The North American Top 20 Rankings
CompanyNorth American Ink Sales (in millions)
1. Sun Chemical – $1,500*
2. Flint Group – $1,000*
3. INX International – $325
4. Siegwerk – $260
5. CR/T – $235*4
6. Hostmann-Steinberg – $155
7. DuPont InkJet – $150*
7. Wikoff Color – $150*
9. Sanchez SA de CV – $124
10. Toyo Ink America – $91
11. EFI, Inc. – $85*
12. Fujifilm Sericol – $75*
13. American Inks & Coatings – $68
14. Nazdar – $65*
14. Van Son – $65
16. Central Ink – $64
17. SICPA Securink – $60*
17. Superior Ink – $60
19. Ink Systems – $54
20. Color Resolutions – $50*
* Ink World estimate
1. Sun Chemical Corporation
35 Waterview Blvd.
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Phone: (973) 404-6000
Fax: (973) 404-6001
www.sunchemical.com
Sales: Sun Chemical had annual sales of $3.5 billion in printing inks and colorants worldwide. North American Ink Sales: $1.5 billion (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Broad product portfolio with capabilities in web heatset and sheetfed offset; publication and packaging gravure; news ink and publication coldset; flexographic packaging inks; corrugated packaging inks; energy curable inks and coatings; screen inks, label and narrow web inks, toner, inkjet materials, adhesives for packaging, overprint varnishes, specialty coatings, effect inks, color software and brand color management, printed electronics, security inks and coatings, and organic colorants for inks, plastics, paints, coatings and cosmetics.
Key Personnel: Rudi Lenz, president and CEO, Sun Chemical and Board member
Key Leaders (in alphabetical order): Martin Cellerier, VP, corporate strategy; Eric Finkelman, VP, general counsel and secretary; Robert Fitzka, group managing director Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Russia, France and Benelux; John Gowlett, VP, global operations; Gregory Lawson, president, Sun Chemical Latin America; John McKeown, senior VP, chief administration officer; Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer and Board member; Charles Murray, president, Sun Chemical North America; Carlo Musso, group managing director Italy, Iberia, Turkey and the Middle East; Myron Petruch, president, Performance Pigments; Edward Pruitt, chief procurement officer; Russell Schwartz, chief technology officer.
Number of Employees: More than 9,500 worldwide.
Operating Facilities: Sun Chemical has more than 300 manufacturing and service locations worldwide and more than 200 customer in-plant locations in the U.S. alone.
Comments: For the ink industry, 2010 was a year marked by two key trends. On the sales side, for the most part, the printing industry had a slight comeback during 2010 compared to 2009 levels. However, higher raw material costs and supply issues created major challenges.
Charles Murray, president, North American Inks, Sun Chemical, said that the improvement in most printing markets was good news for the company. “It seemed like the economy enjoyed somewhat of a recovery last year,” Mr. Murray said. “Overall, Sun Chemical has recovered volume in all sectors compared to 2009. That being said, 2010 presented tremendous challenges for Sun Chemical and for our industry in general.”
In 2010, Sun Chemical named Mr. Murray president of North American Inks, a role which gives him responsibility over all of Sun Chemical’s North American ink business. Mr. Murray brings 27 years of industry experience and knowledge to the position, and most recently worked as the managing director and corporate vice president of Sun Chemical’s business in the UK, Ireland and Nordic markets since 2004. For at least five consecutive years, Mr. Murray has appeared as one of Print Week’s “Power 100,” a list of the most powerful people in print in the UK. He ranked #33 on the list in 2010.
“The commercial sheetfed market continues to struggle as companies show their reluctance to increase their spend on marketing collateral and other printing needs,” Mr. Murray noted. “The publication printing market, including newspapers, worldwide struggled considerably in 2010. In both of these cases, the effect of the general economic downturn has been exacerbated by a movement to online advertising and publishing and other electronic alternatives, as well as consolidation. The market shift in the publications market has been drastic and has not recovered to pre-recession levels, and we don’t expect that they will.”
On the other hand, Mr. Murray noted that the packaging side is enjoying growth.
“In the packaging market, we have seen some growth in 2010, although it was very moderate and tempered by the economic recession, and we expect to see similar moderate growth in 2011,” he noted. “The packaging market faces different challenges than other market segments, such as the drive towards low migration inks in Europe, and the push toward smaller package size, recyclability and other efforts to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment, but these challenges are great opportunities for growth at Sun Chemical. We’re working with brand owners and major packaging groups to provide them with solutions for their packaging needs of the future.
“In all cases and markets, our customers are relying on Sun Chemical to maintain an intense focus on value and cost,” Mr. Murray added. “We will continue to raise our focus on the customer by helping them grow their businesses and succeed. That means working for our customers everyday as a partner to further improve our performance on the essentials of our business such as quality, service and innovation in ways that drive productivity or enhance value.”
In particular, flexible packaging is proving to be a successful opportunity for Sun Chemical.
“Sun Chemical will continue to see growth in the flexible packaging segment, specifically value-added packaging, as the trend in the market continues to move towards functional and sensory packaging,” said Michelle Hearn, director of marketing, North American Inks. “Source reduction, a smaller number of packaging layers, along with a decrease in packaging size, continue to be ways consumer packaged goods companies are looking for support in their sustainability efforts. Additionally, biodegradable and recyclable flexible packaging materials are currently being favored by some retailers and brand owners. Sun Chemical anticipates further growth opportunities from these key areas as companies position themselves as being ‘green.’ Additional growth comes from the narrow web, tag, and label printing.”
Raw material costs and supply issues have become an increasing concern for ink manufacturers. Edward Pruitt, chief procurement officer for Sun Chemical, said that 2010 was an extraordinary year in terms of raw material challenges.
“Arguably, the chemical industry has not seen a year of similar supply shortages and tightness in over two decades,” Mr. Pruitt said. “Among the many products under varying degrees of pressure, we would highlight rosin resin, specialty pigments, energy cure resins, acrylic resins, titanium dioxide, nitrocellulose and some additive resins.”
Mr. Pruitt said that the factors driving these supply issues fall largely into three areas.
“First, we have seen our suppliers experience a large number of unexpected feedstock issues,” he explained. “An example would be the global shortage of acrylic acid for energy cure and acrylic resin producers. The second factor would be a surge in demand that occurred largely in the first and second quarter as businesses refilled their pipelines and addressed sharply higher demand from the developing regions. The third factor would be the general tautness in supply that resulted from the many cost and working capital actions taken by the chemical industry last year during the height of the recession.”
Sun Chemical is relying on its pipeline of new products and services to help its customers move forward in these difficult times.
“In today’s challenging economy, our customers need a partner who can help them find ways to reduce costs; a partner that understands the challenges they are facing and provides solutions,” said Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer. “This is what we are striving to accomplish at Sun Chemical, and 2010 is replete with examples of how Sun Chemical is partnering with customers. In today’s ‘green’ environment, our customers and the marketplace are looking for much more than the standard sustainability rhetoric. They want to know what their suppliers are doing to improve their sustainability performance and we responded with very specific metrics.”
In December 2009, Sun Chemical released its first sustainability report, which provides data-driven performance measurement for seven key sustainability metrics to help customers and consumers understand the company’s environmental impact. Sun Chemical issued a similar report in November 2010, the “Carbon Footprint Report 2010,” which outlines the results from nine independent environmental analyses focused on quantifying the carbon footprint of its product lines.
The analyses focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the product manufacturing and distribution phases, or the “gate-to-customer gate” lifecycle of Sun Chemical’s products. The analyses covered six of the Sun Chemical product lines, totaling nine products representing approximately 90 percent of the products it offers.
The company also recently released its 2010 Sustainability Report, updating its environmental performance.
“Through a defined road map, our sustainability policy pushes us as a company to improve the eco-efficiency of our processes and products,” said Michel Vanhems, sustainability leader, Sun Chemical. “This sustainability report not only provides our key sustainability metrics for 2010, it also gives numerous examples of Sun Chemical sites across the globe that reduced their environmental footprint or improved employee safety. These significant achievements motivate us to further strengthen our program while maintaining our customer-centric focus.”
At FESPA in Munich, Germany, Sun Chemical unveiled new global brand names to describe its screen inks for promotional, digital and industrial printing. The global brand names – SunPromo for indoor and display materials, SunCure for UV offset inks for display and commercial printing, Streamline for digital inkjet inks for display graphics, SunDisc for screen and offset inks for optical disks, SunCarte for screen and offset inks for plastic cards, SunHytek for screen inks for plastic components and in-mold decoration, SunVetro for screen inks for decorative and container glass, SunPoly for screen inks for plastic containers, and SunPad for pad printing inks – were developed to help sheetfed customers better recognize the Sun Chemical brand and easily identify the inks they need.
Additionally at FESPA, Sun Chemical introduced SunPromo Universal inks, a versatile multi-purpose UV curing screen ink system that can be successfully applied across a wide range of substrates, offering standardization to match offset print collateral. Since promotional campaigns often involve printing similar graphics on a range of different materials, SunPromo Universal screen inks are especially designed for printing indoor and short-term outdoor displays, offering a single ink system that enables brands to match the color and appearance between the different substrates.
Sun Chemical also launched SunHytek CXX inks at FESPA, a uniquely developed range of formable inks for 3D appliqués. The CXX ink series is the first to be specifically formulated for 3D automotive fascias. With consistent formability, the inks can withstand the necessary elongation.
At Labelexpo Americas 2010 in September, Sun Chemical announced its partnership with EskoArtwork was extended to further integrate access to the Sun Chemical SmartColour database in a workflow where EskoArtwork pre-production tools and GMG proofing solutions are combined. This collaboration among three industry leaders offers a deeper, more integrated end-to-end color workflow in the label and packaging industries. SmartColour, a database of real ink-on-substrate color results, including leading brand-owner color specifications, saves time and money by eliminating the need to fingerprint spot colors on production presses in order to obtain accurate color results on proof.
At Graph Expo 2010 in October, commercial printers learned how to decrease their overall ink spend by up to 46 percent by participating in the Sun Chemical Dispenser Program. Designed for commercial printers to manage what has typically resulted in an overabundance of spot color inventory and to reduce the possibility of having the wrong spot color, the Sun Chemical Dispenser Program can decrease a printer’s overall ink spend by up to 35 percent when blending the inks in-house and up to 46 percent if blended inks are purchased.
“At Sun Chemical, we recognized that many printers frequently end up with more spot color inks than they need that just sit on their shelves,” Mr. Mellado said. “So we offered an answer that not only allows printers to mix the exact amount of spot color they need, but saves them a significant amount of money and ensures the right spot color is mixed.”
Sun Chemical displayed its commitment to the food package printing market through the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Frankfurt, Germany in March.
The plant was built using clean room and HACCP directives to ensure that the best possible standards are adopted in manufacturing of Sun Chemical inks. Representing a significant investment, the new facility is dedicated to the highest level of cleanliness and utilizes the world’s most advanced technology to create high-quality sheetfed packaging inks.
Overall, Mr. Mellado said he expects that 2011 will be a challenging year for Sun Chemical and the ink industry as a whole.
“The cost of raw materials will be a major part of the challenge this industry will face,” Mr. Mellado said. “Although Sun Chemical has taken steps to better meet the needs of its customers and offset these costs, we cannot control the factors facing the raw material printing ink market supply chain.
“Sun Chemical wants to continue being known as the company that is truly a partner with its customers. To be able to achieve this, our customers have to know that we are here to help them with their problems,” Mr. Mellado added. “We’re optimistic that Sun Chemical’s investments in quality, service and innovation will help our customers succeed. In the current challenging market conditions, our solutions are designed to help customers operate more efficiently without sacrificing quality or service to their customers.”
2.Flint Group
North American Administrative Offices
14909 North Beck Road
Plymouth, MI 48170-7194
Phone: (734) 781-4600
Fax: (734) 781-4699
www.flintgrp.com
Sales: €2.2 billion ($2.9 billion); North America Ink Sales:
$1 billion (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Coldset and heatset web offset, sheetfed offset, flexographic, gravure and UV/EB inks; coatings for publication, packaging and commercial applications. A wide range of inks and coatings for narrow web tag and label applications. Photopolymer plates and sleeve systems for flexographic applications; highly engineered printing blankets and sleeves for offset applications, pressroom chemicals and supplies. Dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market.
Key Personnel: Charles Knott, chairman and acting president, Packaging and Narrow Web; Antoine Fady, CEO and interim president, Print Media Europe; Michael J. Bissell, executive VP and CFO; William B. Miller, president, Print Media Americas; Brent Stephen, president, Asia Pacific; Claudio Labbe, president, Latin America; Dr. Thomas Telser, chairman, Packaging Segment; Mario Busshoff, president, Flexographic Products; Craig Foster, president, Flint Group Pigments; Jan Paul van der Velde, senior VP, procurement; Russell Taylor, senior VP global HR & communications.
Number of Employees: Approximately 7,300 worldwide.
Comments: The past few years have been challenging for the printing and ink industries. In general, the publication printing segment has been impacted by the global recession as well as the shift to newer technologies, while packaging has held steady. Meanwhile, the ink industry is coping with unprecedented raw material price increases as well as disruptions in supply.
All things considered, Flint Group was able to withstand the recession relatively well. “2010, like the recent years before it, was difficult for the printing industry,” said William B. Miller, president, Print Media Americas for Flint Group. “There were ups and downs as demand – and consumer confidence – ebbed and flowed. In the end, nearly all printers continued to feel the lingering effects of the recession. Naturally, graphic arts suppliers felt the impact as well. Still, Flint Group performed commendably under those circumstances.”
With an eye toward the future, Flint Group made key management moves as well as a major acquisition. In January 2011, Antoine Fady succeeded Charles Knott as CEO of Flint Group, with Mr. Knott becoming Flint Group’s chairman. Mr. Fady has more than 20 years of global specialty chemical experience, most recently serving as general manager, Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints-Europe, and prior to that, as CEO of ICI Packaging & Coatings.
“For Flint Group, the most notable leadership event was the appointment of Antoine Fady as CEO,” Mr. Miller said. “Antoine has already made great strides in getting to know our organization, products and people. His chemical and industrial background – including years with Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints and ICI Packaging & Coatings – gave him a running start at understanding the kind of business we’re in.”
The February 2010 acquisition of Torda Ink, a leading manufacturer of printing inks for the packaging markets in Northern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East with a substantial presence in Eastern Europe, has had a positive impact on Flint Group’s product range in packaging, and the company has added to its capabilities with innovative new products such as its Premo Film ETS ink, which offers enhanced flexographic printing performance at economical cost for printers of merchandise bags in North America.
“There were other exciting events as well, including the acquisition of Torda in Europe and product launches here in North America,” Mr. Miller noted. “Water flexo inks for the North American T-shirt bag market are one example, as well as eco-friendly sheetfed inks, as well as non-ink launches by our blankets, pressroom chemistry and Flexographic Products groups.”
For the ink industry, raw materials are perhaps the largest concern. The rapid increase in prices on most ingredients is one matter, especially considering the difficulty in passing along those higher costs to printers, many of whom are not in the position to take on much more additional costs.
However, the availability of certain key raw materials is a major issue for ink manufacturers. In some cases, suppliers are pulling their products out of the ink industry to focus on other industries, while consolidation is eliminating other suppliers. Flint Group has been working closely with its customers and suppliers alike to try to lessen the impact of these changes.
“The raw materials used to make ink continue to face an uphill battle in terms of cost and availability,” said Diane Parisi, vice president, supply chain management for Flint Group. “Capacity constraints, government policies around the world, environmental concerns, currency fluctuations and decreased production of feedstocks are some of the many reasons.”
As just one example, Ms. Parisi pointed to gum rosin, and its impact on the ink industry.
“One of the major concerns continues to be gum rosin,” Ms. Parisi noted. “Though in North America we typically use tall oil rosin to make our inks, we still strongly feel the affects of gum rosin. Let me explain:
“Capacity of crude tall oil – a by-product of paper production – is down because of the decline in paper demand. Remaining capacity is divided among competing industries, especially bio fuel, as well as industries that traditionally relied upon gum rosin, such as adhesives and road markings. Even overseas ink manufacturing plants that typically used gum rosin-based resins are now using tall oil-based resins,” Ms. Parisi noted.
“Why the mass exodus from gum to tall oil?” Ms. Parisi added. “There are many reasons: China limited gum rosin capacity significantly; crop yields were lower than usual; already-decreased supplies were stretched to the limit when demand increased in industries from rubber to adhesives and even ink; gum rosin has been used as a substitute for other crude-based commodities in short supply.
“We do not foresee any near-term relief of the gum rosin situation and tall oil will continue to be directly affected. The outcome for tall oil rosin, gum rosin and hydrocarbon resins is the same: extremely tight supply and greatly increasing costs through 2011.”
The current situation in the Middle East is a more recent concern, as the global oil supply is being impacted. Crude oil is a major component of feedstocks that are essential to ink.
"Oil is a significant concern,” said Jan Paul van der Velde, Flint Group’s senior vice president, procurement. “Costs of crude oil started to increase in Q4 2010, even before developments in the Middle East accelerated to current levels. For the time being, WTI costs are increasing less than the rest, but Brent crude and many others have shown significant cost increases, which will start to impact the cost of raw materials in the next few months."
Acquisitions will also play a major role in graphic arts.
“Acquisitions will continue to be a major strategy all along the graphic arts supply chain, especially as major players understand that demand will not return to historic levels,” said Doug Labertew, vice president of product management and strategy for Print Media North America. “The acquisition of Worldcolor by QuadGraphics is perhaps the most notable example among printers. “ Suppliers are also actively involved in M&A efforts.
“On the supplier side, mergers also continue to occur,” Mr. Labertew added. “For example, Aditya Birla Group just announced its agreement to purchase Atlanta’s Columbian Chemicals Company, making ABG the largest global producer of carbon black. The risk to the graphic arts industry with any supplier merger is that, with less competition and more global leverage, companies will increase the price of key raw material for inks.
