Our History

From a single site in Antwerp bought for £84 million and employing just 400 people, INEOS has grown exponentially since it was formed in May 1998.  Here is an overview of the key milestones in our short history.

  1. INEOS donates £100 Million to create new Oxford University Institute to fight Antimicrobial Resistance

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  2. INEOS and PLASTIC ENERGY to collaborate on advanced plastic recycling facility.

    Two further Hand Sanitiser plants opened in US to support hospitals.
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    Third plant in France setup for Hand Sanitiser production, manufacturing 1 millions bottles per month.
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    First and Second Hand Sanitiser plant opened after just 10 days. FIND OUT MORE

    INEOS becomes principle partner to Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
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    Completes the acquisition of BP’s global Aromatics & Acetyls business
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    INEOS to become a one-third shareholder in Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
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    INEOS announces its new INEOS Energy venture
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    INEOS Automotive confirms acquisition of Hambach production site from Mercedes-Benz
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    INEOS O&P USA announce the acquisition of Sasol’s Ownership of Gemini HDPE LLC
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    Launch of a new Clean Hydrogen Business to accelerate the drive to net zero carbon emissions
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    INEOS agrees to the largest ever industrial wind power purchase contract in Belgium with ENGIE
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    Launches INEOS Hygienics, a new global healthcare business
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    We revealed the design of the new Grenadier 4x4 to the world
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    Announced the acquisition of BPs petchem business. The "lock down deal" was all done virtually by Skype during COVID 19 restrictions
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    Announced our involvement via INOVYN in the Power to Methanol project in Antwerp
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  3. Mercedes-AMG Petronas comes on board with INEOS Team UK and Team INEOS in new performance partnership

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    Advanced polymer pilot plant opens in Rosignano, Italy

    History is made: Eliud Kipchoge becomes first human to break the two-hour marathon in the INEOS’ 1:59 Challenge

    INEOS Team UK launch Americas Cup Race boat 1 – “Britannia”

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    Acquires Ashland Composites business becoming INEOS Composites

    Acquires French Ligue 1 Football club OGC Nice

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    $2 billion investment in Saudi Arabia with three world-scale plants announced

    INEOS 1:59, the sub two-hour marathon Challenge is announced

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    INEOS acquires Cristal’s North American Titanium Dioxide business from Tronox for $700 million. Creates INEOS Pigments

    Team Sky becomes Team INEOS. INEOS acquires Tour Racing Ltd from Sky and 21st Century Fox

    INEOS Enterprises sells INEOS Melamines and INEOS Paraforms to Prefere Resins Holding GmbH

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    £1 billion investment in INEOS UK based businesses announced

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    €3 billion petrochemical investment in Antwerp announced

    INEOS Oxide acquires Lavéra Ethoxylation Plant

    Announcement of development of Infinia recycling technology, which could make PET plastic infinitely recyclable

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    Acquires the Flint Hills Intermediates business to be trade as INEOS Joliet

    Acquires Ashland Composites Business for $1.1 billion

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    Celebrates its 20th anniversary with €200 million European investment in its Oxide business

    Announces €2.7bn investment a new European cracker, the first in 20 years

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    Forms INEOS TEAM UK and invests £110m to challenge for the America’s Cup

  5. Acquires clothing brand Belstaff

    Acquires Swiss football club Lausanne Sport

    Forms INEOS Automotive to develop 4x4 off-road vehicle

    Buys Forties Pipeline System and Kinneil Terminal from BP

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    Acquires the entire oil and gas business from Dong Energy to become Top 10 oil and gas company in the North Sea

    Upgrade of Aromatics PTA plant in Cooper River, South Carolina, increasing capacity and reducing emissions and energy use

    Acetyls announces investment in Tricoya® wood acetylation, which protects wood from rot and reduces its tendency to swell and shrink

  6. Buys Solvay’s stake in INOVYN

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    Moves headquarters back to the UK

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    First shipment of ethane from US to Europe using purpose-built vessels – part of a 1$bn project

    PTAir launches, offering customers in the polyester value chain the opportunity to purchase a lower carbon feedstock

  7. Buys North Sea gas fields from DEA

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    First two Dragon ships named

    Forms the INOVYN 50/50 JV with Solvay

    Acquires further shale gas licenses

    Upgrade of Aromatics PTA plant in Geel, Belgium, increasing capacity and reducing emissions and energy use

    Introduced latest generation PTA technology in Aromatics facility in Zhuhai, China, which reduces emissions and both liquid and solid waste

  8. Ground Breaking HDPE JV plant with Sasol 

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    Acquires Grangemouth power plant from Fortum

    Completes purchase of BASF share of Styrolution

    Acquires first UK shale gas licenses

    Acquires Sasol Solvents Germany GmbH

  9. Agrees to create a world-class PVC producer with Solvay

    First ethane Dragon ships ordered

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    Rafnes tank approved

    U.S. ethane contracts signed 

    Project Mariner

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    INEOS Technologies and Accsys Technologies form a 50/50 joint venture to develop and commercialise Tricoya® technology and materials

  11. Kerling acquire Tessenderlo's European Chlor-Vinyls Business

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    INEOS and BASF form Styrolution, a new global styrenics joint venture

    INEOS Bio joint venture breaks ground on the first advanced waste-to-fuel commercial
    refinery in the USA

    INEOS and Petrochina form trading and refining joint venture in Europe

  12. INEOS divests its global films business to Bilcare

    INEOS Oxide builds a one million tonne Ethylene Terminal at its Zwijndrecht Facility

