Geared up for change

INEOS set to choose manufacturing site to build its 4x4

3
min DEC 2018

INEOS’ plan to steer the company into a brand new market by building a spiritual successor to the Land Rover Defender is now very real.

INEOS' plan to build the world's best 4x4 was hatched over a pint in the pub.

INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe was mourning the demise of the Land Rover Defender at The Grenadier pub, a short walk from INEOS' headquarters in London when conversation turned to the possibility of building their own.

That dream is now very real.

“It has become an adventure story in itself,” said Jim.

INEOS Automotive - a standalone company formed within the INEOS family to drive the project and, with it, new growth - now has a senior management team of experts and off-road enthusiasts from across the world with decades of manufacturing, engineering and adventuring experience between them.

They also have a worthy mission: to build an all-new uncompromising 4x4 and spiritual successor to the discontinued Land Rover Defender.

“We want to keep it as simple as possible in the modern world so that you can repair it in the field,” said Jim. “But what we do want is to do is work a bit on the quality of the engineering and reliability.”

INEOS is not intending to resurrect the Land Rover Defender. It is building an all-new 4x4 vehicle from the ground up, which meets all current safety and legislative requirements. It will be a robust, no-nonsense utility vehicle, with an emphasis on reliability, durability and peerless off-road capability. It will have its own name, more angles than curves, and have a wheel at each corner. It will not be a Defender.

Jim and his team envisage a British-inspired, German-engineered, true working vehicle, which can drive cross-country, pull a plough, lead a safari, clear a minefield, cross a river and comfortably drive up to Buckingham Palace.

“It will be about as classless as you can get,” he said. “A no-frills, uncompromising, off-road 4x4. Ideally, it will be a vehicle which you can hose down outside and inside, like the original Land Rover.”

So far, no decision has been made where it should be built. But the location should be known early in the New Year.

“We are not taking it lightly because it is pivotal, for our business, and for the local communities that would benefit from the new jobs we would be creating,” said Dirk Heilmann, CEO of INEOS Automotive and leader of Projekt Grenadier. “We will not be bounced into a premature decision by silly politics.”

Tom Crotty, Director of Corporate Affairs, said INEOS had been bombarded with offers from car companies around Europe.

“Some have got sites available or spare capacity,” he said. “And there are other  car companies, which have got an existing plant and space on that plant and could make the vehicle for us. All we know is that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and everything is up for grabs.”

Last year INEOS Automotive – led by  Dirk Heilmann, formerly head of engineering and technology – officially launched the new Projekt Grenadier website at The Grenadier Pub in London.

“We have been getting a remarkable number of emails from people all over the world supporting the project,” said Jim. “It has been quite surprising.”

A range of models are planned for sale across the world, including multiple wheel-base options,  as well as diesel, petrol and hybrid engines to suit different markets. And it will be aimed at explorers, farmers, and off-road enthusiasts as well as city dwellers and adventurers alike.

The interactive website invites 4x4 enthusiasts to share their own visions of the perfect off-roader. www.projektgrenadier.com

The Land Rover Defender

Take Note, Cedric

Jim Ratcliffe is hoping Cedric, The Grenadier pub’s infamous ghost might look kindly upon INEOS’ latest adventure.

Legend has it that the young soldier was murdered there about 300 years ago after being caught cheating at a game of cards.

Over the years visitors have attached currency to the ceiling to help him pay off his debt – and, in return, hopefully, receive good luck.

Last year’s official launch of Projekt Grenadier, saw Jim pin a note to the ceiling of the pub to symbolise the beginning of a new Grenadier story.

