Ineos
| Company type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Jim Ratcliffe |
| Headquarters | Rolle, Switzerland (Head office) Lyndhurst, Hampshire, United Kingdom (Registered office) |
Key people | Jim Ratcliffe (CEO & Chairman), Andy Currie (Director), John Reece (Finance Director), Jim Dawson (non-executive Director) |
| Products | Chemical substances Petrochemicals Plastics |
| Revenue | US$43 billion [1] |
2,001,300,000 Euro (2022)  | |
| 2,000,600,000 Euro (2022) | |
| Total assets | 17,081,400,000 Euro (2021) |
Number of employees | 15,000 [1] |
| Website | http://ineos.com |
INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.[2]
INEOS is today heavily involved in renewable energy and is one of the world's leading pioneers in the development of generating sustainable energy from waste material.[3]
INEOS reportedly prefers to run operations with minimal head office management, the concept that "work teams" are better suited for handling of the workflow day to day, without middle-management.[4] Jim Ratcliffe is the founder, Chairman and main shareholder.
History
INEOS was formed in 1998 to effect a management buyout of the former BP petrochemicals assets in Antwerp, Belgium.[5] Since then, it has expanded by purchasing several other businesses. Several of its divisions formerly belonged to BP, and others have been divested by large companies such as Amoco, BASF, ICI, Dow Chemical, Solvay and UCB, as they have looked to focus more closely on their main product lines. In October 2005 INEOS agreed to purchase Innovene, BP’s olefins and derivatives and refining subsidiary, which had an estimated 2005 turnover of US$25 billion, for $9 billion.[6] The deal, which was completed on 14 December 2005, roughly quadrupled INEOS's turnover, which was previously around $8 billion.
In 2007 INEOS formed a joined venture with Lanxess and created INEOS ABS, comprising Lanxess's activities in Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene production, located in Tarragona. INEOS paid €35 million in a first tranche.[7]
As of late April 2008 INEOS was at the centre of an industrial relations dispute with Unite the Union over pension policies affecting the workforce at its Grangemouth Refinery. The company had taken the decision to close the company's final salary pension scheme to new employees due to the increasingly unmanageable costs associated with its continued operation. It is also claimed by Unite that workers at Grangemouth are paid £6,000 less than workers at other similar facilities.[8]
In March 2010 INEOS Healthcare terminated its drug development programme for commercial reasons.
In February, 2011 INEOS Bio broke ground on a landmark advanced biofuels facility in Florida. "INEOS Bio’s biorefinery will have the capacity to produce 8 million gallons of ethanol and 6 megawatts (gross) of electricity per year." "The INEOS Bio process can produce ethanol and renewable energy from numerous non-food feedstocks, including construction and municipal solid waste, forestry and agricultural waste." [9]
Products
INEOS manufactures and distributes a wide range of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products, including 1,3-butadiene, acetone, acetone cyanohydrin, acetonitrile, acrylonitrile, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, alpha-methylstyrene, ammonia/nitric acid, ammonium sulfate, benzene, chlor-alkali, chlorine derivatives, cyanates, cyclic olefin copolymers, diesel fuel, EO derivatives, esters, ethanol, ethylene, ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, fuel oil, gasoline, glycerine acetate, hexamethylenetetramine, high-density polyethylene, hydrogen cyanide, jet fuel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, melamine resins, naphtha, olefins, oligomers, oxazole, oxo alcohols, paraformaldehyde, phenol, polyethylene, polyisobutylene, polypropylene and other aromatics, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, propene, propylene glycol, propylene oxide, PVC compounds, styrene-acrylonitrile resin, sulphur chemicals, VCM biodiesel and vinyls.[10]
Controversy
INEOS has been accused by some sources of buying assets then cutting costs through the introduction of new working practices, lower wages, and terminating pension schemes.[8] This could be regarded as controversy, or as the organisation would rather describe it, as a strategy which has ensured several businesses remain viable, saving and creating thousands of jobs in the process.[11]
References
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ Running on Empty", The Economist, 2008-04-24. Retrieved on 14 July 2008
- ^ [2]
- ^ Big Cut in UK Firms' Carcinogenic Emissions
- ^ Ratcliffe, the alchemist", The Telegraph, 2007-08-11.
- ^ BP to sell Innovene to INEOS in $9bn deal, FT, 2005-10-07.
- ^ Partnership with INEOS
- ^ a b Doward, Jamie (27 April 2008). "Drivers are told not to panic buy as strike at oil refinery starts to bite". The Observer. p. 5.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/02/10/ineos-bio-breaks-ground-on-landmark-advanced-biofuels-facility-in-florida/
- ^ "INEOS Products by business". INEOS Group. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ [3]
External links
