The INEOS Oxide manufacturing facility in Hull is set for a multi-million pound expansion scheme that will see the company expand to increase its production of Ethyl Acetate (EtAc) by 100,000 tonnes each year.

It is anticipated that the extra capacity will be available by the end of 2017 as the Hull plant is already operating at full capacity because of the high demand for EtAc for use in flexible packaging, inks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

The company says that this development if the first major investment to be made in the UK in the wake of the Brexit vote and will continue to serve its customers throughout Europe thanks to the expansion.

Founder and Chairman of INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe commented: 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.

The Hull facility will also benefit from INEOS’ $1 billion investment in importing Shale gas from the US to Scotland.

The site will be able to use ethylene produced from imported US shale gas as its primary raw material thanks to a pipeline that will link INEOS’ petrochemicals plant at Grangemouth with INEOS Oxide in Hull.

INEOS Oxide CEO, Graham Beesley, said that the company is Europe’s biggest EtAc producer in Europe and will soon be even bigger thanks to a growing demand for the company’s products, along with the latest investment that will support the long term needs of its customers.

Originally built with the possibility of further expansion, the Hull site will also benefit from easy logistical access to Europe and the wider global market, which will support both the impact of raw material and export of EtAc.

INEOS Oxide also has facilities in Belgium, Germany, France and the US.