INEOS Enterprises' position as an industry leader is built on our ability to recognise trends and opportunities in world market demands and to respond to and exceed our customers' needs. Our portfolio includes a number of products that are market leaders in Europe and globally.
Our Brine & Water business in the UK is growing through major investment to support expansion of our key customers and new activities, for example gas storage.
We are the number one producer of sulphur chemical products in the UK and have expanded our product range and market penetration outside the UK by acquisition and major investment in new manufacturing capability.
Also in the UK, through our Salt Business, we are the leading supplier of vacuum salt products for industrial and domestic applications.
INEOS Enterprises is the world's largest producer of synthetic and fermentation ethanol, with over 300,000 tonnes produced at our plants at Grangemouth, UK.
On the BP site at Saltend, INEOS Enterprises operates Europe's largest vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) manufacturing facility.
Our Esters business, based in France, offers a specially formulated range of trimellitate, adipate and sebacate Esters that are used extensively in PVC and rubber production and offer a wide range of process benefits.
From our production facility at Cologne, Germany, we hold strong market positions for nitric acid and ammonia.
INEOS Enterprises’ strength in biodiesel production is coupled with a determination to grow market share through investment. At our dedicated facility in France, for example, we are a lead partner in a €70 million project to double biodiesel supply by 2008. We have ambitious investment plans to develop our biodiesel capability throughout Europe, including a €90 million major investment in a new biodiesel facility at Grangemouth in Scotland. We are also exploring options to develop our bioethanol capability on the strength of our position as the largest synthetic ethanol producer in the world.
At Bangpoo in Thailand we manufacture the leading range of CERECLOR™ plasticisers through our joint venture IACC with The East Asiatic (Thailand) Company.