In the seven weeks since restarting its Greatham plant, Tioxide Materials Ltd (Tioxide) has made “faster than anticipated progress”, with the site now able to manufacture all of the TIOXIDE® and DELTIO® pigment grades, for which it is renowned.
In addition, further workers have been recruited, including more former Greatham site staff, and a new headquarters has also opened in Stockton-on-Tees.
The news comes as work progresses towards the restart of the site’s second production line, which is on target to come on stream in early 2027.
A spokesperson said: “Tioxide resumed production at the closed plant on 18 August, marking a major milestone for the facility and its workforce following the acquisition of the site and its associated assets by LB Group in April. Since then, work has been ramping up, at pace, on the first manufacturing line, with the business building stock levels of its TIOXIDE® and DELTIO® pigment grades as demand for products increases.”
They added: “With further new employees now in post and additional vacancies filled, the total Tioxide workforce will rise to 267 in coming weeks. Recent appointments have been made across all departments and functions, supporting both current operations and the company’s plans to increase production further. The business is targeting a head count of 308 people for 2027 and is aiming to have more than 200 people employed at Greatham, comparable to previous site staffing figures.”
The business has also opened a new headquarters in Stockton-on-Tees, bringing its key support functions together in one location. The new base will enable teams to work more closely, respond quickly to customer needs and provide coordinated support as Tioxide grows its operations.
Meanwhile, preparations to bring the facility’s second manufacturing stream back into operation are progressing to plan with engineering and commissioning work now well underway. Once the second stream is up and running, the plant will be back to its full nameplate capacity of 150,000 tonnes of TiO2pigment per annum.
Managing Director Karen Askwith said: “The last seven weeks have flown by. In a short space of time, we have achieved so much. We are ahead of where we wanted to be in terms of production volumes and grades produced and have been delighted with the reaction to the restart from our customers and locally on Teesside. Restarting a major manufacturing facility safely and successfully is a significant undertaking. Doing so while continuing our recruitment drive is incredible and testament to the people on the Tioxide team.”
She added: “It’s been particularly heartening to welcome back so many former colleagues, who have expert knowledge of the site, our manufacturing processes and our products. Behind what’s been achieved sits a huge amount of work by people across all parts of the business and I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts. While there is still more work ahead of us, the progress made during our first seven weeks gives us a very strong platform to build on.”