1 min read

EU renews hope of breakthrough

Processes developed by INEOS, which is viewed as a world leader in the oligomerisation of isobutene, will be used as part of the two-year, €16.4 million R&D project. “Being a global chemical producer, INEOS is delighted to be able to test this innovation which will help to increase the share of renewable products on the market,” said Jan Vermeersch, Commercial Director of INEOS Oligomers. “It might also allow INEOS to diversify its feedstock base and supply its customer with bio-based products.” Traditionally, isobutene has been used to make oligomers for lubricants, rubber, cosmetics, solvents, plastics and fuel. But the hope is that wheat straw, an agricultural residue, can achieve a similar result and lead to bio-based oligomers. The poorly valorised residual straw will initially be turned into glucose and xylose-rich hydrolysates – second generation sugars – by Clariant at its pre-commercial plant in Straubing in Germany. The French industrial bio-tech company, Global Bioenergies, will then ferment the straw hydrolysates into bio-isobutene at its sites. INEOS Oligomers in Belgium will then be tasked with converting the bio-isobutene to oligomers. TechnipFMC and IPSB (France) are also involved in the project. They will be carrying out the preliminary engineering of a hydrolysate to bio-isobutene plant and the overall integration with a straw to hydrolysate plant. Finally, the Energy Institute at the University of Linz in Austria will assess the sustainability and environmental bene ts of the bio-based oligomers.

1 min read

INEOS set to acquire Ashland’s composite business

Composites are increasingly used in cars to reduce weight and improve efficiency. They also look great. "Ashland's composite resins have been the materials of choice for the world's boat builders for 30 years, and with good reason" said Ashley Reed, CEO INEOS Enterprises. “They are light, strong and resistant to attack from chemicals and even fire. Unlike wood they don’t rot, unlike metal, they don’t corrode and unlike concrete, they don’t crack.” The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, includes 20 manufacturing sites in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Middle East, employing 1,300 people. “We believe that they all have great potential for growth under INEOS ownership,” he said.

2 min read

State-of-the-art investment

Once it's built in 2021, most of the chlorine will be used by INEOS Oxide to produce more propylene oxide at its site in Köln. The caustic soda, which manufacturers use to make such things as paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents, will be sold in Europe to ensure INOVYN's customers don't run out. “This is another major investment that will underpin the sustainability and competitiveness of our business in the long-term,” said CEO Chris Tane. This project is part of a wider investment programme by INOVYN which has seen changes to its membrane cellrooms in Sweden and Belgium and the development of a large-scale potassium hydroxide production plant also in Belgium.

2 min read

Grangemouth scales problem

KG Plant Manager Kenny Stevenson said the savings had been achieved through 'significant upgrades and investments' over the past few years to improve the reliability, efficiency and safety of the ethylene plant at its petrochemical complex. "As one of the largest manufacturers in Scotland we are constantly looking for ways to improve our environmental performance," he said. Grangemouth had sought help from GE Water & Process Technologies because it wanted to increase the cycles of its water cooling system. It explained that it was limited to four cycles due to calcium scaling. The solution proved to be a change of dosing products plus a new system which continuously monitored key parameters within the cooling water, these modifications allowing it to increase its cycles from four to eight. GE Water & Process Technologies later presented INEOS O&P UK, which had also just recorded its best-ever safety performance, with a prestigious environmental award in honour of its efforts.

1 min read

INEOS helps to make money

It has been supplying the polymer for its new plastic £5 and £10 banknotes. "It is so pleasing to see a new application for an old product," said John Harrison, who manages the customer account that produces the bank notes. The shift to plastic over cotton pulp for banknotes has not only been good news for INEOS’ O&P sites in Scotland and Belgium, though. It has also been good news for The Bank of England which says the new polymer notes are waterproof, cheaper, cleaner, easier to recycle and, more importantly, harder to copy. “In many ways, it is a logical use of plastic that will be appreciated by society,” said Graham MacLennan, Product Manager – Polymers at INEOS Ole ns & Polymers Europe (UK). The new plastic notes are also tougher than their ‘paper’ counterparts and expected to last 2.5 times longer. That, in turn, is better for the environment because fewer will need to be printed. And it’s a fact verified by The Carbon Trust. “The new notes can also survive a spin in the washing machine relatively unscathed,” said John. “But I would not advise ironing them. They will melt.” INEOS manufactures polymer at its sites in Grangemouth and Lillo. The pea-sized granules are then delivered to one of INEOS’ long-standing UK-based customers which melts the granules to make a very thin, see-through and flexible plastic film. That is then coated – at another location – with multiple ink layers that allow The Bank of England to print its design. So far more than 375 million polymer £10 notes have been printed since they were launched on the 200th anniversary of the death of author Jane Austen, who wrote such classic novels as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and whose portrait is featured on the note. The new £10 has a number of enhanced security features, such as see-through windows, a coloured quill that changes colour when the note is tilted and a silver foil patch containing a hologram. All are designed to make it harder to counterfeit. In countries like Singapore and Australia, polymer banknotes are nothing new. But by making the switch, The Bank of England, which is one of the world’s oldest banks, may well become the catalyst for change around the globe. And that could really be good news for INEOS as one of the major producers of plastic. “Our UK customer sells to all four corners of the earth so there is a great opportunity for them to win business which, in turn, could benefit us,” said Graham.