“I’m confident that consolidation will continue among printers, ink suppliers and raw material manufacturers for years to come,” Mr. Labertew concluded.
Meanwhile, Flint Group is prepared to move forward in all of its business areas, by developing innovative products and providing services to help its customers succeed in the packaging and publication segments.
“We are excited about the packaging and label market in 2011 in terms of growing our share of the business in the industry,” said Susan Kuchta, vice president of the North American packaging group. “We have new products and improved products that are providing converters with some throughput advantage. Similar to us, customers will be motivated by optimism for growth, yet still cautious about increasing their cost of doing business. Flexible packaging will continue to lead the packaging market in growth as consumer goods continue the ongoing, long-term shift to this technology.”
“Our sales and service teams continue to deliver on our strategies, bringing value to customers’ pressrooms each day,” said Mike Neroni, vice president sales & service, Print Media North America. “We are well aware of the ongoing challenges of the economy, electronic media and other market elements, but we have everything in place to continue to help our customers stay competitive.”
“There are opportunities in each market,” Mr. Miller concluded. “For example, the news industry – hard hit by electronic media – continues to find new opportunities with UV news inks. Environmentally friendly inks are important for almost all technologies, especially sheetfed. Energy curable inks continue to offer differentiation, and we’re a strong player in that segment. If we continue to focus on creating quality products that customers need – supported by unfailing service and support – we will continue to succeed.”
3. INX International Ink Co.
150 N. Martingale Suite 700
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone: (630) 382-1800
Fax: (847) 969-9758
www.inxinternational.com
Sales: $325 million.
Major Products: A full line of ink and coatings solutions technology for packaging, commercial and digital print applications, including metal decorating, flexographic, gravure, web offset, lamination, corrugated, sheetfed, digital and UV/EB inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Kotaro Morita, chairman; Rick Clendenning, president and CEO; Bryce Kristo, CFO, senior VP general affairs; Yuichi Kataura, CTO, senior VP product development; George Polasik, COO, senior VP operations; John Hrdlick, SVP field operations and COO liquid/metal; Rick Westrom, senior VP, strategic global sourcing; Bob Osmundsen, senior VP general counsel; Joseph Cichon, VP, manufacturing technology; Dave Waller, VP, director national accounts/rigid packaging; Jonathan Ellaby, VP, international division; Janet Beasley, VP, quality systems; Dave Maternowski, VP quality systems; Ken Kisner, president, INX Digital International.
Number of Employees: Approximately 1,150.
Operating Facilities: Approximately 26 locations and 175 in-plants throughout North America. Subsidiaries: INX International U.K., Rochdale, England; INX International France, Bretigny, France. Sister company: INX Digital, San Leandro, CA; INX Digital Milan; INX Digital Prague; Parent company: Sakata INX, Osaka, Japan.
Comments: Coming into 2010, ink industry leaders were understandably worried about the economy as well as raw materials. While the economy did show improvement during 2010, raw material supply and cost concerns remain a serious issue.
Rick Clendenning, INX International Ink Company’s president and CEO, said that INX International did have a better year in terms of sales in 2010, although raw materials are a concern.
“After a difficult year in 2009, 2010 started out about the same,” Mr. Clendenning said. “It wasn’t until the second quarter before things began to show signs of improvement. The last half of 2010 was much better and overall INX had a good year. One of the biggest issues was obviously the situation with raw materials supply, availability and escalating costs. Sales growth with existing accounts improved, giving us more indication that things are getting better as economic conditions continue to improve.”
In 2005, INX International and its parent company, Sakata INX, made the decision to emphasize the digital ink business by forming Triangle Digital INX with Triangle Digital, LLC. It has proved to be an excellent move.
Five years later, having added a few more pieces to the inkjet side, INX Digital International has become an industry leader in the digital segment, and is making major inroads into traditional printing markets.
“We have made huge inroads in the last 18 months since introducing the new line of EVOLVE Advanced Digital Systems,” Mr. Clendenning said. “In 2011, we have created a new business unit for our Prodigy brand that for the short-term focuses on the graphic arts industry, and will expand its horizons in the long-term.
“The progress we have made since we introduced EVOLVE Advanced Digital Solutions 18 months ago is beyond our expectations,” Mr. Clendenning added. “The market reaction continues to remain very high for the CP100 UV digital cylindrical printer, which is one of our specialty printers. It does open new doors with its capability to print on round cylindrical substrates such as cans for food and beverage, water bottles and other cylindrical containers.
“The MD series of UV flatbed printers also attracts a lot of attention since it prints at 1200 dpi on aluminum or steel substrates,” Mr. Clendenning added. “And we are very bullish on our label market prospects with the NW100 narrow web press. It attracted quite a crowd last September at Labelexpo and many people were impressed with its high speed, high quality and short run capability.”
Raw materials are keeping ink manufacturers busy, as pricing goes up considerably and key ingredients become scarcer.
“Raw materials costs began increasing in 2009 and mushroomed last year, causing a serious negative impact on printing ink production,” Mr. Clendenning said. “This was a direct result of the economic downturn to the point where raw material suppliers have not been able to adequately supply and service the market. As other companies did, we were forced to pass along these costs and raise prices between 4 to 8% last September. Raw material costs and supply issues must be carefully monitored and managed if we are going to be successful in meeting our goals for 2011. We are hopeful that the situation will improve in the second half of this year.”
Consolidation is a fact of life throughout the printing and ink supply chains, and Mr. Clendenning said that there will likely be more consolidation.
“It affects our business several ways, including the raw material supply situation,” Mr. Clendenning added. “The consolidations will be in every area – within our customer base, our supply base and from within our own industry. As our customers consolidate, it puts more pressure on all of us as their size increases and so does their buying power. Having the digital side of our business supplying more new products to help traditional printers create additional revenue streams for their business is helping us.”
All in all, Mr. Clendenning anticipates further improvement in sales in 2011, although raw materials bear watching.
“We expect to have a strong year in 2011, as we expect the momentum we experienced in the second half of 2010 to continue,” Mr. Clendenning concluded. “We are focused on new technologies in both the traditional and digital worlds. My only concern involves the raw material area.”
4.Siegwerk NAFTA
3535 SW 56th St.
Des Moines, IA 53021
Phone: (515) 471-2100 or
(800) 728-8200
Fax: (515) 471-2202
www.siegwerk.com
Total North American Sales: $260 million.
Major Products: Solvent-based, water-based, energy curable and specialty liquid inks and coatings and related point-of-use services for the flexible packaging, label, sheetfed, tobacco, liquid food packaging and paper and board industries using flexo, rotogravure and offset printing.
Key Personnel: Jim Ross, president U.S. & Canada; Paul Schroeder, president narrow web; Javier Treviño, country manager – Mexico; Luis Orozco, country manager – Central America; Bob Davison, VP wide web sales & service – U.S. & Canada; Terry Davis, VP wide web sales & service – U.S.; Dave Cox, VP narrow web sales & service – U.S. & Canada; Dr. Lothar Schäffeler, VP of technology – U.S. & Canada; Jyoti Gidvani, raw material purchasing manager; Jim Stoelk, director of IT, EHS & quality; Stefan Schibrowski, director of supply chain.
Number of Employees: 820 (U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America).
Operating Facilities: Des Moines, IA – NAFTA headquarters and two manufacturing locations; Spartanburg, SC; Neenah, WI; Drums, PA; New Hope, MN; Vacaville, CA; Morganton, NC; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Ontario, CA; Prescott, Ontario, Canada; Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Toluca, Mexico; Guadalajara, Mexico; Queretaro, Mexico; Guatemala City, Guatemala; San Salvador, El Salvador.
Comments: In terms of printing, the packaging market has fared relatively well during the global recession, and consolidation is playing a major role on the ink side of the business. In a major move, Siegwerk acquired Environmental Inks & Coatings (EIC), one of the largest ink suppliers to the narrow web label market in the U.S. and Canada, on Nov. 30. A family-owned company, EIC is noted for its emphasis on water-based inks, which meshes nicely within Siegwerk.
“Siegwerk’s greatest highlight of 2010 was the acquisition of Environmental inks & Coatings, headquartered out of Morganton, NC,” said Jim Ross, president of Siegwerk U.S. and Canada. “This acquisition was a great fit for both companies. It reinforced Siegwerk’s sustainability movement and broadened its product portfolio while also giving Siegwerk a greater footprint into the narrow web market in the U.S. and Canada. Environmental Inks gained better positioning with a global network of knowledge and infrastructure to further grow its already strong presence in the narrow web market.
“Moving forward, Siegwerk’s narrow web business unit will be doing business as ‘Environmental Inks - a member of the Siegwerk group,’” Mr. Ross added. “Siegwerk’s wide web business remains under the Siegwerk brand.”
The addition of Environmental Inks will be a big help as Siegwerk looks to strengthen its narrow web business unit will be doing business as ‘Environmental Inks - a member of the Siegwerk group,’” Mr. Ross added. “Siegwerk’s wide web business remains under the Siegwerk brand.”
The addition of Environmental Inks will be a big help as Siegwerk looks to strengthen its narrow web position, while the company also is looking to add to its wide web efforts.
“Siegwerk NAFTA has two growth areas that it would like to strengthen throughout its company,” Mr. Ross noted. “While continuing to support and exceed the expectations of our larger customer base, Siegwerk’s wide web business unit is also working to grow its mid- to small-sized customers beginning in the Midwest region. Also, Siegwerk is working to grow its narrow web business unit specifically through the Environmental inks & Coatings acquisition. With integration process in full force, Environmental Inks - a member of the Siegwerk group is looking to position itself as a narrow web market leader.”
As for 2010, Mr. Ross noted it was a challenging year for the ink industry, with procurement of raw materials being at the forefront.
“The printing industry remained fairly conservative throughout 2010,” Mr. Ross said. “While 2010 started off much stronger than the previous two years’ performance, 2010 ended slower than anticipated. Siegwerk, both globally and regionally, maintained its focus on the customer while looking internally to continue on process improvement efforts and cost reduction measures.
“Siegwerk’s main focus remains to provide a quality product to its customers,” Mr. Ross added. “Raw material costs and supply issues have made this process much more difficult. With supplier consolidation and regulatory restrictions, ink manufacturers are finding it difficult to procure the raw materials needed at a reasonable price. Siegwerk NAFTA continues to leverage its global network to negotiate raw material purchases and secure product.”
Consolidation remains a major issue for the ink industry.
“Suppliers and customers continue to merge, thus taking raw material supply options and market share out of the industry through consolidations,” Mr. Ross said. “Siegwerk actively looks for new and emerging regional and product markets in order to remain a total solution provider to its customers.”
Mr. Ross said he expects raw materials to remain a concern going forward, and added that there is much enthusiasm as Siegwerk blends in the Environmental Inks personnel.
“Siegwerk NAFTA expects raw material price increases and raw material procurement to be even more of a factor for the ink industry in 2011,” Mr. Ross concluded. “Also in 2011, Siegwerk NAFTA looks forward to integrating the Environmental Inks team into the Siegwerk family.”
5. CR/T
Division of Quad Graphics
1951 Constitution Ave.
Hartford, WI 53027
Phone: (262) 673-1400
Fax: (262) 673-1459
www.qg.com; www.crtink.com
Sales: $235 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Offset, gravure inks and inkjet inks.
Key Personnel: Jim Mercier, executive director of CRT; Sunil Rao, technical director, CR/T; Chuck Buckett, offset operations manager – Hartford, WI; Randy Maas, gravure operations manager – Lomira, WI; Tim Foster, gravure operations manager – Greenfield, IA; Fred Twigg, gravure operations manager – Martinsburg, WV.
Number of Employees: Approximately 100.
Operating Facilities: Lomira, WI; Oklahoma City, OK; Martinsburg, WV; Greenfield, IA; Hartford, WI; Wyszków, Poland.
Comments: In July 2010, Quad/Graphics changed the face of the North American printing industry with its acquisition of Worldcolor. As a result, Quad/Graphics is now a $4.8 billion global provider of print and related multichannel solutions for consumer magazines, special interest publications, catalogs, retail inserts and circulars, direct mail products, books and directories.
Quad/Graphics is highly regarded for its high-quality offset and gravure printing. In order to supply its ink needs, Quad/Graphics formed its Chemical Research/Technology (CR\\T) division in 1982. CR\\T produces hundreds of millions of pounds of ink annually in North America, and the company branched out into Europe in 2010, opening its first European ink plant in Wyszków, Poland.
6. Hostmann-Steinberg Hostmann-Steinberg Limited
12 Shaftsbury Lane
Brampton, Ontario
Canada L6T 3X7
Phone: (905) 793-9970
Fax: (905) 793-5368
Hostmann-Steinberg, Inc. USA
2850 Festival Dr.
Kankakee, IL 60901
Phone: (815) 929-9293
Fax: (815) 929-0412
www.hostmann-steinberg.net
Sales: $155 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV and EB, forms and flexo Inks; aqueous and UV coatings.
Key Personnel: Michael Geiger, group managing director America, Canada; Vivy DaCosta, VP, Canada; Mark Wilson, sales director, Canada; Dr. Thomas Griebel, technical director, Canada; Debu Sengupta, CTO, USA; Steve Martin, director of sales/marketing, USA.
Number of Employees: 300.
Operational Facilities: Main plants in Kankakee, IL and Toronto, Canada, and 16 branch facilities coast to coast.
Comments: Hostmann-Steinberg is the North American subsidiary of hubergroup, headquartered in Kirchheim Heimstetten, Germany, which amassed nearly $1 billion in sales in 2010. The company offers a full range of inks and coatings for publication, commercial and packaging printing, and puts a strong emphasis on R&D.
Hostmann-Steinberg’s !NKREDIBLE series of inks has been a strong addition to the company’s ink offerings. Its !NKREDIBLE sheetfed inks has been successful in the marketplace. Meanwhile, REVOLUTION, Hostmann-Steinberg’s heatset ink series based on !NKREDIBLE technology, and !NKREDIBLE GOOD NEWS, its coldset ink system, have also gained acceptance in the market.
7. DuPont Digital Printing
Barley Mill Plaza, P30/2367
P.O. Box 80030
Wilmington, DE 19880-0030
Phone: (877) 234-1794;
(302) 992-4264
Fax: (302) 892-5609
www.inkjet.dupont.com;www.inkjet.dupont.com
Sales: $150 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Digital inks and digital printing systems; conductive inks and pastes for printed electronics.
Key Personnel: Frank Dotterer, global business manager – Digital Printing Systems; Walt Cheng, global business director – DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Marco Torri, global sales manager for DuPont Digital Printing; Craig Oliver – European business manager, DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Peter Brenner, global marketing manager, photovoltaics - DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Scott Gordon, Americas marketing manager – Printed Electronics Segment – DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Robert Schmidt, new business development manager, photovoltaics - DuPont Circuit & Packaging Materials.
Number of Employees: More than 300 worldwide.
Key Locations: Worldwide operations; in the U.S., R&D facilities in Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA; manufacturing plants in Iowa, New York and Pennsylvania. Customer service and warehousing in Asia, Europe and North America.
Comments: DuPont has developed leading positions in inkjet printing as well as the rapidly growing field of printed electronics. On the inkjet side, DuPont Digital Printing is the leader in ink manufacturing worldwide for desktop printers, supplying many of the leading home printer OEMs. The company also supplies inkjet inks and systems for textile printing with its DuPont Artistri product portfolio.
DuPont is also active in the growing field of conductive inks and metallization pastes for photovoltaics, organic LEDs (OLEDs) semiconductors and printed electronics. DuPont Microcircuit Materials (MCM) ink technologies are suitable for screen print, flexo, gravure, photo-imaging, pad printing, and other processing techniques. Printed electronic materials include biomedical sensor materials, flexible display materials, LuxPrint electroluminescent materials, membrane touch switch materials, materials for printed batteries, printable materials for printed wiring boards, RFID antennae materials, Solamet photovoltaic metallizations, touch sensor materials and other printed electronic applications. In December, DuPont Microcircuit Materials showcased its portfolio of screen printable silver conductive inks formulated for use in printed electronics, to meet the need for low-cost processing in the high-growth and emerging markets for touch screens and OLEDs.
7. Wikoff Color Corporation
1886 Merritt Road
Fort Mill, SC 29715
Phone: (803) 548-2210
Fax: (803) 548-5728
www.wikoff.com
Sales: $150 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.
Key Personnel: Phil Lambert, chairman; Geoff Peters, president and CEO; Daryl Collins, VP of national sales and regional operations; Martin Hambrock, VP of Canadian operations; Don Duncan, director of R&D; Ben Price, director of purchasing; Art Dennis, director of manufacturing; Buck Rorie, VP of finance and administration.
Number of Employees: 490.
Operating Facilities: 29 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada. Headquarters and primary research and development facilities are located in Fort Mill, SC.
Comments: Wikoff Color was able to weather the economic challenges of 2010, and is poised for growth in 2011.
“For Wikoff Color, 2010 had its challenges, but given the economic climate, we were not too disappointed with the results,” said Geoff Peters, president and CEO. “While sales were off slightly, margins were not overly impacted as the company continued to aggressively streamline its operations and reduce controllable expenses in an attempt to offset increases in raw material costs.
“While Wikoff felt signs of the economy improving, and many of our customers, especially in food packaging, reported healthy results, there were still challenges,” Mr. Peters added. “Commercial printing, especially anything advertising-related, continued to lag the rest of the printing industry in its return to past production levels.”
Wikoff Color has seen opportunities emerge in UV and EB curing, label and narrow web, flexible packaging and inkjet, and Mr. Peters expects the company will continue to expand in those markets.
“We expect the major growth areas for Wikoff Color to continue to be energy curable inks, narrow web label and flexible packaging,” Mr. Peters said. “Additionally, we have been expanding our inkjet business and expect that trend to continue.”