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    INEOS moves its headquarters from the United Kingdom to Switzerland

    INEOS Group divests INEOS Fluor to Mexichem Fluor S.A

    INEOS brings together INEOS Norway and INEOS ChlorVinyls to create The Kerling Group as a European market leader in PVC and Chlor-Alkali

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    INEOS Nitriles make technological breakthrough to improve the global security of supply for Acetonitrile

    INEOS Oligomers start up a new 'super flexible' technology innovation for its Linear Alpha Olefin (LAO) unit in Feluy, Belgium

  14. INEOS Nitriles acquires Seal Sands Acrylonitrile site from BASF

    The European Olefins and Polyolefins Business are combined to form INEOS Olefins &
    Polymers, Europe

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    INEOS Silicas is sold to PQ

    INEOS Enterprises acquires the VAM and Ethyl Acetate Business from BP

    INEOS Bio formed

    INEOS acquires Hydro Polymer and the remaining 50% share of the Noretyl Cracker from Norsk Hydro

  15. An expanded INEOS Nova Styrenics joint venture launched

    INEOS acquires 51% of ABS Business from Lanxess and forms INEOS ABS

    INEOS acquires Borealis AS and 50% of Noretyl Cracker

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    INEOS Chlorvinyls completes sale of E-PVC Business to Vinnolit

    INEOS Fluor agrees joint venture with Zhejiang Xing Teng Chemical Company Limited to produce HF

  16. INEOS Enterprises acquires White Salt Business from Salt Union

    INEOS Oxide acquires the EO/EG Business from BP in Köln

    Creation of INEOS ChlorVinyls joint management board

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    INEOS restructures Innovene and forms INEOS Nitriles, INEOS Olefins, INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA, INEOS Oligomers, INEOS Polyolefins, INEOS Refining and INEOS Technologies

  17. INEOS acquires Innovene from BP, a 'transformational acquisition'

    INEOS Phenol acquires the Chevron Phillips Cumene plant in Port Arthur

    INEOS acquires BASF's US and Canadian Polystyrene Business and forms INEOS Styrenics

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    Nova Innovene Styrenics joint venture established

    Innovene established as a BP subsidiary

    INEOS acquires the former Amino Resins Business of UCB from CYTEC and forms INEOS Melamines

    EVC becomes fully owned by INEOS and is renamed INEOS Vinyls

  18. INEOS Enterprises acquires Sulphur Chemicals Business from Rhodia

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    Formation of INEOS Enterprises

  19. INEOS acquires Methanova GmbH and forms INEOS Paraform

  20. INEOS acquires Phenolchemie and forms INEOS Phenol

    INEOS acquires a majority shareholding in EVC

    INEOS acquires Dow Chemicals' global Ethanolamine and USA/Canadian Gas/Spec™ gas treating Amines businesses

    INEOS acquires ICI KLEA and forms INEOS Fluor

    INEOS acquires ICI Chlor-Chemicals and forms INEOS Chlor

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    INEOS acquires Crosfield and forms INEOS Silicas

  21. Start up of Mobile Phenol plant in Alabama, USA

  22. INEOS formed to acquire the former BP site at Antwerp from Inspec

  23. Acetyls creates the Cativa process for manufacturing acetic acid, increasing energy efficiency and production

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    EVC floated on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange

  25. KG Cracker commissioned at Grangemouth

    Start up of Antwerp Phenol/Acetone plant

    ICI and Teijin Limited joint venture to make KLEA™134A at Mihara, Japan

  26. ICI open the world’s largest HFC 134A plant at St Gabriel, Louisiana and the world’s first HFC 32 plant in the UK

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    ICI commission the world's first HFC 134A plant

  28. EVC formed through a 50/50 joint venture between ICI and Enichem

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    Antwerp site sold to BP Chemicals

  30. First gas phase Polyethylene plant commissioned at Lavéra

  31. First PTA plant in Geel, Belgium

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    Chocolate bayou site acquired by Amoco for Petrochemical manufacture

    Our first PTA plant built in Decatur, USA

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    Union Carbide construct Ethylene Derivatives site at Antwerp

  34. First commercialisation of Ammoxidation process for Acrylonitrile at Lima

    Installation of two state-of-the-art Cell rooms at ICI Runcorn site for Chlorine and Caustic Soda production

    Leadership in PTA technology starts when purification process invented and key patents filed by Amoco[1]

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    Start up of the Erdölchemie GmbH Petrochemical site at Köln, a 50/50 joint venture between BP and Bayer

  36. HDPE production started at Rosignano

    Start up of Bayer ABS Business

    Amoco acquires the mid-century technology for purified terephthalic acid (PTA)

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    Start up of Gladbeck Phenol/Acetone plant in Germany

  38. First Naphtha Cracker started in Lavéra

  39. Start up of the Lavéra, France Petrochemicals facility

  40. 1933 - Lavéra, France Oil Refinery starts production

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    Grangemouth, UK Oil Refinery starts production

  42. First production of Formaldehyde in Mainz, Germany

  43. Castner Kellner Alkali Co. Lts started production of Caustic Soda at Runcorn, UK

About

Our Leadership

INEOS is led by its founder and Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co-owners Andy Currie and John Reece.

INEOS Group

Locations

INEOS has sites around the world, catering to different businesses and requirements. View the interactive map here.

INEOS Group

Consumer Brands

Why would, and how did, a successful global manufacturer of chemicals venture into consumer operations?