Innovia Films will officially open its state-of-the-art polymer substrate manufacturing facility at Wigton next week.

The company has invested £40 million at Wigton to gear up for a contract to produce the base material for the Bank of England’s first polymer banknotes.

This included a new polypropylene line and construction of an opacification plant to coat the polymer prior to printing.

The first ‘Made in Wigton’ £5 note is due to enter circulation on September 13, followed by a £10 note next year.

The facility will also produce bespoke polymer bank notes for other central banks around the world.

The official opening a week on Friday will feature speeches by Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart, Innovia chief executive Mark Robertshaw, and Bernhard Imbach, managing director of Innovia Security – Innovia’s bank note division.

There will also be a question-and-answer session for the VIP guests who include Cumbria’s Lord Lieutenant, Claire Hensman, council leaders and Wigton’s mayor Alan Pitcher.

The new £5, featuring Sir Winston Churchill, is the first Bank of England banknote to be printed on Innovia’s Guardian material, a flexible plastic film, made and coated at Wigton and then printed by De La Rue in Essex.

Polymer notes are more durable and more secure than paper notes. The new £5 was unveiled by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney at Blenheim Palace, Sir Winston’s birthplace.

He said: “The new fiver is cleaner, safer and stronger.

“It incorporates advanced security features making the notes even harder to counterfeit. The polymer is also harder wearing, as well as resistant to dirt and moisture, so we expect it to last for at least 2.5 times longer.”

Mark Robertshaw, chief executive of Innovia Group, added: “The note is beautifully designed and its introduction in the UK allows for a new generation of cleaner, safer and stronger banknotes with robust security features and the very latest in anti-counterfeit technology.”

Other countries using Innovia’s polymer include Australia and Canada.