INEOS to make multi-million pound investment in UK manufacturing plant

INEOS Oxide, a division of chemicals giant, INEOS, has announced a major investment programme at its Hull manufacturing facility to increase production of Ethyl Acetate (EtAc) by 100,000 tonnes per year.

EtAc is in high demand for use in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, inks and flexible packaging.

The multi-million pound expansion is expected to provide the additional capacity by the end of 2017 and INEOS says this new investment will enable it to continue to serve customers across Europe “for many years to come”.

“We believe in British manufacturing and will support it wherever we can. Our Hull plant is at capacity and this extra investment will enable us to significantly increase production that we will sell all over Europe and across the world,” commented Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS Founder and Chairman.

Shale Gas

The Hull site will also benefit from INEOS’ $1 billion decision to import US Shale gas to Scotland. A pipeline linking INEOS’ petrochemicals plant at Grangemouth with INEOS Oxide in Hull means the site will be able to use ethylene produced from imported US shale gas, as its main raw material. 

Graham Beesley, CEO INEOS Oxide added: “We are the largest producer of EtAC in Europe and we are about to get a lot bigger. Growth in demand for our products is strong and this investment will support our customers’ needs over the long term”  

The Hull plant was originally built with expansion in mind and so INEOS says the project should be completed “quickly” with “very good cost economics”. It will also benefit from easy logistical access to Europe and the global market, supporting both import of raw material, and export of EtAc.