To become more efficient, Wikoff deployed a new enterprise resource planning application (ERP) designed to improve information flow, connectivity and efficiency across all of its facilities.
“In 2010, the company implemented the corporate financial applications and rolled the manufacturing applications out to the Fort Mill plant (our largest manufacturing facility) and to four of our branch plants,” Mr. Peters said. “We plan to complete the implementation across the remaining 24 branch plant locations in 2011.”
Flooding heavily damaged Wikoff Color’s Nashville, TN facility in 2010, but the company was able to overcome the loss without impacting customers.
We had a tough challenge when our Nashville branch plant was ruined during the record floods of 2010,” Mr. Peters said. “Despite the challenge, the company missed only one customer order as other Wikoff plants stepped up in true Wikoff fashion to meet the needs of our printing customers. The facility has been rebuilt and is fully operational again.“
Wikoff continued to invest in capital improvements to drive efficiency gains in its major manufacturing facilities. Additionally, Joe Kubasiak, former branch manager of the Grand Rapids plant, was transferred to Fort Mill, SC as plant manager.
Wikoff is also expanding its international operations, as it was approved by the Chinese government for full manufacturing in its Beijing, China operation.
As for raw materials, Mr. Peters noted that 2010 began with relative stability in raw material prices, but starting around March, raw material price increase pressure became widespread, and shortages of some key ingredients became a serious issue.
“While price increases were a problem, we were also concerned about shortages of raw materials,” he said. “Lead times on key pigments, like TiO2 and carbazole violet, stretched to two months, and most suppliers had supply restrictions in place. The rosin resin market also had supply pressures, impacted by drastically increased gum rosin prices.
“As for the coming year, nitrocellulose supply is expected to be tight throughout 2011 and energy cure raw materials continue to face upward pricing pressure,” Mr. Peters added. “Wikoff worked with our suppliers throughout the year to maintain ready sources of supply and keep price increases in check as much as possible. In summary, raw material pricing and supply were significant problems for the ink industry in 2010 and are expected to remain problems in 2011.”
Consolidation is a fact of life throughout the supply chain, particularly as key vendors are merged together.
“Wikoff continued to see consolidation among both our customers and suppliers,” Mr. Peters said. “While customer consolidation has not had an impact on our business, supplier consolidation had a more significant effect. There have been a few notable supplier consolidations over the past two years, like the BASF acquisition of Ciba, the IGM acquisition of the Cognis UV acrylates business and the Momentive merger with Hexion (and subsequent sale of the Ink and Adhesives Resins business to Harima). These acquisitions didn’t come without challenges, especially maintaining effective levels of customer service to the ink industry during the process.”
Mr. Peters said that Wikoff expects to see continued economic improvement in 2011, which should help printing volumes continue to grow, and anticipates further expansion in terms of geography and product portfolio.
“We expect to expand our geographic footprint in 2011 and add to our current product base,” Mr. Peters said. “We expect to expand our line of products, adding many inks and coatings that offer environmentally friendly options and performance improvements. We also believe that the cost adjustments and manufacturing efficiency programs that we have implemented will continue to pay strong dividends this year. The risk for our business will continue to be with material costs and our ability to manage those costs in conjunction with customer pricing.”
9. Sanchez SA de CV
Oriente 171 # 367
México City, Mexico
Phone: +52 55 5118 1000
Web: www.sanchez.com.mx
E-mail: er.sanchez@sanchez.com.mx
Sales: $124.5 million (inks); $166.6 million overall.
Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks and overprint varnishes; offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.
Key Personnel: Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director; Jose Sanchez, commercial director (paste inks); Miguel Talamantes, commercial director (liquid inks); Jesus McKelligan, operations director; Salvador Duran, technical manager (paste inks); Agustin Lozano, technical manager (liquid inks).
Number of Employees: 1,150.
Comments: Mexico has rebounded from the global recession and enjoyed solid growth in 2010, which bodes well for Sanchez SA de CV, the leading ink manufacturer in Mexico.
“The economy in Mexico seemed to enter into a recovery pace during 2010, not at the expected pace but a recovery at last,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director of Sanchez SA de CV. “The official GDP growth for 2010 has not been published but it should be around 5 %. Our growth in Sanchez was 3.7% measured in kilos, so we were able to surpass not only our 2009 sales, but also those of 2008, reaching the 39,300 ton mark.”
Mr. Sanchez said that growth occurred across the board in offset inks.
“The market did have a positive reaction, and we had good results in areas like sheetfed offset, heatset and news, markets where we had serious concerns at the beginning of the year,” he noted.
Raw materials are a major concern, with unprecedented raw material price increases putting pressure on all ink manufacturers.
“Our main concern is the shortage of raw materials and increase in its prices. Some of our key raw materials have experienced price increases like we haven’t seen before. This of course has taken us into the process of increasing our prices as well,” Mr. Sanchez said.
Sanchez SA de CV has been making major inroads in Central America. In 2009, the company opened a subsidiary, Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA, in Guatemala City. In 2010, Sanchez SA de CV opened a new subsidiary in Costa Rica.
“Internationally, we opened our subsidiary in Costa Rica, so along with Sanchez Centroamerica in El Salvador and Sanchez Guatemala, we expect to increase our leadership in the area,” Mr. Sanchez said.
10. Toyo Ink Int. Corp.
610 Fifth Ave., Suite 305
New York, NY 10020
Phone: (212) 554-2310
Fax: (212) 554-2319
Toyo Ink America, LLC
710 Belden Ave.
Addison, IL 60101
Phone: (630) 930-5100
Fax: (630) 628-1759
www.toyoink.com
Sales: $91 million
Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks; UV and EB inks; conventional and UV waterless offset; solvent- and water-based gravure inks; solvent- and water-based flexo inks; digital inks; toner; inkjet inks; pressure sensitive adhesives and special function coatings; and plastic colorants.
Key Personnel: Toyo Ink International: Mamoru Sasajima, president; John Higgins, CFO. Toyo Ink America: John Copeland, division president, printing ink division; Hideki Ohba, VP, planning and administration; Mike Keegan, VP, sales; Jim Newkirk, GM, liquid ink sector. Toyo Ink Mfg. America: Yasuo Koga, president; Koji Ueno, GM. LioChem: Kazuhito Nakano, president; Hudson Moody, GM, colorants division; Terry Hall, GM, gravure division
Comments: Toyo Ink America enjoyed a strong year in 2010, as the printing ink market stabilized and the company added new capabilities in the packaging market with the acquisition of Fluid Ink Technology.
“For Toyo Ink, 2010 was a better year than anticipated,” said John Copeland, division president, printing ink division for Toyo Ink America. “The ink market was steady for the most part. Ink sales were up over 2009, in particular for UV inks for plastic and paper substrates. In North America, demand for gravure inks for construction materials started to recover and sales of flexographic inks expanded.
“We saw some improvement last year in line with a slow rebound in the economy,” Mr. Copeland added. “There was a significant improvement from 2009 to 2010 in the consistency of ink orders. There was also strong interest for Toyo products that offer outstanding performance or unique features to differentiate printers or converters in the marketplace, such as special effect and high-sheen metallic inks.”
An important move was the acquisition of Fluid Ink Technology, a Moorland, CA-based manufacturer of flexographic, gravure and UV ink products for the flexible packaging, paper packaging and label printing markets.
“The coupling of Fluid Ink’s technology, service and sales expertise with Toyo’s existing packaging capabilities enables us to deliver a comprehensive lineup of unique solutions and customized products to our customers,” Mr. Copeland said. “The two divisions, paste and liquid inks, were also officially merged in November. The realignment enables better consolidation of our product offerings, while promoting a more coordinated market approach.”
Raw material costs and supply issues are a major concern for ink manufacturers, with practically every ingredient impacted. Mr. Copeland noted that there is a serious concern over the supply of certain pigments, and added that communication with suppliers is critical.
“Availability issues for certain pigments used in our UV inks and oligomers persist,” Mr. Copeland said. “As a result, we must plan our raw materials purchases well in advance. Constant communication with vendors is necessary to secure supply of key raw materials. We find it difficult to pass on prices to the customer as we are well aware of the tremendous challenges they face.”
In addition to its strength in sheetfed and packaging, UV, metallic and special effect inks have proved to be good markets for Toyo Ink America.
“We’ve had good success with UV inks for plastic and paper stocks, and we expect this trend to continue in 2011,” Mr. Çopeland said. “Demand for special effect and metallic inks and the specialty printing techniques required by printers remained strong. We’ve also expanded our foothold in growth areas such as packaging inks for folding carton and specialty products, such as metallic and special effect inks for paper, plastic or synthetic substrates, plastic boxes and containers.”
Mr. Copeland believes that Toyo Ink America is well positioned for growth in 2011 and beyond.
“Our outlook for 2011 is positive,” Mr. Copeland said. “We have positioned ourselves to better support our customers’ needs with a broader and more comprehensive lineup of products and services, which in turn enhances our ability to capture a bigger share of the North America packaging and commercial printing market. Toyo Ink America is gearing up to grow as we take advantage of synergies due to sales, service delivery and manufacturing efficiencies while continuously turning out high tech, high-value-added products and services.
“Through acquisitions and structural reforms, we’ve been able to improve efficiency and invest in equipment and other resources necessary to build a solid platform for future growth,” Mr. Copeland concluded. “Toyo Ink America has come out of 2010 a much stronger company.”
11. EFI
303 Velocity Way
Foster City, CA 94404
Phone: (650) 357-3500
Fax: (650) 357-3907
www.efi.com
Sales: ~$504M for EFI at the corporate level; $207M for the inkjet divisions; Ink World estimates $85 million in ink and consumables.
Major Products: Through its VUTEk, Jetrion and Rastek product lines, EFI is the market leader in inkjet inks and printing systems for the superwide, (e.g., billboards, signage, POP, etc.), wide format UV, label, packaging, direct mail and commercial printing markets. EFI offers a wide range of ink products for the superwide format and industrial inkjet markets, including UV-based, solvent, and eco/bio-solvent inks.
Key Personnel: Guy Gecht, CEO; Fred Rosenzweig, president; Vincent Pilette, CFO; Ken Stack, SVP/GM Jetrion Industrial Inkjet Systems; Scott Schinlever, Sr. VP/GM EFI, VUTEk, Rastek.
Number of Employees: Approximately 1,900.
Operating Facilities: 23 worldwide offices.
Comments: The digital printing market has recovered nicely from the global recession, and EFI enjoyed good growth, with the company’s overall inkjet sales increasing from $159 million in 2009 to more than $207 million in 2010.
EFI remains well positioned to grow further due to its wide range of industry-leading brands, and its ink division will grow right with it.
“After a slow start, we had consistent growth, ending up the year 2010 over 14 percent ahead of 2009,” said Stephen J. Emery, director, ink sales and marketing for EFI VUTEk. “We clearly realized consistent improvement, with September being a clear turning point and a record month for the EFI ink business. Europe continues to have a sluggish recovery, but we saw notable improvements in Q4.”
One of the keys to EFI’s success is its rapid innovation. The EFI VUTEk GS5000r 5-meter roll-to-roll UV printer is enjoying success. The EFI VUTEk GS3200 3.2 meter wide flatbed and roll-to-roll UV printer and the EFI VUTEk GS2000 2-meter wide, roll-to-roll and flatbed printer are also gaining strength in the market.
“Our GS and GSr high speed digital UV inkjet printers and inks were very well received in the marketplace,” Mr. Emery said.
Jetrion has also been active, developing its EFI Jetrion 4830 LED UV Inkjet system and flexible ink set and EFI Jetrion 4830 UV Inkjet system.
Higher raw material costs are a serious issue throughout the ink industry, and digital ink manufacturers are also feeling the impact.
“Increased raw material costs are a major concern,” Mr. Emery said. “The biggest concern is where there are limited vendors offering a component. We continue to work with our vendor/partners to find ways to keep costs under control and have components qualified from multiple vendors.”
Mr. Emery said that EFI anticipates further growth in numerous markets in 2011, most notably in UV.
“UV and new UV curing technologies will continue to grow,” he said. “Textile will also continue to grow.
“EFI is unique in that we offer end to end solutions for the print industry,” Mr. Emery concluded. “We help our customers increase profits and expand applications, whether it is with our software-printers-inks. We expect strong growth in the next few years.”
12. FUJIFILM Graphics
Systems Division - Sericol Unit
1101 W. Cambridge Circle Drive
Kansas City, KS 66103
Phone: (913) 342-4060
Fax: (913) 342-4752
www.fujifilmsericol.com
U.S. Sales: $75 million (Ink World estimate)
Major Products: UV screen, UV flexo, UV digital (piezo inkjet), solvent-based digital and solvent-based screen inks; screen pre-press; Inca Digital Printers and Fujifilm Digital Printers.
Key Personnel: Mitch Bode, general manager; Chris Lomas, VP of sales; Steve Pocock, technical director; Terry Mitchell, director of marketing.
Number of Employees: 165.
Operating Facilities: Seven.
Comments: In April 2010, Fujifilm Sericol became part of the Graphics Systems Division of Fujifilm North America Corporation. The integration combines the screen, wide format inkjet and flexographic business of Sericol along with the strong market position of Fujifilm Graphics in the commercial offset business.
“The integration brings even more products and services to print providers,” said Mitch Bode, general manager of the Sericol Unit business in the U.S. and Mexico. “Fujifilm now provides products and services for offset, screen and digital inkjet printing. The combined organization reduces our cost and improves our service to customers. This will enable us to expand our customer base and grow our business.”
The Sericol Unit of Fujifilm Graphics Systems Division experienced revenue growth in 2010 as the improving economy led to higher ink demand in the point-of-purchase and graphic display markets.
“We saw most of our markets return to levels of business we had prior to the economic downturn,” commented Mr. Bode. “Our traditional screen business has been steady throughout 2010 and our wide format inkjet business has seen significant growth for both equipment and ink.”
Wide format digital inkjet printing remains a key growth area for the company. Print buyer demands for shorter print runs, multiple versions, and faster turnaround times are driving growth, and UV equipment and inks are leading the growth due to the speed, quality and environmental benefits of UV curable inkjet compared to solvent inkjet.
“We are keenly focused on bringing new and innovative UV digital solutions to the market and expect continued growth of this business in the years ahead,” Mr. Bode said.
Fujifilm continued its long term partnership with Inca Digital and renewed its exclusive distribution agreement to market Inca’s UV flatbed printers. A key driver of Fujifilm’s growth in 2010 was the Inca Onset S20 high speed UV digital flatbed. The Onset S20 offers exceptional quality and choice of finish from low glare satin to high impact gloss making it ideal for point-of-purchase display graphic printing.
“The print speed and output of the Onset S20 is a very good fit for in-line screen printers primarily focused on the graphic display market,” said Chris Lomas, vice president of sales for the Sericol Unit.
Although digital inkjet is growing at a fast pace, traditional screen printing inks rebounded and grew modestly in 2010.
“Screen printing is still competitive and well suited for longer print runs,” Mr. Lomas said. “However, the demand for shorter print run lengths, faster turnaround and multiple versions will continue to favor digital inkjet over screen printing. As a result, we expect digital inkjet to grow even faster in 2011.”
While the Onset series presses are the fastest and most productive UV flatbeds, they are just one of many digital solutions offered by the company. Fujifilm also introduced the photo-realistic quality Acuity Advance HS, the latest addition to the Acuity series that offers faster speeds and higher productivity. The Uvistar UV roll press rounds out the UV printer portfolio and the series includes both a 3.5 meter and 5.0 meter printer.
“The Uvistar is ideal for printing billboards, building wraps and grand format display graphics on a wide range of flexible substrates,” said Terry Mitchell, director of marketing. “The Uvistar also prints at faster speeds and higher productivity when compared to solvent printing, and offers the advantage of lower environmental impact.”
Raw material availability was a challenge during 2010 as some materials were rationalized during the economic downturn or simply in short supply when the economy started to improve. Pigments were especially difficult to procure, however formulation expertise helped offset some of these supply shortages. More recently, raw material prices have escalated; however productivity improvements in manufacturing helped hold the line on prices in the market.
“We feel it is absolutely critical to reduce supply chain costs to keep our customers competitive,” said Mr. Mitchell.
A computerized managed inventory program was also expanded to provide improved service and lower freight cost. “Our managed inventory program monitors supply stocks at customer locations and replenishes on a schedule that reduces shipment frequency,” said Scott Holub, vice president operations. “Our customers see tremendous advantage in our program because products are readily available to respond to customer orders.”
Fujifilm has a positive outlook for 2011 with digital printers and inks remaining an important driver to Fujifilm’s future growth.
“Our investments in digital solutions have resulted in new sales opportunities within our traditional customer base of screen printers. The broadening of our portfolio of digital presses, and the expansion of our product portfolio, will continue to fuel our sales growth,” Mr. Bode concluded.
13. American Inks & Coatings
3400 N. Hutchinson St.
Pine Bluff, AR 71602
Phone: (870) 247-2080
Fax: (870) 247-5317
www.americaninksandcoatings.com
Sales: $68 million in ink and coatings.
Major Products: Water- and solvent-based flexo and gravure packaging inks and coatings; UV and EB coatings.
Key Personnel: Jerry Mosley, CEO; Michael Mosley, COO; Scott Clark, VP and general manager.
Number of Employees: 162.
Operating Facilities: Pine Bluff, AR; Winston-Salem, NC; West Memphis, TN.
Comments: For American Inks & Coatings (AIC), a leader in the liquid packaging ink industry, 2010 was a solid year, as the company enjoyed growth in many of the markets that it serves.
“We’re still growing,” said Michael Mosley, American Inks & Coatings’ COO. “We are totally focused on the markets we serve. We’re growing through new business in folding cartons, and are growing at a fast rate in flexible packaging, which has become a really strong market for us. We are also seeing a shift back to domestic production of gift wrap.”
