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Unilever has opened a new archive space in Port Sunlight, which has brought together more than 1.5 million items related to the company's history, as reported by the Wirral Globe.
The archive is inside the North Wing at Lever House and opens today. It includes storage areas and a new gallery called the Sunlight Storehouse.
The collection contains many different items, including photographs, films, advertising materials, and more that cover the history of brands under Unilever like Vaseline, Dove, Persil, Jif (now known as Cif), Knorr and Sunlight Soap. The oldest documents are from 1292.
The North Wing houses two climate-controlled strongrooms, where temperature and humidity are carefully regulated to protect documents, artwork and other materials. The building has five kilometres of shelving, providing space for up to 40,000 boxes.
The material being moved into the building includes business records connected to the origins of the Dutch Margarine Union, represented by the ‘Uni’ side of Unilever, as well as board portraits, artwork and promotional items. Among the collection is even a full-size fabric conditioner bear costume.
The Sunlight Storehouse gallery will be open to employees and visitors by appointment, complementing the existing Archives Discovery Centre in the South Wing. Its first exhibition, The Evolving Role of Women at Unilever, is based on research collaboration with the University of Liverpool charting how the experiences and careers of women at the company changed from the 1950s to 1990s.
Claire Tunstall, Unilever's global head of art, archives and records management, said: "Our collections are far more than a record of where Unilever has been. They are a strategic business asset that helps us protect our brands, understand our heritage and make informed decisions about the future."
