The darkroom. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The last stocks of photographic paper are stored in a cold room. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The pipes that feed the system that develops photos the pre-digital way. Boxes of paper labelled "Made in Switzerland" are familiar to fans of traditional photography. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

German artist Roland Wirtz (right) looks at a fresh printout of one of his giant photos with Jean-Noël Gex, head of technical support. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Still visible on the outside are occasional reminders that there were once darkrooms inside the building. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Samples, test material, finishing products and wrapping show that Ilford didn't just make prints, but provided customers with complete packages. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The tanks in the tunnel containing chemical products are not so very different from those in a dairy. Indeed, Ilford often exploited the knowledge of local cheesemakers and brewers, whose skills were not unlike those required by the photographic industry. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Control filters help refine print colours. Delivery trucks could unload chemicals directly into tanks behind the production facility. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

The tunnel entrance, designed to keep out light and dust. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

Ilford is busy looking for investors with an industrial background to help the company make the changes needed for its survival. Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch

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Ilford Imaging Switzerland, founded in 1879, once made more than 100 different kinds of inkjet paper for photo printouts. But it also provided a unique colour paper mainly for professional photographers.

The building near Fribourg that housed the production facility was home to the “tunnel”, where the paper was coated with different layers of chemicals. (Photos: Thomas Kern, swissinfo.ch)