AIC offers a complete range of liquid inks and coatings, including water-based inks for multiwall bag, high graphics corrugated, folding carton, gift wrap and other packaging, and solvent-based inks for flexible packaging, including laminations and other innovative applications. Service is a key differentiator for the company, which has grown to become the sixth-largest packaging ink company in the U.S.
“The people who represent us in the field make the difference,” Mr. Mosley said. “The big guys are taking service out.”
As is the case for every ink manufacturer, AIC is trying to cope with the raw material price increases that are coming quickly for suppliers.
“We are trying to absorb what we can in terms of raw material price increases, but we have to pass along some costs and negotiate with our customers.” Mr. Mosley said. “Fortunately, we had the foresight to get back in on the dispersion side and become vertically integrated.”
Mr. Mosley said AIC has further opportunities for growth in 2011.
“We’re budgeting for a little growth,” he said. “It’s not like it was five or 10 years ago. It now takes time to get new business, up to six months or longer, but I think we’ll grow due to some of the opportunities we have in the market. We’ll continue to focus on what we do best.”
14. Nazdar
8501 Hedge Lane Road
Shawnee, KS 66227-3290
Phone: (913) 422-1888
Fax: (913) 422-2296
www.nazdar.com
Sales: $65 million (and more than $100 million in ink sales, equipment and supplies, Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Screen printing, digital and narrow web inks, including conventional, UV and water-based.
Key Personnel: J. Jeffrey Thrall, CEO; Mike Fox, president; Richard Bowles, VP, GM; Phil McGugan, VP, global sales and marketing; Mike McGowan, VP and technical director; Jim Davidson, VP, global operations; Mike Harjung, VP narrow web business unit.
Operating Facilities: Five in the U.S., UK, Singapore and Mexico.
Comments: Coming off of the global recession that impacted the printing industry in so many ways, 2010 brought better news to the printing and ink industries. Such is the case with Nazdar, which saw growth in its core markets of screen printing and digital while also making inroads in narrow web.
“For Nazdar, 2010 was a significant improvement over 2009, in which we enjoyed growth in all product sectors and all geographies,” said Phil McGugan, Nazdar’s vice president, global sales and marketing. “Part of our growth into 2010 was no doubt due to economic recovery, but in addition to this, there was extensive market share growth.
“Our growth has been on product front and geographical sector,” Mr. McGugan added. “Our digital market growth was a large part of our success in 2010 and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. We also saw healthy growth in our narrow web program and sales to the industrial screen market were buoyant. We also experienced significant growth in all our international markets.”
The digital and narrow web markets were particular highlights, according to Mr. McGugan, as were the gains made outside of North America. He noted that Nazdar continued its rapid growth in the digital ink market, both solvent and UV, wide and grand format. He added that Nazdar’s expansion in Europe, Asia and South America continued at a fast pace, as did the company’s growth in the narrow web market.
Mr. McGugan noted that Nazdar was able to navigate its way through the raw material price increases that are impacting the ink industry.
“We, like most others, experienced some raw material supply issues during the year,” Mr. McGugan reported. “However, we managed our way through these issues and continue to both monitor and search for alternative raw materials.”
Mr. McGugan said he expects to see a continuation of the success seen by Nazdar in 2010.
“We have strengthened our market presence in Europe, South America and Asia Pacific with personnel domiciled in each region,” Mr. McGugan said. “We continue to expand our digital ink and narrow web offerings, and still see great opportunities for sales expansion in the screen print market.”
14. Van Son Holland Ink
888 Veterans Highway, Suite 440
Hauppauge, NY 11788
Phone: (631) 715-7000
Fax: (631) 715-7026
www.vansonink.com
Sales: $65 million.
Major Products: Conventional offset, waterless offset and duplicator inks.
Key Personnel: Joe Bendowski, CEO; John Sammis, president; John Bendowski, vice president; Ken Ferguson, technical director.
Number of Employees: 100.
Operating Facilities: Headquarters and manufacturing in Islandia, NY, a central distribution center in Chicago and blending facilities in Miami, FL, and Los Angeles, CA.
Comments: The commercial sheetfed printing market has been heavily impacted in recent years, and sheetfed ink suppliers have been challenged to redefine their approach. Van Son Holland Ink realized many years ago that its core market, the smaller offset printer, was shrinking, and the company aggressively moved toward the medium-sized printers.
It has proved to be a good decision. With its Vs ink and a new distribution model that focused on brining in regional ink manufactures and graphic arts distributors to sell and service its inks, Van Son has been able to succeed in this ever-changing market.
For us, 2010 was not so bad,” said Joe Bendowski, Van Son Holland Ink’s CEO. “We saw some growth, which is important in these times.
“We are still moving up market,” Mr. Bendowski added. “Years ago, our entire company was focused on the small offset market, and even years after we have moved our focus to the medium-sized commercial printers, we are still finding opportunities in the mid-sized printers. We still use the Vs distribution model, as we are working with eight ink companies who distribute our inks and service our customers, and we have graphic arts distributors working with us as well.”
Van Son Holland Ink continues to develop new Vs inks. “The Vs series is our flagship line, and we have added Vs9 UV sheetfed inks as well as Vs1 XS, our extra strength inks,” Mr. Bendowski said.
Unlike most ink manufacturers, Van Son Holland Ink was adding facilities. The company opened new blending operations in Miami, FL, and Los Angeles, CA, in order to better serve customers in those regions.
“We opened new mixing facilities in Miami and Los Angeles, and we have other target cities on our radar,” Mr. Bendowski said. “You need to be close to the commercial printers. This allows us to service our customers in these regions better, such as providing spot colors in a timely manner.”
The company also announced two key promotions: John Sammis, formerly vice president, sales and marketing, was named president. John Bendowski, who previously was national sales manager, was promoted to vice president.
“They both have come through the ranks and have driven our success in our commercial business,” Mr. Bendowski noted. “They both have solid reputations among our distribution partners as well as our commercial customers.”
Mr. Bendowski said that raw material supply and pricing is a major concern.
“Raw materials are a serious issue,” Mr. Bendowski said. “We have issued price increases and continue to search the world for raw materials. I’m happy that most ink companies are being responsible enough to pass the higher raw material prices along because the ink industry can’t survive if we don’t.”
All in all, Mr. Bendowski is optimistic about 2011.
“I tend to be a positive person,” Mr. Bendowski said. “I have a good feeling. Our momentum is continuing and I see an uptick in the industry. We are seeing more activity at our customers, and they are adding shifts and uncovering presses.”
16. Central Ink Corporation
1100 N. Harvester Road
West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 231-6500
Fax: (630) 231-6520
www.cicink.com
Sales: $64 million.
Major Products: Web offset heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV/EB inks. CIC is also one of the largest blanket converters in the Midwest.
Key Personnel: Richard Breen, CEO; Gregg Dahleen, president; Doug Anderson, VP of product development; Mary Dickey, VP of finance; Bradley Dahleen, VP of sales and marketing; Victor Dahleen, VP of strategic services.
Number of Employees: 141.
Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; Milwaukee, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Ontario, CA; Toronto, Canada.
Comments: The publication printing business has taken a hard hit in recent years, both from the growth of the Internet as well as the global recession. Publication ink manufacturers are feeling the pinch of decreased demands as well as higher raw material prices.
Central Ink Corporation had long been focused on the heatset market, with a particular emphasis on large printers. A few years ago, the company began branching out into sheetfed, news, UV and flexo inks, which has helped it weather the economic storm.
“We had about 7 percent growth in 2010,” said Bradley Dahleen, Central Ink’s vice president of sales and marketing. “All of product lines are doing well. In the past four years, our business has changed from high-volume heatset customers to smaller, more independent companies. We have doubled our number of customers in the past four years. It’s hard to do, and has higher costs in areas such as shipping, billing and labor, but it was worth it.”
Higher raw material prices are a major problem for the ink industry, and Central Ink is feeling the effects as well.
“The higher cost of raw materials and how fast they keep coming up is our biggest concern,” Mr. Dahleen said. “Consolidation among our suppliers is also a worry from both the supply and cost point of views. Soya prices are up 50 percent in the past two months alone. It is hard to recoup that.”
With the higher cost of raw materials, Mr. Dahleen said that Central Ink has had to walk away from large-volume business that would ultimately be unprofitable.
“We’ve grown on the ink side, not as fast as I think we could grow, but with raw material costs spiraling up, there’s some business out there that just doesn’t make sense for us,” Mr. Dahleen noted.
17. SICPA Securink Corporation
SICPA Product Security LLC
8000 Research Way
Springfield, VA 22153
Phone: (703) 455-8050
Fax: (703) 450-4518
www.sicpa.com
E-mail: securityinks@sicpa.com
Total Sales: $60 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Proprietary security inks for intaglio, offset, screen, flexo and gravure security printing applications.
Key Personnel: Jim Bonhivert, CEO and president; Tom Jay, VP of sales and marketing; Tom Classick, technical director.
Number of Employees: Approximately 140.
Operating Facilities: Springfield, VA; Fort Worth, TX; Carol Stream, IL; Vaudreuil-Dorian, Quebec.
Comments: The dangers of counterfeiting are clear, as the importance of document security and brand security are essential in the face of terrorism as well as knock-off products such as pharmaceutical goods that can potentially kill people.
Developing technology to ensure the security of documents and products is critical, and SICPA S.A., the Switzerland-based worldwide leader for printing inks for currency and sensitive documents, plays a major role in these fields. With global sales of $400 million during 2010, SICPA S.A. provides security inks for the majority of the world’s currencies.
SICPA Securink Corporation dominates the security ink business in North America, with its inks appearing on currency and security documents as well as packaging of value. SICPA’s color-shifting Optically Variable Ink (OVI) for U.S. currency has played a key role in reducing counterfeiting. SICPA’s R&D experts have developed numerous innovative inks in cooperation with its parent company and its high-tech suppliers, and offer strong technical support for their products.
Due to its expertise in developing integrated systems for authentication and secure supply chain, SICPA Product Security, LLC has successfully combined its material-based security ink technology and information-based secure tracking and tracing technology for brand owners. SICPA manages the California counterfeit-resistant tobacco tax stamp program, which includes an encrypted stamp and database management system. Similar to the California program, SICPA is also in a joint venture with Canadian Bank Note Company on the Canadian tobacco stamp program.
Along those lines, in February 2010, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue awarded the company the contract to provide the commonwealth with a new counterfeit-resistant cigarette excise-stamping program.
Meyercord Revenue, Inc. was sub-contracted by SICPA in both California and Massachusetts to provide stamping machines and ancillary equipment for tax stamp programs. In September 2010, SICPA acquired Meyercord Revenue Inc. from Illinois Tool Works Inc. The transaction combines SICPA’s international government tax platform expertise with Meyercord’s experience in producing and distributing tobacco tax stamps for 47 U.S. states and approximately 140 municipalities and Native American tribes. As a part of the acquisition, SICPA plans to retain the current employment level at Meyercord’s facility in Carol Stream, IL, near Chicago.
“We are committed to Meyercord, its management and employee base,” said Jim Bonhivert, president and CEO of SICPA North America. “We plan to profitably grow the current operation and its reach while moving forward with technology that contributes to the public good.”
17. Superior Printing Ink
100 North St.
Teterboro, NJ 07608-1202
Phone: (201) 478-5600
Fax: (201) 478-5650
www.superiorink.com
Sales: $60 million.
Major Products: Sheetfed, UV, waterless, heatset web, flexo and gravure inks, coatings and varnishes.
Key Personnel: Jeffrey I. Simons, chairman, CEO and president; Stan Hittman, executive VP; Harold Rubin, chief financial officer; James La Rocca, chief operating officer; Peter Nunez, VP, finance & administration; Richard Czarnecki, senior VP, chief technical officer.
Number of Employees: 300.
Operating Facilities: 17 branches and more than two dozen in-plant facilities nationally. The company operates two facilities through its Gotham Ink operations (NY and MA). Spinks Ink Co. is also a subsidiary located in Chicago, IL.
Comments: The North American commercial sheetfed market has struggled during recent years, as printers faced the dual threats of the recession and new technologies, and sheetfed ink manufacturers are doing what they can to navigate these challenges.
“The commercial market was clearly hit harder than other print markets as the recession lingered in 2010,” said Richard Czarnecki, senior VP, chief technical officer for Superior Printing Ink. "While some of our customers are thriving and finding ways to stabilize and even grow their business, there are many others who are simply struggling to survive. We are aligning ourselves wherever possible with customers who are going to be successful as the economy continues to improve in 2011.”
While the commercial side of the sheetfed business has faced more than its share of difficulties, the folding carton and UV sectors have enjoyed growth.
“There is no question that the ongoing success of our business will rely on a strong presence in the packaging market,” Mr. Czarnecki said. “While the commercial sheetfed market is not going away any time soon, it is clear that packaging is a significantly more robust and ‘recession-proof’ segment of the industry. In addition, we will continue to build on our success in the UV curable product arena, where sales in 2010 grew significantly. Our sales and technical teams are working to exploit our expertise with energy curable technology into other segments of the print market. Our success in UV will more than compensate for the sluggish growth with conventional sheetfed technology, and we will continue to invest in equipment and staff to support this growth.”
Even though the commercial market is struggling, Mr. Czarnecki noted that Superior Printing Ink remains dedicated to the segment, developing new products and continuing its tradition of providing excellent service.
“Superior still provides the best overall combination of service, quality, performance and value to the commercial sheetfed market and, although this segment is flat to declining, we will continue to be a major supplier to North American commercial printers,” Mr. Czarnecki concluded.
19. Ink Systems, Inc.
2311 South Eastern Ave.
Commerce, CA 90040
Phone: (323) 720-4000
Fax: (323) 721-6000
www.inksystemsinc.com
Sales: $54 million.
Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed and UV inks.
Key Personnel: Urban S. Hirsch III, ex-president; Tim Van Scoy, VP of sales and marketing; Peter Notti, another VP; Masood Solaimani, VP UV/EB; Steve Simpson, president, Ink Systems East.
Number of Employees: 250.
Operating Facilities: Commerce, CA; Lincoln Park, NJ; technical service centers in Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Orange County, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Carlsbad, CA.
Comments: The publication and commercial printing segments have been impacted by the recession as well as the changes in the printing market. Ink Systems, Inc., which specializes in providing state-of-the-art in-plant operations, high-quality ink systems and proprietary software run by experienced personnel for the heatset, commercial sheetfed and UV markets, also has felt the impact of these changes, although the market has stabilized in the past year.
“It’s been tough, although our sales are up a bit,” said Urban S. Hirsch III, Ink Systems’ ex-president. “Our customers are still waiting for overcapacity in the market to be eliminated.”
In the past year, Ink Systems opened new technical service centers in Portland, OR and Carlsbad, CA.
The company also expanded its operations into the northeastern U.S., opening Ink Systems East, which is led by Steve Simpson. Mr. Hirsch said that the subsidiary, housed in a new 25,000 square foot manufacturing facility, is enjoying growth. “Ink Systems East is growing,” Mr. Hirsch said.
Providing excellent service is a hallmark of Ink Systems, with the company perhaps being best known for its stainless steel ink rooms. However, last year the company expanded its operations by opening a series of regional technical service centers to provide service to multiple customers.
“Our technical service centers operate as ink rooms for multiple printers,” Mr. Hirsch noted.
20. Color Resolutions
575 Quality Blvd.
Fairfield, OH 45014
Phone: (800) 346-7141; (513) 552-7200
Fax: (513) 552-7141
www.colorresolutions.com
Sales: $50 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Flexo, gravure, UV/EB inks, graphic arts coatings, metallic inks, screen Inks, security inks and specialty inks.
Key Personnel: George Sickinger, chairman, CEO and president; Rick Gray, VP finance/CFO; John Edelbrock, VP of operations; Paul Fulton, VP of strategic accounts; Joe Schlinkert, director of technology; Hixon Boyd, VP, field operations, U.S. Southern Region; Dave Barker, VP, field operations, Northern Region/West Coast; Jim Distler, VP, specialty products.
Number of employees: 117.
Operating Facilities: Manufacturing plant in Fairfield, OH, and 18 blending sites.
Comments: The global recession took its toll on the entire printing industry, and while the packaging side fared better relative to publication and commercial, packaging converters also felt the impact. For Color Resolution International (CRI), a specialist in water-based and UV-curable packaging inks, particularly the high-end corrugated business, 2010 was a continuation of the previous year.
“Sales and income were on par with 2009 and below 2008,” said George Sickinger, CRI’s president and CEO. “All in all, business was okay but certainly not our best year. It actually was a good time to look closely at our business and how best to insulate ourselves from the shifts in economic climate. Certainly, picking the right customers and markets is part of it.”
Mr. Sickinger noted that the economy did pick up in the second half of 2010.
“The economy and our business did improve in the last half of the year,” Mr. Sickinger said. “The customers who had been making investments in equipment to produce a higher level of graphics had a very good year in 2010. We have observed the ‘strong getting stronger.’”
Even with the economy at a standstill, Color Resolutions moved forward, with an eye toward improving its customer service through training as well as adding new people.
“We took a lot of time expanding the technical knowledge of our service people to match the growing demand for higher-level technical support,” Mr. Sickinger said. “We also took advantage of the poor job market and hired some bright young people to be groomed for positions in technical sales and service.”
Raw material cost and supply are major concerns throughout the ink industry. Mr. Sickinger said that the rise in global demand, especially in China, along with the cutback in production and consolidation among the supplier base that took place when the recession began has resulted in both a rise in prices and some shortages in many key ingredients.
“Acrylic resin prices went up several times last year and are continuing to rise this year,” Mr. Sickinger said. “Titanium has had several double-digit increases and more are expected. Pigments, especially violet 23, have increased as well.
“Material cost increases are our biggest challenge,” Mr. Sickinger added. “Once you have negotiated the best terms possible with your suppliers, the only way to cope with the situation is to raise ink prices. This must happen, but it is very challenging when most customers are just emerging from the recession along with their customers.”
