Our History

In 1931 Charles Tripp purchased an existing paper merchant and changed the name of the company to British and Foreign Papers Ltd reflecting the source of the paper imports.

In 1946 Charles son, Kenneth Tripp, returned to New Zealand at the end of the war after serving as an officer in the Royal Navy and joined his father in the business. The company continued to grow and purchased and developed a number of buildings to accommodate its increasing size. Ken took over the management of the business in 1946.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Barry Tripp returned from the UK in 1974 to join the company to make three generations of the Tripp family to have been employed.

The Auckland branch continued to grow and exports to the Pacific Islands were increasing rapidly. In July 1986 the Auckland branch moved to a purpose built building in Mt Wellington. Following the successful move, Ken decided to retire after 41 years in the paper industry. As a result Barry assumed the role of Managing Director in 1987.

In late 1987 British and Foreign Papers purchased the Palmerston North branch of AM Satterwaite & Co. enabling it to service the lower half of the North Island more effectively.

In 1989 after 59 years trading as British & Foreign Papers Ltd it was decided to change the name to reflect the current environment. A large proportion of paper was now purchased from New Zealand Forest Products Ltd and the company was the only 100% New Zealand owned paper merchant. The company was already widely known as "B&F" so the name was changed to B&F Papers Ltd and the company was proud to promote its 100% New Zealand ownership.

In 1993 Willy and Raos (NZ) Ltd, a recent arrival in the New Zealand paper merchant industry, went into liquidation and ceased trading. B&F purchased the assets of their Christchurch branch in September that year. This was a significant move and B&F had national distribution for the first time.

During 1998 it was decided to develop 4 acres of land the company owned in Takanini, which was purchased almost 30 years ago with a view to the future. The Auckland branch and head office moved into the new purpose built premise in July 2001. The building was extended in 2011 to accommodate further growth.

The Palmerston North branch was relocated to Wellington in 2014 reflecting the shift it the company’s customer base. The company now had sales and distribution capability in the Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

In 2016 B&F bought an Atlas Titan slitter rewinder and expanded into the roll label space, which is now a significant part of the business.

In a now well-trodden tradition, Barry’s daughter Penelope Savidan, returned from the UK in 2017 to join B&F Papers as Managing Director. This allowed Barry to retire after 43 years in the paper industry. The Auckland warehouse was extended for a second time in 2018 and the company continues to focus on new avenues for growth.