2 min read

INEOS director’s son qualifies for world championships

Iain Foster was just 16 when he produced the performance of his life to finish second at the Tumbling and Trampoline World Championships in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. “He had only qualified for the final in eighth place in the afternoon session, but he then put out a run that evening that I had never seen before to win the silver medal,” said his father Brian, Director of INEOS Property and INEOS Aviation. Tumbling coach Anne Bidmead said Iain, now 17, regularly trained at Basingstoke Gymnastics Club and was known for his amazing power on the track. But his talent had been spotted many years ago before that when, as a three-year-old, he started attending the club’s weekly gymtots sessions. At five, he was invited to join the boys’ artistic development squad, and began training twice a week. His coach was then international tumbling gymnast David Roy-Wood. Soon he was training four days a week and started to win medals on the floor and vault in regional competitions, finally competing in his first national competition at eight. Rugby became more of a passion when he went to secondary school but it was his continued involvement with gymnastics which gave him deceptive strength and speed – and earned him a place in the Hampshire Rugby Squad. “His PE teacher used to say that Iain loved running through people,” said Brian. That speed and strength also led to a change of direction in the world of gymnastics. “They thought he would be more suited to tumbling,” said Brian. And they were right. In just his second season, he qualified for the two-day British championships in Liverpool – and finished sixth. A year or so later he is now a world medallist. Iain is now juggling the demands of studying A-level chemistry, biology and history while he considers higher education options that could best develop his gymnastics career. “He has sensibly put rugby to one side for the immediate future,” said Brian.

2 min read

John’s mission accomplished

INEOS USA is gunning to help rid the world of a devastating disease which affects almost half a million people in America. A team from Olefins and Polymers this year, for the very first time, cycled 175 miles from Houston to Austin in Texas to help fund research into multiple sclerosis. "I had ridden the BP MS 150 countless times," said John Caffey, Business Development Manager for the Feedstocks group within O&P USA. “But I decided to up the ante by captaining a team at work.” His job was to lead – and inspire – them to keep going when the going got tough over the two-day event. “And it did,” said John. “Trying to convince your legs, not to mention your bottom, that they want to be on the bike again after 100 miles on the first day, isn’t easy.” The second day was filled with hills for the thousands of riders, punctuated by the roads through Bastrop and Buescher State Parks. “They were a real challenge for tired legs,” he said. John, whose aunt was diagnosed with MS in the nineties, was joined by 31 of his colleagues at the start – and later at the finish. “We set our preliminary team fund-raising goal at $25,000, but in the end we achieved $25,280,” he said. As for John, his involvement won’t end this year. “I will continue to support this ride until a cure is found,” he said. Organisers are hoping this year’s ride will have raised about $14 million to help speed up research into finding a cure for MS.

1 min read

INEOS’ tour de force strikes again

In all, 900 employees from sites all over the world completed the company's very own Tour de France Challenge and raised €31,000 to help children. "The response was inspiring," said John Mayock, INEOS' resident Olympian. “Not only did we raise a huge amount for charity, but many were encouraged to take up cycling for the first time in many years. It was an enormous team effort.” Teams from across INEOS were challenged to match the kilometres covered by the riders in the Tour de France, the world’s most famous cycle race, each day. But being INEOS, they went one better. And by the end of the challenge, the 900 riders had collectively ridden 400,000 km – the equivalent of cycling 10 times around the Earth. As the real riders had chased each other through the French countryside for the coveted title, INEOS’ teams from Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, the US and the UK had been squeezing in their mileage – before, during or after work. INEOS donated £1,000 to the local charity of choice for each team that completed the challenge.

1 min read