Consolidation in the packaging industry is a fact of life, and Mr. Sickinger said it does provide opportunities for ink manufacturers who can show their value to customers, an area CRI is placing great emphasis on.
“I have seen consolidation accelerating across all packaging sectors,” Mr. Sickinger said. “This can be an opportunity or a problem depending on where you are sitting. If you are an incumbent, it can mean more volume at lower margins. It presents a challenge to ink makers to better define their value proposition and to be as efficient as possible. If you have a solid ‘brand’ in the market place, you will prevail.
“In the packaging arena, customers want and need more value added services such as color management, onsite technical services and inventory management,” Mr. Sickinger said. “They expect you to thoroughly understand their processes and their business. Ink formulations must be more ‘intuitive’ and allow for process variation. Just making and shipping ink on time will no longer get the job done. I am amazed at the variety of skill sets we have brought into our company over the last few years. The new mantra is ‘top quality at machine design speeds.’ It takes a broader knowledge of the whole process to achieve this on a regular basis.”
Not only did CRI add to its talent during the past year, the company also emphasized its efforts on health, safety and environmental issues.
“Our plant is now seven years old, and our business has changed over the years,” Mr. Sickinger said. “We have changed work centers to reflect our growth in new markets. We have hired a couple of former junior military officers for supervisory positions. Being largely in the food packaging sector, plant cleanliness is a very high priority, and our plant shows very well to customers and CPCs.
“As a member of NAPIM (National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers), we invited the manager of environmental affairs, George Fuchs, to our plant for a voluntary health, safety and environmental audit,” Mr. Sickinger added. “We value outside opinions of our operations; we think we’re doing all the right things, and this program sorts through the complicated regulations. Mr. Fuchs was able to view our practices that may fall under federal, state or OSHA regulations and provide an assessment on how we’re meeting them. Specifically, Mr. Fuchs noted our ‘highly automated manufacturing process that minimizes or eliminates both employee exposures and environmental impact’ and ‘state-of-the-art materials handling techniques which reduce the risk of employee injuries.’”
With all that Color Resolutions has put into place, Mr. Sickinger sees sales growth ahead for 2011.
“We expect 2011 to be a very good year for sales growth,” Mr. Sickinger concluded. “We are concerned about the rapid rise in material prices and the impact on margins, but this will somehow sort itself out as it always does. I believe our customers and our target prospects are beginning to view ink as a strategic material, and it is becoming easier to form true partnerships. I am excited about the future of our industry.”
CompanyNorth American Ink Sales (in millions)
1. Sun Chemical – $1,500*
2. Flint Group – $1,000*
3. INX International – $325
4. Siegwerk – $260
5. CR/T – $235*4
6. Hostmann-Steinberg – $155
7. DuPont InkJet – $150*
7. Wikoff Color – $150*
9. Sanchez SA de CV – $124
10. Toyo Ink America – $91
11. EFI, Inc. – $85*
12. Fujifilm Sericol – $75*
13. American Inks & Coatings – $68
14. Nazdar – $65*
14. Van Son – $65
16. Central Ink – $64
17. SICPA Securink – $60*
17. Superior Ink – $60
19. Ink Systems – $54
20. Color Resolutions – $50*
* Ink World estimate
 |
35 Waterview Blvd.
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Phone: (973) 404-6000
Fax: (973) 404-6001
www.sunchemical.com
Sales: Sun Chemical had annual sales of $3.5 billion in printing inks and colorants worldwide. North American Ink Sales: $1.5 billion (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Broad product portfolio with capabilities in web heatset and sheetfed offset; publication and packaging gravure; news ink and publication coldset; flexographic packaging inks; corrugated packaging inks; energy curable inks and coatings; screen inks, label and narrow web inks, toner, inkjet materials, adhesives for packaging, overprint varnishes, specialty coatings, effect inks, color software and brand color management, printed electronics, security inks and coatings, and organic colorants for inks, plastics, paints, coatings and cosmetics.
Key Personnel: Rudi Lenz, president and CEO, Sun Chemical and Board member
Key Leaders (in alphabetical order): Martin Cellerier, VP, corporate strategy; Eric Finkelman, VP, general counsel and secretary; Robert Fitzka, group managing director Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Russia, France and Benelux; John Gowlett, VP, global operations; Gregory Lawson, president, Sun Chemical Latin America; John McKeown, senior VP, chief administration officer; Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer and Board member; Charles Murray, president, Sun Chemical North America; Carlo Musso, group managing director Italy, Iberia, Turkey and the Middle East; Myron Petruch, president, Performance Pigments; Edward Pruitt, chief procurement officer; Russell Schwartz, chief technology officer.
Number of Employees: More than 9,500 worldwide.
Operating Facilities: Sun Chemical has more than 300 manufacturing and service locations worldwide and more than 200 customer in-plant locations in the U.S. alone.
Comments: For the ink industry, 2010 was a year marked by two key trends. On the sales side, for the most part, the printing industry had a slight comeback during 2010 compared to 2009 levels. However, higher raw material costs and supply issues created major challenges.
Charles Murray, president, North American Inks, Sun Chemical, said that the improvement in most printing markets was good news for the company. “It seemed like the economy enjoyed somewhat of a recovery last year,” Mr. Murray said. “Overall, Sun Chemical has recovered volume in all sectors compared to 2009. That being said, 2010 presented tremendous challenges for Sun Chemical and for our industry in general.”
In 2010, Sun Chemical named Mr. Murray president of North American Inks, a role which gives him responsibility over all of Sun Chemical’s North American ink business. Mr. Murray brings 27 years of industry experience and knowledge to the position, and most recently worked as the managing director and corporate vice president of Sun Chemical’s business in the UK, Ireland and Nordic markets since 2004. For at least five consecutive years, Mr. Murray has appeared as one of Print Week’s “Power 100,” a list of the most powerful people in print in the UK. He ranked #33 on the list in 2010.
“The commercial sheetfed market continues to struggle as companies show their reluctance to increase their spend on marketing collateral and other printing needs,” Mr. Murray noted. “The publication printing market, including newspapers, worldwide struggled considerably in 2010. In both of these cases, the effect of the general economic downturn has been exacerbated by a movement to online advertising and publishing and other electronic alternatives, as well as consolidation. The market shift in the publications market has been drastic and has not recovered to pre-recession levels, and we don’t expect that they will.”
On the other hand, Mr. Murray noted that the packaging side is enjoying growth.
“In the packaging market, we have seen some growth in 2010, although it was very moderate and tempered by the economic recession, and we expect to see similar moderate growth in 2011,” he noted. “The packaging market faces different challenges than other market segments, such as the drive towards low migration inks in Europe, and the push toward smaller package size, recyclability and other efforts to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment, but these challenges are great opportunities for growth at Sun Chemical. We’re working with brand owners and major packaging groups to provide them with solutions for their packaging needs of the future.
“In all cases and markets, our customers are relying on Sun Chemical to maintain an intense focus on value and cost,” Mr. Murray added. “We will continue to raise our focus on the customer by helping them grow their businesses and succeed. That means working for our customers everyday as a partner to further improve our performance on the essentials of our business such as quality, service and innovation in ways that drive productivity or enhance value.”
In particular, flexible packaging is proving to be a successful opportunity for Sun Chemical.
“Sun Chemical will continue to see growth in the flexible packaging segment, specifically value-added packaging, as the trend in the market continues to move towards functional and sensory packaging,” said Michelle Hearn, director of marketing, North American Inks. “Source reduction, a smaller number of packaging layers, along with a decrease in packaging size, continue to be ways consumer packaged goods companies are looking for support in their sustainability efforts. Additionally, biodegradable and recyclable flexible packaging materials are currently being favored by some retailers and brand owners. Sun Chemical anticipates further growth opportunities from these key areas as companies position themselves as being ‘green.’ Additional growth comes from the narrow web, tag, and label printing.”
Raw material costs and supply issues have become an increasing concern for ink manufacturers. Edward Pruitt, chief procurement officer for Sun Chemical, said that 2010 was an extraordinary year in terms of raw material challenges.
“Arguably, the chemical industry has not seen a year of similar supply shortages and tightness in over two decades,” Mr. Pruitt said. “Among the many products under varying degrees of pressure, we would highlight rosin resin, specialty pigments, energy cure resins, acrylic resins, titanium dioxide, nitrocellulose and some additive resins.”
Mr. Pruitt said that the factors driving these supply issues fall largely into three areas.
“First, we have seen our suppliers experience a large number of unexpected feedstock issues,” he explained. “An example would be the global shortage of acrylic acid for energy cure and acrylic resin producers. The second factor would be a surge in demand that occurred largely in the first and second quarter as businesses refilled their pipelines and addressed sharply higher demand from the developing regions. The third factor would be the general tautness in supply that resulted from the many cost and working capital actions taken by the chemical industry last year during the height of the recession.”
Sun Chemical is relying on its pipeline of new products and services to help its customers move forward in these difficult times.
“In today’s challenging economy, our customers need a partner who can help them find ways to reduce costs; a partner that understands the challenges they are facing and provides solutions,” said Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer. “This is what we are striving to accomplish at Sun Chemical, and 2010 is replete with examples of how Sun Chemical is partnering with customers. In today’s ‘green’ environment, our customers and the marketplace are looking for much more than the standard sustainability rhetoric. They want to know what their suppliers are doing to improve their sustainability performance and we responded with very specific metrics.”
In December 2009, Sun Chemical released its first sustainability report, which provides data-driven performance measurement for seven key sustainability metrics to help customers and consumers understand the company’s environmental impact. Sun Chemical issued a similar report in November 2010, the “Carbon Footprint Report 2010,” which outlines the results from nine independent environmental analyses focused on quantifying the carbon footprint of its product lines.
The analyses focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the product manufacturing and distribution phases, or the “gate-to-customer gate” lifecycle of Sun Chemical’s products. The analyses covered six of the Sun Chemical product lines, totaling nine products representing approximately 90 percent of the products it offers.
The company also recently released its 2010 Sustainability Report, updating its environmental performance.
“Through a defined road map, our sustainability policy pushes us as a company to improve the eco-efficiency of our processes and products,” said Michel Vanhems, sustainability leader, Sun Chemical. “This sustainability report not only provides our key sustainability metrics for 2010, it also gives numerous examples of Sun Chemical sites across the globe that reduced their environmental footprint or improved employee safety. These significant achievements motivate us to further strengthen our program while maintaining our customer-centric focus.”
At FESPA in Munich, Germany, Sun Chemical unveiled new global brand names to describe its screen inks for promotional, digital and industrial printing. The global brand names – SunPromo for indoor and display materials, SunCure for UV offset inks for display and commercial printing, Streamline for digital inkjet inks for display graphics, SunDisc for screen and offset inks for optical disks, SunCarte for screen and offset inks for plastic cards, SunHytek for screen inks for plastic components and in-mold decoration, SunVetro for screen inks for decorative and container glass, SunPoly for screen inks for plastic containers, and SunPad for pad printing inks – were developed to help sheetfed customers better recognize the Sun Chemical brand and easily identify the inks they need.
Additionally at FESPA, Sun Chemical introduced SunPromo Universal inks, a versatile multi-purpose UV curing screen ink system that can be successfully applied across a wide range of substrates, offering standardization to match offset print collateral. Since promotional campaigns often involve printing similar graphics on a range of different materials, SunPromo Universal screen inks are especially designed for printing indoor and short-term outdoor displays, offering a single ink system that enables brands to match the color and appearance between the different substrates.
Sun Chemical also launched SunHytek CXX inks at FESPA, a uniquely developed range of formable inks for 3D appliqués. The CXX ink series is the first to be specifically formulated for 3D automotive fascias. With consistent formability, the inks can withstand the necessary elongation.
At Labelexpo Americas 2010 in September, Sun Chemical announced its partnership with EskoArtwork was extended to further integrate access to the Sun Chemical SmartColour database in a workflow where EskoArtwork pre-production tools and GMG proofing solutions are combined. This collaboration among three industry leaders offers a deeper, more integrated end-to-end color workflow in the label and packaging industries. SmartColour, a database of real ink-on-substrate color results, including leading brand-owner color specifications, saves time and money by eliminating the need to fingerprint spot colors on production presses in order to obtain accurate color results on proof.
At Graph Expo 2010 in October, commercial printers learned how to decrease their overall ink spend by up to 46 percent by participating in the Sun Chemical Dispenser Program. Designed for commercial printers to manage what has typically resulted in an overabundance of spot color inventory and to reduce the possibility of having the wrong spot color, the Sun Chemical Dispenser Program can decrease a printer’s overall ink spend by up to 35 percent when blending the inks in-house and up to 46 percent if blended inks are purchased.
“At Sun Chemical, we recognized that many printers frequently end up with more spot color inks than they need that just sit on their shelves,” Mr. Mellado said. “So we offered an answer that not only allows printers to mix the exact amount of spot color they need, but saves them a significant amount of money and ensures the right spot color is mixed.”
Sun Chemical displayed its commitment to the food package printing market through the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Frankfurt, Germany in March.
The plant was built using clean room and HACCP directives to ensure that the best possible standards are adopted in manufacturing of Sun Chemical inks. Representing a significant investment, the new facility is dedicated to the highest level of cleanliness and utilizes the world’s most advanced technology to create high-quality sheetfed packaging inks.
Overall, Mr. Mellado said he expects that 2011 will be a challenging year for Sun Chemical and the ink industry as a whole.
“The cost of raw materials will be a major part of the challenge this industry will face,” Mr. Mellado said. “Although Sun Chemical has taken steps to better meet the needs of its customers and offset these costs, we cannot control the factors facing the raw material printing ink market supply chain.
“Sun Chemical wants to continue being known as the company that is truly a partner with its customers. To be able to achieve this, our customers have to know that we are here to help them with their problems,” Mr. Mellado added. “We’re optimistic that Sun Chemical’s investments in quality, service and innovation will help our customers succeed. In the current challenging market conditions, our solutions are designed to help customers operate more efficiently without sacrificing quality or service to their customers.”
 |
North American Administrative Offices
14909 North Beck Road
Plymouth, MI 48170-7194
Phone: (734) 781-4600
Fax: (734) 781-4699
www.flintgrp.com
Sales: €2.2 billion ($2.9 billion); North America Ink Sales:
$1 billion (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Coldset and heatset web offset, sheetfed offset, flexographic, gravure and UV/EB inks; coatings for publication, packaging and commercial applications. A wide range of inks and coatings for narrow web tag and label applications. Photopolymer plates and sleeve systems for flexographic applications; highly engineered printing blankets and sleeves for offset applications, pressroom chemicals and supplies. Dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market.
Key Personnel: Charles Knott, chairman and acting president, Packaging and Narrow Web; Antoine Fady, CEO and interim president, Print Media Europe; Michael J. Bissell, executive VP and CFO; William B. Miller, president, Print Media Americas; Brent Stephen, president, Asia Pacific; Claudio Labbe, president, Latin America; Dr. Thomas Telser, chairman, Packaging Segment; Mario Busshoff, president, Flexographic Products; Craig Foster, president, Flint Group Pigments; Jan Paul van der Velde, senior VP, procurement; Russell Taylor, senior VP global HR & communications.
Number of Employees: Approximately 7,300 worldwide.
Comments: The past few years have been challenging for the printing and ink industries. In general, the publication printing segment has been impacted by the global recession as well as the shift to newer technologies, while packaging has held steady. Meanwhile, the ink industry is coping with unprecedented raw material price increases as well as disruptions in supply.
All things considered, Flint Group was able to withstand the recession relatively well. “2010, like the recent years before it, was difficult for the printing industry,” said William B. Miller, president, Print Media Americas for Flint Group. “There were ups and downs as demand – and consumer confidence – ebbed and flowed. In the end, nearly all printers continued to feel the lingering effects of the recession. Naturally, graphic arts suppliers felt the impact as well. Still, Flint Group performed commendably under those circumstances.”
With an eye toward the future, Flint Group made key management moves as well as a major acquisition. In January 2011, Antoine Fady succeeded Charles Knott as CEO of Flint Group, with Mr. Knott becoming Flint Group’s chairman. Mr. Fady has more than 20 years of global specialty chemical experience, most recently serving as general manager, Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints-Europe, and prior to that, as CEO of ICI Packaging & Coatings.
“For Flint Group, the most notable leadership event was the appointment of Antoine Fady as CEO,” Mr. Miller said. “Antoine has already made great strides in getting to know our organization, products and people. His chemical and industrial background – including years with Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints and ICI Packaging & Coatings – gave him a running start at understanding the kind of business we’re in.”
The February 2010 acquisition of Torda Ink, a leading manufacturer of printing inks for the packaging markets in Northern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East with a substantial presence in Eastern Europe, has had a positive impact on Flint Group’s product range in packaging, and the company has added to its capabilities with innovative new products such as its Premo Film ETS ink, which offers enhanced flexographic printing performance at economical cost for printers of merchandise bags in North America.
“There were other exciting events as well, including the acquisition of Torda in Europe and product launches here in North America,” Mr. Miller noted. “Water flexo inks for the North American T-shirt bag market are one example, as well as eco-friendly sheetfed inks, as well as non-ink launches by our blankets, pressroom chemistry and Flexographic Products groups.”
For the ink industry, raw materials are perhaps the largest concern. The rapid increase in prices on most ingredients is one matter, especially considering the difficulty in passing along those higher costs to printers, many of whom are not in the position to take on much more additional costs.
However, the availability of certain key raw materials is a major issue for ink manufacturers. In some cases, suppliers are pulling their products out of the ink industry to focus on other industries, while consolidation is eliminating other suppliers. Flint Group has been working closely with its customers and suppliers alike to try to lessen the impact of these changes.
