Chinese TiO2 manufacturer restarts production at UK plant amid dumping investigation

Tioxide

TITANIUM DIOXIDE (TiO2) production has restarted at a plant in Teesside following a Chinese company’s acquisition of the site last year, while the UK government continues its investigation into alleged TiO2 dumping from China. 

Tioxide Materials, wholly-owned by China-based LB Group, relaunched the Greatham TiO2 plant near Hartlepool on Tuesday after the site was idled last October shortly before its then-owner Venator went into administration. 

The Greatham plant will largely produce white pigments used in paints and coatings. Tioxide said it will reach full capacity of 150,000 t/y by early 2027 following a “phased ramp-up”. 

Chinese ownership of one of the UK’s two TiO2 plants comes amid pressure on the British government from domestic manufacturers to impose trade controls on imports of the chemical from China. The closure of a TiO2 plant in the Netherlands in March, which operator Tronox partly blamed on overcapacity from China, prompted the UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) to open an investigation in June into Chinese TiO2 dumping, which is still ongoing. 

According to the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) trade group, over 40% of global TiO2 is produced by Chinese manufacturers, and UK imports surged from £18m (US$24.5m) in 2023 to £25m last year. The CIA told the TRA’s investigation that “overcapacity is a state sponsored phenomenon” in China, and that anti-dumping measures are “necessary to safeguard the continued existence” of the UK’s domestic TiO2 industry, which also includes Tronox’s plant in Stallingborough near Grimsby. 

Anti-dumping measures were also supported by INEOS, which wrote to the TRA that “the current situation … poses a risk for UK regions that are reliant on the manufacturing industry”. Before selling the Greatham plant, Venator also raised the risk of Chinese oversupply, writing in its 2023 annual report that “the risk of our customers substituting our products with those made by Chinese producers could increase as … [they] increase production capacity”. 

CIA chief executive Steve Elliott said the Greatham restart was “good news for the workforce, local community, Teesside economy and the UK chemical industry”, and that it was “a welcome first step too for a sector that has seen UK TiO2 production come under intense competition from imports now subject to UK government investigation through the TRA”.

He continued: “Any chemical plant must be able to establish a sustainable position in the UK and international market. It should not be expected to compete against imports that may benefit from unfair pricing practices while simultaneously facing the UK’s structurally higher energy, regulatory and operating costs. Critically, though, we need to ensure that nationally all of our TiO2 manufacturers can compete, not just newcomers to the UK.”

Over 370 jobs lost

More than 370 jobs have been lost since Venator went into administration, including 273 immediately made redundant across Greatham and other sites in Northeast England last October. LB Group initially expected to retain 230 Venator employees to assist with the administration and takeover processes, but TCE understands that around 100 of these have since been made redundant or resigned. LB Group has so far recruited over 60 new workers and is currently advertising for 50 more, including for two process engineers. Tioxide expects to employ 300 people at Greatham once it reaches full capacity. 

Karen Askwith, Tioxide managing director and a former Venator director, said reopening Greatham was a “landmark moment for Tioxide and a proud achievement for everyone involved”. 

She added: “Drawing on more than 50 years of manufacturing heritage, the site at Greatham has a proud history of producing high-quality TiO2 pigments. This is an important step forward for our new business – but also for the local economy on Teesside, for the UK chemical sector and the wider TiO2 industry.”