Streamlined production at a chemical plant has restarted, months after its former owners made hundreds of employees redundant.

The titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment production facility at Greatham, in Hartlepool, has reopened as newly created company, Tioxide Materials Limited.

LB Group, who own the subsidiary, bought the plant from Venator Materials UK after that company went into administration last year with 270 job losses across Venator’s Greatham, Wynyard and Birtley sites.

Tioxide said operations were being brought back in phases, with plans to increase production to the site’s full capacity by early 2027. Titanium dioxide is a material used in coatings, plastics and inks applications.

Managing director Karen Askwith said: “To restart operations, to restart recruitment and employment for skilled manufacturing people here in Hartlepool, in the North East, it’s just a wonderful thing.”

She said tears came to her eyes when she saw the smoke rising from the site again as it came back online.

“Titanium dioxide is a white pigment and, to be frank, if you see something white around you it’s probably got titanium dioxide in,” Askwith said.

“It’s in the walls, it’s in the white window frames you have in your house, it’s in our plastic white hats we have here on site.”