“The raw materials used to make ink continue to face an uphill battle in terms of cost and availability,” said Diane Parisi, vice president, supply chain management for Flint Group. “Capacity constraints, government policies around the world, environmental concerns, currency fluctuations and decreased production of feedstocks are some of the many reasons.”
As just one example, Ms. Parisi pointed to gum rosin, and its impact on the ink industry.
“One of the major concerns continues to be gum rosin,” Ms. Parisi noted. “Though in North America we typically use tall oil rosin to make our inks, we still strongly feel the affects of gum rosin. Let me explain:
“Capacity of crude tall oil – a by-product of paper production – is down because of the decline in paper demand. Remaining capacity is divided among competing industries, especially bio fuel, as well as industries that traditionally relied upon gum rosin, such as adhesives and road markings. Even overseas ink manufacturing plants that typically used gum rosin-based resins are now using tall oil-based resins,” Ms. Parisi noted.
“Why the mass exodus from gum to tall oil?” Ms. Parisi added. “There are many reasons: China limited gum rosin capacity significantly; crop yields were lower than usual; already-decreased supplies were stretched to the limit when demand increased in industries from rubber to adhesives and even ink; gum rosin has been used as a substitute for other crude-based commodities in short supply.
“We do not foresee any near-term relief of the gum rosin situation and tall oil will continue to be directly affected. The outcome for tall oil rosin, gum rosin and hydrocarbon resins is the same: extremely tight supply and greatly increasing costs through 2011.”
The current situation in the Middle East is a more recent concern, as the global oil supply is being impacted. Crude oil is a major component of feedstocks that are essential to ink.
"Oil is a significant concern,” said Jan Paul van der Velde, Flint Group’s senior vice president, procurement. “Costs of crude oil started to increase in Q4 2010, even before developments in the Middle East accelerated to current levels. For the time being, WTI costs are increasing less than the rest, but Brent crude and many others have shown significant cost increases, which will start to impact the cost of raw materials in the next few months."
Acquisitions will also play a major role in graphic arts.
“Acquisitions will continue to be a major strategy all along the graphic arts supply chain, especially as major players understand that demand will not return to historic levels,” said Doug Labertew, vice president of product management and strategy for Print Media North America. “The acquisition of Worldcolor by QuadGraphics is perhaps the most notable example among printers. “ Suppliers are also actively involved in M&A efforts.
“On the supplier side, mergers also continue to occur,” Mr. Labertew added. “For example, Aditya Birla Group just announced its agreement to purchase Atlanta’s Columbian Chemicals Company, making ABG the largest global producer of carbon black. The risk to the graphic arts industry with any supplier merger is that, with less competition and more global leverage, companies will increase the price of key raw material for inks.
“I’m confident that consolidation will continue among printers, ink suppliers and raw material manufacturers for years to come,” Mr. Labertew concluded.
Meanwhile, Flint Group is prepared to move forward in all of its business areas, by developing innovative products and providing services to help its customers succeed in the packaging and publication segments.
“We are excited about the packaging and label market in 2011 in terms of growing our share of the business in the industry,” said Susan Kuchta, vice president of the North American packaging group. “We have new products and improved products that are providing converters with some throughput advantage. Similar to us, customers will be motivated by optimism for growth, yet still cautious about increasing their cost of doing business. Flexible packaging will continue to lead the packaging market in growth as consumer goods continue the ongoing, long-term shift to this technology.”
“Our sales and service teams continue to deliver on our strategies, bringing value to customers’ pressrooms each day,” said Mike Neroni, vice president sales & service, Print Media North America. “We are well aware of the ongoing challenges of the economy, electronic media and other market elements, but we have everything in place to continue to help our customers stay competitive.”
“There are opportunities in each market,” Mr. Miller concluded. “For example, the news industry – hard hit by electronic media – continues to find new opportunities with UV news inks. Environmentally friendly inks are important for almost all technologies, especially sheetfed. Energy curable inks continue to offer differentiation, and we’re a strong player in that segment. If we continue to focus on creating quality products that customers need – supported by unfailing service and support – we will continue to succeed.”
 |
150 N. Martingale Suite 700
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone: (630) 382-1800
Fax: (847) 969-9758
www.inxinternational.com
Sales: $325 million.
Major Products: A full line of ink and coatings solutions technology for packaging, commercial and digital print applications, including metal decorating, flexographic, gravure, web offset, lamination, corrugated, sheetfed, digital and UV/EB inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Kotaro Morita, chairman; Rick Clendenning, president and CEO; Bryce Kristo, CFO, senior VP general affairs; Yuichi Kataura, CTO, senior VP product development; George Polasik, COO, senior VP operations; John Hrdlick, SVP field operations and COO liquid/metal; Rick Westrom, senior VP, strategic global sourcing; Bob Osmundsen, senior VP general counsel; Joseph Cichon, VP, manufacturing technology; Dave Waller, VP, director national accounts/rigid packaging; Jonathan Ellaby, VP, international division; Janet Beasley, VP, quality systems; Dave Maternowski, VP quality systems; Ken Kisner, president, INX Digital International.
Number of Employees: Approximately 1,150.
Operating Facilities: Approximately 26 locations and 175 in-plants throughout North America. Subsidiaries: INX International U.K., Rochdale, England; INX International France, Bretigny, France. Sister company: INX Digital, San Leandro, CA; INX Digital Milan; INX Digital Prague; Parent company: Sakata INX, Osaka, Japan.
Comments: Coming into 2010, ink industry leaders were understandably worried about the economy as well as raw materials. While the economy did show improvement during 2010, raw material supply and cost concerns remain a serious issue.
Rick Clendenning, INX International Ink Company’s president and CEO, said that INX International did have a better year in terms of sales in 2010, although raw materials are a concern.
“After a difficult year in 2009, 2010 started out about the same,” Mr. Clendenning said. “It wasn’t until the second quarter before things began to show signs of improvement. The last half of 2010 was much better and overall INX had a good year. One of the biggest issues was obviously the situation with raw materials supply, availability and escalating costs. Sales growth with existing accounts improved, giving us more indication that things are getting better as economic conditions continue to improve.”
In 2005, INX International and its parent company, Sakata INX, made the decision to emphasize the digital ink business by forming Triangle Digital INX with Triangle Digital, LLC. It has proved to be an excellent move.
Five years later, having added a few more pieces to the inkjet side, INX Digital International has become an industry leader in the digital segment, and is making major inroads into traditional printing markets.
“We have made huge inroads in the last 18 months since introducing the new line of EVOLVE Advanced Digital Systems,” Mr. Clendenning said. “In 2011, we have created a new business unit for our Prodigy brand that for the short-term focuses on the graphic arts industry, and will expand its horizons in the long-term.
“The progress we have made since we introduced EVOLVE Advanced Digital Solutions 18 months ago is beyond our expectations,” Mr. Clendenning added. “The market reaction continues to remain very high for the CP100 UV digital cylindrical printer, which is one of our specialty printers. It does open new doors with its capability to print on round cylindrical substrates such as cans for food and beverage, water bottles and other cylindrical containers.
“The MD series of UV flatbed printers also attracts a lot of attention since it prints at 1200 dpi on aluminum or steel substrates,” Mr. Clendenning added. “And we are very bullish on our label market prospects with the NW100 narrow web press. It attracted quite a crowd last September at Labelexpo and many people were impressed with its high speed, high quality and short run capability.”
Raw materials are keeping ink manufacturers busy, as pricing goes up considerably and key ingredients become scarcer.
“Raw materials costs began increasing in 2009 and mushroomed last year, causing a serious negative impact on printing ink production,” Mr. Clendenning said. “This was a direct result of the economic downturn to the point where raw material suppliers have not been able to adequately supply and service the market. As other companies did, we were forced to pass along these costs and raise prices between 4 to 8% last September. Raw material costs and supply issues must be carefully monitored and managed if we are going to be successful in meeting our goals for 2011. We are hopeful that the situation will improve in the second half of this year.”
Consolidation is a fact of life throughout the printing and ink supply chains, and Mr. Clendenning said that there will likely be more consolidation.
“It affects our business several ways, including the raw material supply situation,” Mr. Clendenning added. “The consolidations will be in every area – within our customer base, our supply base and from within our own industry. As our customers consolidate, it puts more pressure on all of us as their size increases and so does their buying power. Having the digital side of our business supplying more new products to help traditional printers create additional revenue streams for their business is helping us.”
All in all, Mr. Clendenning anticipates further improvement in sales in 2011, although raw materials bear watching.
“We expect to have a strong year in 2011, as we expect the momentum we experienced in the second half of 2010 to continue,” Mr. Clendenning concluded. “We are focused on new technologies in both the traditional and digital worlds. My only concern involves the raw material area.”
 |
3535 SW 56th St.
Des Moines, IA 53021
Phone: (515) 471-2100 or
(800) 728-8200
Fax: (515) 471-2202
www.siegwerk.com
Total North American Sales: $260 million.
Major Products: Solvent-based, water-based, energy curable and specialty liquid inks and coatings and related point-of-use services for the flexible packaging, label, sheetfed, tobacco, liquid food packaging and paper and board industries using flexo, rotogravure and offset printing.
Key Personnel: Jim Ross, president U.S. & Canada; Paul Schroeder, president narrow web; Javier Treviño, country manager – Mexico; Luis Orozco, country manager – Central America; Bob Davison, VP wide web sales & service – U.S. & Canada; Terry Davis, VP wide web sales & service – U.S.; Dave Cox, VP narrow web sales & service – U.S. & Canada; Dr. Lothar Schäffeler, VP of technology – U.S. & Canada; Jyoti Gidvani, raw material purchasing manager; Jim Stoelk, director of IT, EHS & quality; Stefan Schibrowski, director of supply chain.
Number of Employees: 820 (U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America).
Operating Facilities: Des Moines, IA – NAFTA headquarters and two manufacturing locations; Spartanburg, SC; Neenah, WI; Drums, PA; New Hope, MN; Vacaville, CA; Morganton, NC; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Ontario, CA; Prescott, Ontario, Canada; Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Toluca, Mexico; Guadalajara, Mexico; Queretaro, Mexico; Guatemala City, Guatemala; San Salvador, El Salvador.
Comments: In terms of printing, the packaging market has fared relatively well during the global recession, and consolidation is playing a major role on the ink side of the business. In a major move, Siegwerk acquired Environmental Inks & Coatings (EIC), one of the largest ink suppliers to the narrow web label market in the U.S. and Canada, on Nov. 30. A family-owned company, EIC is noted for its emphasis on water-based inks, which meshes nicely within Siegwerk.
“Siegwerk’s greatest highlight of 2010 was the acquisition of Environmental inks & Coatings, headquartered out of Morganton, NC,” said Jim Ross, president of Siegwerk U.S. and Canada. “This acquisition was a great fit for both companies. It reinforced Siegwerk’s sustainability movement and broadened its product portfolio while also giving Siegwerk a greater footprint into the narrow web market in the U.S. and Canada. Environmental Inks gained better positioning with a global network of knowledge and infrastructure to further grow its already strong presence in the narrow web market.
“Moving forward, Siegwerk’s narrow web business unit will be doing business as ‘Environmental Inks - a member of the Siegwerk group,’” Mr. Ross added. “Siegwerk’s wide web business remains under the Siegwerk brand.”
The addition of Environmental Inks will be a big help as Siegwerk looks to strengthen its narrow web business unit will be doing business as ‘Environmental Inks - a member of the Siegwerk group,’” Mr. Ross added. “Siegwerk’s wide web business remains under the Siegwerk brand.”
The addition of Environmental Inks will be a big help as Siegwerk looks to strengthen its narrow web position, while the company also is looking to add to its wide web efforts.
“Siegwerk NAFTA has two growth areas that it would like to strengthen throughout its company,” Mr. Ross noted. “While continuing to support and exceed the expectations of our larger customer base, Siegwerk’s wide web business unit is also working to grow its mid- to small-sized customers beginning in the Midwest region. Also, Siegwerk is working to grow its narrow web business unit specifically through the Environmental inks & Coatings acquisition. With integration process in full force, Environmental Inks - a member of the Siegwerk group is looking to position itself as a narrow web market leader.”
As for 2010, Mr. Ross noted it was a challenging year for the ink industry, with procurement of raw materials being at the forefront.
“The printing industry remained fairly conservative throughout 2010,” Mr. Ross said. “While 2010 started off much stronger than the previous two years’ performance, 2010 ended slower than anticipated. Siegwerk, both globally and regionally, maintained its focus on the customer while looking internally to continue on process improvement efforts and cost reduction measures.
“Siegwerk’s main focus remains to provide a quality product to its customers,” Mr. Ross added. “Raw material costs and supply issues have made this process much more difficult. With supplier consolidation and regulatory restrictions, ink manufacturers are finding it difficult to procure the raw materials needed at a reasonable price. Siegwerk NAFTA continues to leverage its global network to negotiate raw material purchases and secure product.”
Consolidation remains a major issue for the ink industry.
“Suppliers and customers continue to merge, thus taking raw material supply options and market share out of the industry through consolidations,” Mr. Ross said. “Siegwerk actively looks for new and emerging regional and product markets in order to remain a total solution provider to its customers.”
Mr. Ross said he expects raw materials to remain a concern going forward, and added that there is much enthusiasm as Siegwerk blends in the Environmental Inks personnel.
“Siegwerk NAFTA expects raw material price increases and raw material procurement to be even more of a factor for the ink industry in 2011,” Mr. Ross concluded. “Also in 2011, Siegwerk NAFTA looks forward to integrating the Environmental Inks team into the Siegwerk family.”
 |
Division of Quad Graphics
1951 Constitution Ave.
Hartford, WI 53027
Phone: (262) 673-1400
Fax: (262) 673-1459
www.qg.com; www.crtink.com
Sales: $235 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Offset, gravure inks and inkjet inks.
Key Personnel: Jim Mercier, executive director of CRT; Sunil Rao, technical director, CR/T; Chuck Buckett, offset operations manager – Hartford, WI; Randy Maas, gravure operations manager – Lomira, WI; Tim Foster, gravure operations manager – Greenfield, IA; Fred Twigg, gravure operations manager – Martinsburg, WV.
Number of Employees: Approximately 100.
Operating Facilities: Lomira, WI; Oklahoma City, OK; Martinsburg, WV; Greenfield, IA; Hartford, WI; Wyszków, Poland.
Comments: In July 2010, Quad/Graphics changed the face of the North American printing industry with its acquisition of Worldcolor. As a result, Quad/Graphics is now a $4.8 billion global provider of print and related multichannel solutions for consumer magazines, special interest publications, catalogs, retail inserts and circulars, direct mail products, books and directories.
Quad/Graphics is highly regarded for its high-quality offset and gravure printing. In order to supply its ink needs, Quad/Graphics formed its Chemical Research/Technology (CR\\T) division in 1982. CR\\T produces hundreds of millions of pounds of ink annually in North America, and the company branched out into Europe in 2010, opening its first European ink plant in Wyszków, Poland.
6. Hostmann-Steinberg Hostmann-Steinberg Limited
.jpg) |
12 Shaftsbury Lane
Brampton, Ontario
Canada L6T 3X7
Phone: (905) 793-9970
Fax: (905) 793-5368
Hostmann-Steinberg, Inc. USA
2850 Festival Dr.
Kankakee, IL 60901
Phone: (815) 929-9293
Fax: (815) 929-0412
www.hostmann-steinberg.net
Sales: $155 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV and EB, forms and flexo Inks; aqueous and UV coatings.
Key Personnel: Michael Geiger, group managing director America, Canada; Vivy DaCosta, VP, Canada; Mark Wilson, sales director, Canada; Dr. Thomas Griebel, technical director, Canada; Debu Sengupta, CTO, USA; Steve Martin, director of sales/marketing, USA.
Number of Employees: 300.
Operational Facilities: Main plants in Kankakee, IL and Toronto, Canada, and 16 branch facilities coast to coast.
Comments: Hostmann-Steinberg is the North American subsidiary of hubergroup, headquartered in Kirchheim Heimstetten, Germany, which amassed nearly $1 billion in sales in 2010. The company offers a full range of inks and coatings for publication, commercial and packaging printing, and puts a strong emphasis on R&D.
Hostmann-Steinberg’s !NKREDIBLE series of inks has been a strong addition to the company’s ink offerings. Its !NKREDIBLE sheetfed inks has been successful in the marketplace. Meanwhile, REVOLUTION, Hostmann-Steinberg’s heatset ink series based on !NKREDIBLE technology, and !NKREDIBLE GOOD NEWS, its coldset ink system, have also gained acceptance in the market.
 |
Barley Mill Plaza, P30/2367
P.O. Box 80030
Wilmington, DE 19880-0030
Phone: (877) 234-1794;
(302) 992-4264
Fax: (302) 892-5609
www.inkjet.dupont.com;www.inkjet.dupont.com
Sales: $150 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Digital inks and digital printing systems; conductive inks and pastes for printed electronics.
Key Personnel: Frank Dotterer, global business manager – Digital Printing Systems; Walt Cheng, global business director – DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Marco Torri, global sales manager for DuPont Digital Printing; Craig Oliver – European business manager, DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Peter Brenner, global marketing manager, photovoltaics - DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Scott Gordon, Americas marketing manager – Printed Electronics Segment – DuPont Microcircuit Materials; Robert Schmidt, new business development manager, photovoltaics - DuPont Circuit & Packaging Materials.
Number of Employees: More than 300 worldwide.
Key Locations: Worldwide operations; in the U.S., R&D facilities in Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA; manufacturing plants in Iowa, New York and Pennsylvania. Customer service and warehousing in Asia, Europe and North America.
Comments: DuPont has developed leading positions in inkjet printing as well as the rapidly growing field of printed electronics. On the inkjet side, DuPont Digital Printing is the leader in ink manufacturing worldwide for desktop printers, supplying many of the leading home printer OEMs. The company also supplies inkjet inks and systems for textile printing with its DuPont Artistri product portfolio.
