Newton Aycliffe Site, UK

INEOS Newton Aycliffe Limited
School Aycliffe Lane
Newton Aycliffe
Co. Durham
DL5 6EA
Telephone: + 44 (0) 1325 300 555

Introduction

INEOS ChlorVinyls has a PVC production plant at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, which is situated in the North East of England.

Our operations at Newton Aycliffe Site have been in place for over 50 years under various owners, since the founding of Newton Aycliffe in the 1940s. 

The operation is one of the most modern and progressive PVC plants in the world, employing 400 staff, and generating an annual turnover of around £150 million.  The Site boasts an excellent health, safety and environmental record and is accredited to ISO9001:2000, ISO14001, EMAS and Investors in People.

Processes

Production at Newton Aycliffe Site is split between the manufacture of S-PVC resin and PVC compounds.  PVC compounds are produced at the Site by our sister company INEOS Films & Compounds.

S-PVC production takes place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, using state-of-the-art polymer reactor technology to convert vinyls chloride monomer raw material into high grade S-PVC resin.  Approximately half of Newton Aycliffe’s output is sold as raw S-PVC resin; the other half is processed on site by INEOS Films & Compounds into over 1,000 grades of PVC compound.

Products

Suspension PVC (EVIPOL™)

History of Newton Aycliffe Site

1940s - Newton Aycliffe is the site of Royal Ordnance Factory (ammunitions) No 27.  In 1946, soon after the end of World War II, Bakelite Ltd takes over the site and sets up a factory that includes one of the earliest PVC compounding units.

1950s - In 1953 Bakelite invests £1 million in a brand new state-of-the-art plant to start PVC resin production at Newton Aycliffe.

1960s - Bakelite merges with Union Carbide, owned British Xylonite, to become BXL. Output at Newton Aycliffe is relatively modest at around 20ktes per annum

1970s - In 1974 the British Industrial Plastics division (BIP) of Turner & Newall purchases BXL’s operations.  Production at Newton Aycliffe Site more than doubles to around 50ktes per annum.

1980s - In 1982 Norsk Hydro purchases BIP and consolidates all of its PVC operations in the UK at Newton Aycliffe.  Output reaches 125ktes per annum.

1990s - Major investment by Norsk Hydro increases output at Newton Aycliffe to more than 200ktes per annum.

2007 - INEOS acquires the Hydro Polymers businesses in the UK, Norway and Sweden from Norsk Hydro.  The operations at Newton Aycliffe Site become the joint responsibility of INEOS ChlorVinyls and INEOS Films & Compounds.