DuPont is also active in the growing field of conductive inks and metallization pastes for photovoltaics, organic LEDs (OLEDs) semiconductors and printed electronics. DuPont Microcircuit Materials (MCM) ink technologies are suitable for screen print, flexo, gravure, photo-imaging, pad printing, and other processing techniques. Printed electronic materials include biomedical sensor materials, flexible display materials, LuxPrint electroluminescent materials, membrane touch switch materials, materials for printed batteries, printable materials for printed wiring boards, RFID antennae materials, Solamet photovoltaic metallizations, touch sensor materials and other printed electronic applications. In December, DuPont Microcircuit Materials showcased its portfolio of screen printable silver conductive inks formulated for use in printed electronics, to meet the need for low-cost processing in the high-growth and emerging markets for touch screens and OLEDs.
 |
1886 Merritt Road
Fort Mill, SC 29715
Phone: (803) 548-2210
Fax: (803) 548-5728
www.wikoff.com
Sales: $150 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.
Key Personnel: Phil Lambert, chairman; Geoff Peters, president and CEO; Daryl Collins, VP of national sales and regional operations; Martin Hambrock, VP of Canadian operations; Don Duncan, director of R&D; Ben Price, director of purchasing; Art Dennis, director of manufacturing; Buck Rorie, VP of finance and administration.
Number of Employees: 490.
Operating Facilities: 29 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada. Headquarters and primary research and development facilities are located in Fort Mill, SC.
Comments: Wikoff Color was able to weather the economic challenges of 2010, and is poised for growth in 2011.
“For Wikoff Color, 2010 had its challenges, but given the economic climate, we were not too disappointed with the results,” said Geoff Peters, president and CEO. “While sales were off slightly, margins were not overly impacted as the company continued to aggressively streamline its operations and reduce controllable expenses in an attempt to offset increases in raw material costs.
“While Wikoff felt signs of the economy improving, and many of our customers, especially in food packaging, reported healthy results, there were still challenges,” Mr. Peters added. “Commercial printing, especially anything advertising-related, continued to lag the rest of the printing industry in its return to past production levels.”
Wikoff Color has seen opportunities emerge in UV and EB curing, label and narrow web, flexible packaging and inkjet, and Mr. Peters expects the company will continue to expand in those markets.
“We expect the major growth areas for Wikoff Color to continue to be energy curable inks, narrow web label and flexible packaging,” Mr. Peters said. “Additionally, we have been expanding our inkjet business and expect that trend to continue.”
To become more efficient, Wikoff deployed a new enterprise resource planning application (ERP) designed to improve information flow, connectivity and efficiency across all of its facilities.
“In 2010, the company implemented the corporate financial applications and rolled the manufacturing applications out to the Fort Mill plant (our largest manufacturing facility) and to four of our branch plants,” Mr. Peters said. “We plan to complete the implementation across the remaining 24 branch plant locations in 2011.”
Flooding heavily damaged Wikoff Color’s Nashville, TN facility in 2010, but the company was able to overcome the loss without impacting customers.
We had a tough challenge when our Nashville branch plant was ruined during the record floods of 2010,” Mr. Peters said. “Despite the challenge, the company missed only one customer order as other Wikoff plants stepped up in true Wikoff fashion to meet the needs of our printing customers. The facility has been rebuilt and is fully operational again.“
Wikoff continued to invest in capital improvements to drive efficiency gains in its major manufacturing facilities. Additionally, Joe Kubasiak, former branch manager of the Grand Rapids plant, was transferred to Fort Mill, SC as plant manager.
Wikoff is also expanding its international operations, as it was approved by the Chinese government for full manufacturing in its Beijing, China operation.
As for raw materials, Mr. Peters noted that 2010 began with relative stability in raw material prices, but starting around March, raw material price increase pressure became widespread, and shortages of some key ingredients became a serious issue.
“While price increases were a problem, we were also concerned about shortages of raw materials,” he said. “Lead times on key pigments, like TiO2 and carbazole violet, stretched to two months, and most suppliers had supply restrictions in place. The rosin resin market also had supply pressures, impacted by drastically increased gum rosin prices.
“As for the coming year, nitrocellulose supply is expected to be tight throughout 2011 and energy cure raw materials continue to face upward pricing pressure,” Mr. Peters added. “Wikoff worked with our suppliers throughout the year to maintain ready sources of supply and keep price increases in check as much as possible. In summary, raw material pricing and supply were significant problems for the ink industry in 2010 and are expected to remain problems in 2011.”
Consolidation is a fact of life throughout the supply chain, particularly as key vendors are merged together.
“Wikoff continued to see consolidation among both our customers and suppliers,” Mr. Peters said. “While customer consolidation has not had an impact on our business, supplier consolidation had a more significant effect. There have been a few notable supplier consolidations over the past two years, like the BASF acquisition of Ciba, the IGM acquisition of the Cognis UV acrylates business and the Momentive merger with Hexion (and subsequent sale of the Ink and Adhesives Resins business to Harima). These acquisitions didn’t come without challenges, especially maintaining effective levels of customer service to the ink industry during the process.”
Mr. Peters said that Wikoff expects to see continued economic improvement in 2011, which should help printing volumes continue to grow, and anticipates further expansion in terms of geography and product portfolio.
“We expect to expand our geographic footprint in 2011 and add to our current product base,” Mr. Peters said. “We expect to expand our line of products, adding many inks and coatings that offer environmentally friendly options and performance improvements. We also believe that the cost adjustments and manufacturing efficiency programs that we have implemented will continue to pay strong dividends this year. The risk for our business will continue to be with material costs and our ability to manage those costs in conjunction with customer pricing.”
 |
Oriente 171 # 367
México City, Mexico
Phone: +52 55 5118 1000
Web: www.sanchez.com.mx
E-mail: er.sanchez@sanchez.com.mx
Sales: $124.5 million (inks); $166.6 million overall.
Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks and overprint varnishes; offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.
Key Personnel: Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director; Jose Sanchez, commercial director (paste inks); Miguel Talamantes, commercial director (liquid inks); Jesus McKelligan, operations director; Salvador Duran, technical manager (paste inks); Agustin Lozano, technical manager (liquid inks).
Number of Employees: 1,150.
Comments: Mexico has rebounded from the global recession and enjoyed solid growth in 2010, which bodes well for Sanchez SA de CV, the leading ink manufacturer in Mexico.
“The economy in Mexico seemed to enter into a recovery pace during 2010, not at the expected pace but a recovery at last,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director of Sanchez SA de CV. “The official GDP growth for 2010 has not been published but it should be around 5 %. Our growth in Sanchez was 3.7% measured in kilos, so we were able to surpass not only our 2009 sales, but also those of 2008, reaching the 39,300 ton mark.”
Mr. Sanchez said that growth occurred across the board in offset inks.
“The market did have a positive reaction, and we had good results in areas like sheetfed offset, heatset and news, markets where we had serious concerns at the beginning of the year,” he noted.
Raw materials are a major concern, with unprecedented raw material price increases putting pressure on all ink manufacturers.
“Our main concern is the shortage of raw materials and increase in its prices. Some of our key raw materials have experienced price increases like we haven’t seen before. This of course has taken us into the process of increasing our prices as well,” Mr. Sanchez said.
Sanchez SA de CV has been making major inroads in Central America. In 2009, the company opened a subsidiary, Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA, in Guatemala City. In 2010, Sanchez SA de CV opened a new subsidiary in Costa Rica.
“Internationally, we opened our subsidiary in Costa Rica, so along with Sanchez Centroamerica in El Salvador and Sanchez Guatemala, we expect to increase our leadership in the area,” Mr. Sanchez said.
 |
610 Fifth Ave., Suite 305
New York, NY 10020
Phone: (212) 554-2310
Fax: (212) 554-2319
Toyo Ink America, LLC
710 Belden Ave.
Addison, IL 60101
Phone: (630) 930-5100
Fax: (630) 628-1759
www.toyoink.com
Sales: $91 million
Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks; UV and EB inks; conventional and UV waterless offset; solvent- and water-based gravure inks; solvent- and water-based flexo inks; digital inks; toner; inkjet inks; pressure sensitive adhesives and special function coatings; and plastic colorants.
Key Personnel: Toyo Ink International: Mamoru Sasajima, president; John Higgins, CFO. Toyo Ink America: John Copeland, division president, printing ink division; Hideki Ohba, VP, planning and administration; Mike Keegan, VP, sales; Jim Newkirk, GM, liquid ink sector. Toyo Ink Mfg. America: Yasuo Koga, president; Koji Ueno, GM. LioChem: Kazuhito Nakano, president; Hudson Moody, GM, colorants division; Terry Hall, GM, gravure division
Comments: Toyo Ink America enjoyed a strong year in 2010, as the printing ink market stabilized and the company added new capabilities in the packaging market with the acquisition of Fluid Ink Technology.
“For Toyo Ink, 2010 was a better year than anticipated,” said John Copeland, division president, printing ink division for Toyo Ink America. “The ink market was steady for the most part. Ink sales were up over 2009, in particular for UV inks for plastic and paper substrates. In North America, demand for gravure inks for construction materials started to recover and sales of flexographic inks expanded.
“We saw some improvement last year in line with a slow rebound in the economy,” Mr. Copeland added. “There was a significant improvement from 2009 to 2010 in the consistency of ink orders. There was also strong interest for Toyo products that offer outstanding performance or unique features to differentiate printers or converters in the marketplace, such as special effect and high-sheen metallic inks.”
An important move was the acquisition of Fluid Ink Technology, a Moorland, CA-based manufacturer of flexographic, gravure and UV ink products for the flexible packaging, paper packaging and label printing markets.
“The coupling of Fluid Ink’s technology, service and sales expertise with Toyo’s existing packaging capabilities enables us to deliver a comprehensive lineup of unique solutions and customized products to our customers,” Mr. Copeland said. “The two divisions, paste and liquid inks, were also officially merged in November. The realignment enables better consolidation of our product offerings, while promoting a more coordinated market approach.”
Raw material costs and supply issues are a major concern for ink manufacturers, with practically every ingredient impacted. Mr. Copeland noted that there is a serious concern over the supply of certain pigments, and added that communication with suppliers is critical.
“Availability issues for certain pigments used in our UV inks and oligomers persist,” Mr. Copeland said. “As a result, we must plan our raw materials purchases well in advance. Constant communication with vendors is necessary to secure supply of key raw materials. We find it difficult to pass on prices to the customer as we are well aware of the tremendous challenges they face.”
In addition to its strength in sheetfed and packaging, UV, metallic and special effect inks have proved to be good markets for Toyo Ink America.
“We’ve had good success with UV inks for plastic and paper stocks, and we expect this trend to continue in 2011,” Mr. Çopeland said. “Demand for special effect and metallic inks and the specialty printing techniques required by printers remained strong. We’ve also expanded our foothold in growth areas such as packaging inks for folding carton and specialty products, such as metallic and special effect inks for paper, plastic or synthetic substrates, plastic boxes and containers.”
Mr. Copeland believes that Toyo Ink America is well positioned for growth in 2011 and beyond.
“Our outlook for 2011 is positive,” Mr. Copeland said. “We have positioned ourselves to better support our customers’ needs with a broader and more comprehensive lineup of products and services, which in turn enhances our ability to capture a bigger share of the North America packaging and commercial printing market. Toyo Ink America is gearing up to grow as we take advantage of synergies due to sales, service delivery and manufacturing efficiencies while continuously turning out high tech, high-value-added products and services.
“Through acquisitions and structural reforms, we’ve been able to improve efficiency and invest in equipment and other resources necessary to build a solid platform for future growth,” Mr. Copeland concluded. “Toyo Ink America has come out of 2010 a much stronger company.”
 |
303 Velocity Way
Foster City, CA 94404
Phone: (650) 357-3500
Fax: (650) 357-3907
www.efi.com
Sales: ~$504M for EFI at the corporate level; $207M for the inkjet divisions; Ink World estimates $85 million in ink and consumables.
Major Products: Through its VUTEk, Jetrion and Rastek product lines, EFI is the market leader in inkjet inks and printing systems for the superwide, (e.g., billboards, signage, POP, etc.), wide format UV, label, packaging, direct mail and commercial printing markets. EFI offers a wide range of ink products for the superwide format and industrial inkjet markets, including UV-based, solvent, and eco/bio-solvent inks.
Key Personnel: Guy Gecht, CEO; Fred Rosenzweig, president; Vincent Pilette, CFO; Ken Stack, SVP/GM Jetrion Industrial Inkjet Systems; Scott Schinlever, Sr. VP/GM EFI, VUTEk, Rastek.
Number of Employees: Approximately 1,900.
Operating Facilities: 23 worldwide offices.
Comments: The digital printing market has recovered nicely from the global recession, and EFI enjoyed good growth, with the company’s overall inkjet sales increasing from $159 million in 2009 to more than $207 million in 2010.
EFI remains well positioned to grow further due to its wide range of industry-leading brands, and its ink division will grow right with it.
“After a slow start, we had consistent growth, ending up the year 2010 over 14 percent ahead of 2009,” said Stephen J. Emery, director, ink sales and marketing for EFI VUTEk. “We clearly realized consistent improvement, with September being a clear turning point and a record month for the EFI ink business. Europe continues to have a sluggish recovery, but we saw notable improvements in Q4.”
One of the keys to EFI’s success is its rapid innovation. The EFI VUTEk GS5000r 5-meter roll-to-roll UV printer is enjoying success. The EFI VUTEk GS3200 3.2 meter wide flatbed and roll-to-roll UV printer and the EFI VUTEk GS2000 2-meter wide, roll-to-roll and flatbed printer are also gaining strength in the market.
“Our GS and GSr high speed digital UV inkjet printers and inks were very well received in the marketplace,” Mr. Emery said.
Jetrion has also been active, developing its EFI Jetrion 4830 LED UV Inkjet system and flexible ink set and EFI Jetrion 4830 UV Inkjet system.
Higher raw material costs are a serious issue throughout the ink industry, and digital ink manufacturers are also feeling the impact.
“Increased raw material costs are a major concern,” Mr. Emery said. “The biggest concern is where there are limited vendors offering a component. We continue to work with our vendor/partners to find ways to keep costs under control and have components qualified from multiple vendors.”
Mr. Emery said that EFI anticipates further growth in numerous markets in 2011, most notably in UV.
“UV and new UV curing technologies will continue to grow,” he said. “Textile will also continue to grow.
“EFI is unique in that we offer end to end solutions for the print industry,” Mr. Emery concluded. “We help our customers increase profits and expand applications, whether it is with our software-printers-inks. We expect strong growth in the next few years.”
 |
Systems Division - Sericol Unit
1101 W. Cambridge Circle Drive
Kansas City, KS 66103
Phone: (913) 342-4060
Fax: (913) 342-4752
www.fujifilmsericol.com
U.S. Sales: $75 million (Ink World estimate)
Major Products: UV screen, UV flexo, UV digital (piezo inkjet), solvent-based digital and solvent-based screen inks; screen pre-press; Inca Digital Printers and Fujifilm Digital Printers.
Key Personnel: Mitch Bode, general manager; Chris Lomas, VP of sales; Steve Pocock, technical director; Terry Mitchell, director of marketing.
Number of Employees: 165.
Operating Facilities: Seven.
Comments: In April 2010, Fujifilm Sericol became part of the Graphics Systems Division of Fujifilm North America Corporation. The integration combines the screen, wide format inkjet and flexographic business of Sericol along with the strong market position of Fujifilm Graphics in the commercial offset business.
“The integration brings even more products and services to print providers,” said Mitch Bode, general manager of the Sericol Unit business in the U.S. and Mexico. “Fujifilm now provides products and services for offset, screen and digital inkjet printing. The combined organization reduces our cost and improves our service to customers. This will enable us to expand our customer base and grow our business.”
The Sericol Unit of Fujifilm Graphics Systems Division experienced revenue growth in 2010 as the improving economy led to higher ink demand in the point-of-purchase and graphic display markets.
“We saw most of our markets return to levels of business we had prior to the economic downturn,” commented Mr. Bode. “Our traditional screen business has been steady throughout 2010 and our wide format inkjet business has seen significant growth for both equipment and ink.”
Wide format digital inkjet printing remains a key growth area for the company. Print buyer demands for shorter print runs, multiple versions, and faster turnaround times are driving growth, and UV equipment and inks are leading the growth due to the speed, quality and environmental benefits of UV curable inkjet compared to solvent inkjet.
“We are keenly focused on bringing new and innovative UV digital solutions to the market and expect continued growth of this business in the years ahead,” Mr. Bode said.
Fujifilm continued its long term partnership with Inca Digital and renewed its exclusive distribution agreement to market Inca’s UV flatbed printers. A key driver of Fujifilm’s growth in 2010 was the Inca Onset S20 high speed UV digital flatbed. The Onset S20 offers exceptional quality and choice of finish from low glare satin to high impact gloss making it ideal for point-of-purchase display graphic printing.
“The print speed and output of the Onset S20 is a very good fit for in-line screen printers primarily focused on the graphic display market,” said Chris Lomas, vice president of sales for the Sericol Unit.
Although digital inkjet is growing at a fast pace, traditional screen printing inks rebounded and grew modestly in 2010.
“Screen printing is still competitive and well suited for longer print runs,” Mr. Lomas said. “However, the demand for shorter print run lengths, faster turnaround and multiple versions will continue to favor digital inkjet over screen printing. As a result, we expect digital inkjet to grow even faster in 2011.”
While the Onset series presses are the fastest and most productive UV flatbeds, they are just one of many digital solutions offered by the company. Fujifilm also introduced the photo-realistic quality Acuity Advance HS, the latest addition to the Acuity series that offers faster speeds and higher productivity. The Uvistar UV roll press rounds out the UV printer portfolio and the series includes both a 3.5 meter and 5.0 meter printer.
“The Uvistar is ideal for printing billboards, building wraps and grand format display graphics on a wide range of flexible substrates,” said Terry Mitchell, director of marketing. “The Uvistar also prints at faster speeds and higher productivity when compared to solvent printing, and offers the advantage of lower environmental impact.”
Raw material availability was a challenge during 2010 as some materials were rationalized during the economic downturn or simply in short supply when the economy started to improve. Pigments were especially difficult to procure, however formulation expertise helped offset some of these supply shortages. More recently, raw material prices have escalated; however productivity improvements in manufacturing helped hold the line on prices in the market.
“We feel it is absolutely critical to reduce supply chain costs to keep our customers competitive,” said Mr. Mitchell.
A computerized managed inventory program was also expanded to provide improved service and lower freight cost. “Our managed inventory program monitors supply stocks at customer locations and replenishes on a schedule that reduces shipment frequency,” said Scott Holub, vice president operations. “Our customers see tremendous advantage in our program because products are readily available to respond to customer orders.”
Fujifilm has a positive outlook for 2011 with digital printers and inks remaining an important driver to Fujifilm’s future growth.
“Our investments in digital solutions have resulted in new sales opportunities within our traditional customer base of screen printers. The broadening of our portfolio of digital presses, and the expansion of our product portfolio, will continue to fuel our sales growth,” Mr. Bode concluded.
 |
3400 N. Hutchinson St.
Pine Bluff, AR 71602
Phone: (870) 247-2080
Fax: (870) 247-5317
www.americaninksandcoatings.com
Sales: $68 million in ink and coatings.
Major Products: Water- and solvent-based flexo and gravure packaging inks and coatings; UV and EB coatings.
Key Personnel: Jerry Mosley, CEO; Michael Mosley, COO; Scott Clark, VP and general manager.
Number of Employees: 162.
Operating Facilities: Pine Bluff, AR; Winston-Salem, NC; West Memphis, TN.
Comments: For American Inks & Coatings (AIC), a leader in the liquid packaging ink industry, 2010 was a solid year, as the company enjoyed growth in many of the markets that it serves.
“We’re still growing,” said Michael Mosley, American Inks & Coatings’ COO. “We are totally focused on the markets we serve. We’re growing through new business in folding cartons, and are growing at a fast rate in flexible packaging, which has become a really strong market for us. We are also seeing a shift back to domestic production of gift wrap.”
AIC offers a complete range of liquid inks and coatings, including water-based inks for multiwall bag, high graphics corrugated, folding carton, gift wrap and other packaging, and solvent-based inks for flexible packaging, including laminations and other innovative applications. Service is a key differentiator for the company, which has grown to become the sixth-largest packaging ink company in the U.S.
“The people who represent us in the field make the difference,” Mr. Mosley said. “The big guys are taking service out.”
As is the case for every ink manufacturer, AIC is trying to cope with the raw material price increases that are coming quickly for suppliers.
“We are trying to absorb what we can in terms of raw material price increases, but we have to pass along some costs and negotiate with our customers.” Mr. Mosley said. “Fortunately, we had the foresight to get back in on the dispersion side and become vertically integrated.”
Mr. Mosley said AIC has further opportunities for growth in 2011.
“We’re budgeting for a little growth,” he said. “It’s not like it was five or 10 years ago. It now takes time to get new business, up to six months or longer, but I think we’ll grow due to some of the opportunities we have in the market. We’ll continue to focus on what we do best.”
 |
8501 Hedge Lane Road
Shawnee, KS 66227-3290
Phone: (913) 422-1888
Fax: (913) 422-2296
www.nazdar.com
Sales: $65 million (and more than $100 million in ink sales, equipment and supplies, Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Screen printing, digital and narrow web inks, including conventional, UV and water-based.
Key Personnel: J. Jeffrey Thrall, CEO; Mike Fox, president; Richard Bowles, VP, GM; Phil McGugan, VP, global sales and marketing; Mike McGowan, VP and technical director; Jim Davidson, VP, global operations; Mike Harjung, VP narrow web business unit.
Operating Facilities: Five in the U.S., UK, Singapore and Mexico.
Comments: Coming off of the global recession that impacted the printing industry in so many ways, 2010 brought better news to the printing and ink industries. Such is the case with Nazdar, which saw growth in its core markets of screen printing and digital while also making inroads in narrow web.
“For Nazdar, 2010 was a significant improvement over 2009, in which we enjoyed growth in all product sectors and all geographies,” said Phil McGugan, Nazdar’s vice president, global sales and marketing. “Part of our growth into 2010 was no doubt due to economic recovery, but in addition to this, there was extensive market share growth.
“Our growth has been on product front and geographical sector,” Mr. McGugan added. “Our digital market growth was a large part of our success in 2010 and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. We also saw healthy growth in our narrow web program and sales to the industrial screen market were buoyant. We also experienced significant growth in all our international markets.”
The digital and narrow web markets were particular highlights, according to Mr. McGugan, as were the gains made outside of North America. He noted that Nazdar continued its rapid growth in the digital ink market, both solvent and UV, wide and grand format. He added that Nazdar’s expansion in Europe, Asia and South America continued at a fast pace, as did the company’s growth in the narrow web market.
Mr. McGugan noted that Nazdar was able to navigate its way through the raw material price increases that are impacting the ink industry.
“We, like most others, experienced some raw material supply issues during the year,” Mr. McGugan reported. “However, we managed our way through these issues and continue to both monitor and search for alternative raw materials.”
Mr. McGugan said he expects to see a continuation of the success seen by Nazdar in 2010.
“We have strengthened our market presence in Europe, South America and Asia Pacific with personnel domiciled in each region,” Mr. McGugan said. “We continue to expand our digital ink and narrow web offerings, and still see great opportunities for sales expansion in the screen print market.”
 |
888 Veterans Highway, Suite 440
Hauppauge, NY 11788
Phone: (631) 715-7000
Fax: (631) 715-7026
www.vansonink.com
Sales: $65 million.
Major Products: Conventional offset, waterless offset and duplicator inks.
Key Personnel: Joe Bendowski, CEO; John Sammis, president; John Bendowski, vice president; Ken Ferguson, technical director.
Number of Employees: 100.
Operating Facilities: Headquarters and manufacturing in Islandia, NY, a central distribution center in Chicago and blending facilities in Miami, FL, and Los Angeles, CA.
Comments: The commercial sheetfed printing market has been heavily impacted in recent years, and sheetfed ink suppliers have been challenged to redefine their approach. Van Son Holland Ink realized many years ago that its core market, the smaller offset printer, was shrinking, and the company aggressively moved toward the medium-sized printers.
It has proved to be a good decision. With its Vs ink and a new distribution model that focused on brining in regional ink manufactures and graphic arts distributors to sell and service its inks, Van Son has been able to succeed in this ever-changing market.
For us, 2010 was not so bad,” said Joe Bendowski, Van Son Holland Ink’s CEO. “We saw some growth, which is important in these times.
“We are still moving up market,” Mr. Bendowski added. “Years ago, our entire company was focused on the small offset market, and even years after we have moved our focus to the medium-sized commercial printers, we are still finding opportunities in the mid-sized printers. We still use the Vs distribution model, as we are working with eight ink companies who distribute our inks and service our customers, and we have graphic arts distributors working with us as well.”
Van Son Holland Ink continues to develop new Vs inks. “The Vs series is our flagship line, and we have added Vs9 UV sheetfed inks as well as Vs1 XS, our extra strength inks,” Mr. Bendowski said.
Unlike most ink manufacturers, Van Son Holland Ink was adding facilities. The company opened new blending operations in Miami, FL, and Los Angeles, CA, in order to better serve customers in those regions.
“We opened new mixing facilities in Miami and Los Angeles, and we have other target cities on our radar,” Mr. Bendowski said. “You need to be close to the commercial printers. This allows us to service our customers in these regions better, such as providing spot colors in a timely manner.”
The company also announced two key promotions: John Sammis, formerly vice president, sales and marketing, was named president. John Bendowski, who previously was national sales manager, was promoted to vice president.
“They both have come through the ranks and have driven our success in our commercial business,” Mr. Bendowski noted. “They both have solid reputations among our distribution partners as well as our commercial customers.”
Mr. Bendowski said that raw material supply and pricing is a major concern.
“Raw materials are a serious issue,” Mr. Bendowski said. “We have issued price increases and continue to search the world for raw materials. I’m happy that most ink companies are being responsible enough to pass the higher raw material prices along because the ink industry can’t survive if we don’t.”
All in all, Mr. Bendowski is optimistic about 2011.
“I tend to be a positive person,” Mr. Bendowski said. “I have a good feeling. Our momentum is continuing and I see an uptick in the industry. We are seeing more activity at our customers, and they are adding shifts and uncovering presses.”
 |
1100 N. Harvester Road
West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 231-6500
Fax: (630) 231-6520
www.cicink.com
Sales: $64 million.
Major Products: Web offset heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV/EB inks. CIC is also one of the largest blanket converters in the Midwest.
Key Personnel: Richard Breen, CEO; Gregg Dahleen, president; Doug Anderson, VP of product development; Mary Dickey, VP of finance; Bradley Dahleen, VP of sales and marketing; Victor Dahleen, VP of strategic services.
Number of Employees: 141.
Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; Milwaukee, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Ontario, CA; Toronto, Canada.
Comments: The publication printing business has taken a hard hit in recent years, both from the growth of the Internet as well as the global recession. Publication ink manufacturers are feeling the pinch of decreased demands as well as higher raw material prices.
Central Ink Corporation had long been focused on the heatset market, with a particular emphasis on large printers. A few years ago, the company began branching out into sheetfed, news, UV and flexo inks, which has helped it weather the economic storm.
“We had about 7 percent growth in 2010,” said Bradley Dahleen, Central Ink’s vice president of sales and marketing. “All of product lines are doing well. In the past four years, our business has changed from high-volume heatset customers to smaller, more independent companies. We have doubled our number of customers in the past four years. It’s hard to do, and has higher costs in areas such as shipping, billing and labor, but it was worth it.”
Higher raw material prices are a major problem for the ink industry, and Central Ink is feeling the effects as well.
“The higher cost of raw materials and how fast they keep coming up is our biggest concern,” Mr. Dahleen said. “Consolidation among our suppliers is also a worry from both the supply and cost point of views. Soya prices are up 50 percent in the past two months alone. It is hard to recoup that.”
With the higher cost of raw materials, Mr. Dahleen said that Central Ink has had to walk away from large-volume business that would ultimately be unprofitable.
“We’ve grown on the ink side, not as fast as I think we could grow, but with raw material costs spiraling up, there’s some business out there that just doesn’t make sense for us,” Mr. Dahleen noted.
 |
SICPA Product Security LLC
8000 Research Way
Springfield, VA 22153
Phone: (703) 455-8050
Fax: (703) 450-4518
www.sicpa.com
E-mail: securityinks@sicpa.com
Total Sales: $60 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Proprietary security inks for intaglio, offset, screen, flexo and gravure security printing applications.
Key Personnel: Jim Bonhivert, CEO and president; Tom Jay, VP of sales and marketing; Tom Classick, technical director.
Number of Employees: Approximately 140.
Operating Facilities: Springfield, VA; Fort Worth, TX; Carol Stream, IL; Vaudreuil-Dorian, Quebec.
Comments: The dangers of counterfeiting are clear, as the importance of document security and brand security are essential in the face of terrorism as well as knock-off products such as pharmaceutical goods that can potentially kill people.
Developing technology to ensure the security of documents and products is critical, and SICPA S.A., the Switzerland-based worldwide leader for printing inks for currency and sensitive documents, plays a major role in these fields. With global sales of $400 million during 2010, SICPA S.A. provides security inks for the majority of the world’s currencies.
SICPA Securink Corporation dominates the security ink business in North America, with its inks appearing on currency and security documents as well as packaging of value. SICPA’s color-shifting Optically Variable Ink (OVI) for U.S. currency has played a key role in reducing counterfeiting. SICPA’s R&D experts have developed numerous innovative inks in cooperation with its parent company and its high-tech suppliers, and offer strong technical support for their products.
Due to its expertise in developing integrated systems for authentication and secure supply chain, SICPA Product Security, LLC has successfully combined its material-based security ink technology and information-based secure tracking and tracing technology for brand owners. SICPA manages the California counterfeit-resistant tobacco tax stamp program, which includes an encrypted stamp and database management system. Similar to the California program, SICPA is also in a joint venture with Canadian Bank Note Company on the Canadian tobacco stamp program.
Along those lines, in February 2010, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue awarded the company the contract to provide the commonwealth with a new counterfeit-resistant cigarette excise-stamping program.
Meyercord Revenue, Inc. was sub-contracted by SICPA in both California and Massachusetts to provide stamping machines and ancillary equipment for tax stamp programs. In September 2010, SICPA acquired Meyercord Revenue Inc. from Illinois Tool Works Inc. The transaction combines SICPA’s international government tax platform expertise with Meyercord’s experience in producing and distributing tobacco tax stamps for 47 U.S. states and approximately 140 municipalities and Native American tribes. As a part of the acquisition, SICPA plans to retain the current employment level at Meyercord’s facility in Carol Stream, IL, near Chicago.
“We are committed to Meyercord, its management and employee base,” said Jim Bonhivert, president and CEO of SICPA North America. “We plan to profitably grow the current operation and its reach while moving forward with technology that contributes to the public good.”
 |
100 North St.
Teterboro, NJ 07608-1202
Phone: (201) 478-5600
Fax: (201) 478-5650
www.superiorink.com
Sales: $60 million.
Major Products: Sheetfed, UV, waterless, heatset web, flexo and gravure inks, coatings and varnishes.
Key Personnel: Jeffrey I. Simons, chairman, CEO and president; Stan Hittman, executive VP; Harold Rubin, chief financial officer; James La Rocca, chief operating officer; Peter Nunez, VP, finance & administration; Richard Czarnecki, senior VP, chief technical officer.
Number of Employees: 300.
Operating Facilities: 17 branches and more than two dozen in-plant facilities nationally. The company operates two facilities through its Gotham Ink operations (NY and MA). Spinks Ink Co. is also a subsidiary located in Chicago, IL.
Comments: The North American commercial sheetfed market has struggled during recent years, as printers faced the dual threats of the recession and new technologies, and sheetfed ink manufacturers are doing what they can to navigate these challenges.
“The commercial market was clearly hit harder than other print markets as the recession lingered in 2010,” said Richard Czarnecki, senior VP, chief technical officer for Superior Printing Ink. "While some of our customers are thriving and finding ways to stabilize and even grow their business, there are many others who are simply struggling to survive. We are aligning ourselves wherever possible with customers who are going to be successful as the economy continues to improve in 2011.”
While the commercial side of the sheetfed business has faced more than its share of difficulties, the folding carton and UV sectors have enjoyed growth.
“There is no question that the ongoing success of our business will rely on a strong presence in the packaging market,” Mr. Czarnecki said. “While the commercial sheetfed market is not going away any time soon, it is clear that packaging is a significantly more robust and ‘recession-proof’ segment of the industry. In addition, we will continue to build on our success in the UV curable product arena, where sales in 2010 grew significantly. Our sales and technical teams are working to exploit our expertise with energy curable technology into other segments of the print market. Our success in UV will more than compensate for the sluggish growth with conventional sheetfed technology, and we will continue to invest in equipment and staff to support this growth.”
Even though the commercial market is struggling, Mr. Czarnecki noted that Superior Printing Ink remains dedicated to the segment, developing new products and continuing its tradition of providing excellent service.
“Superior still provides the best overall combination of service, quality, performance and value to the commercial sheetfed market and, although this segment is flat to declining, we will continue to be a major supplier to North American commercial printers,” Mr. Czarnecki concluded.
 |
2311 South Eastern Ave.
Commerce, CA 90040
Phone: (323) 720-4000
Fax: (323) 721-6000
www.inksystemsinc.com
Sales: $54 million.
Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed and UV inks.
Key Personnel: Urban S. Hirsch III, ex-president; Tim Van Scoy, VP of sales and marketing; Peter Notti, another VP; Masood Solaimani, VP UV/EB; Steve Simpson, president, Ink Systems East.
Number of Employees: 250.
Operating Facilities: Commerce, CA; Lincoln Park, NJ; technical service centers in Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Orange County, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Carlsbad, CA.
Comments: The publication and commercial printing segments have been impacted by the recession as well as the changes in the printing market. Ink Systems, Inc., which specializes in providing state-of-the-art in-plant operations, high-quality ink systems and proprietary software run by experienced personnel for the heatset, commercial sheetfed and UV markets, also has felt the impact of these changes, although the market has stabilized in the past year.
“It’s been tough, although our sales are up a bit,” said Urban S. Hirsch III, Ink Systems’ ex-president. “Our customers are still waiting for overcapacity in the market to be eliminated.”
In the past year, Ink Systems opened new technical service centers in Portland, OR and Carlsbad, CA.
The company also expanded its operations into the northeastern U.S., opening Ink Systems East, which is led by Steve Simpson. Mr. Hirsch said that the subsidiary, housed in a new 25,000 square foot manufacturing facility, is enjoying growth. “Ink Systems East is growing,” Mr. Hirsch said.
Providing excellent service is a hallmark of Ink Systems, with the company perhaps being best known for its stainless steel ink rooms. However, last year the company expanded its operations by opening a series of regional technical service centers to provide service to multiple customers.
“Our technical service centers operate as ink rooms for multiple printers,” Mr. Hirsch noted.
 |
575 Quality Blvd.
Fairfield, OH 45014
Phone: (800) 346-7141; (513) 552-7200
Fax: (513) 552-7141
www.colorresolutions.com
Sales: $50 million (Ink World estimate).
Major Products: Flexo, gravure, UV/EB inks, graphic arts coatings, metallic inks, screen Inks, security inks and specialty inks.
Key Personnel: George Sickinger, chairman, CEO and president; Rick Gray, VP finance/CFO; John Edelbrock, VP of operations; Paul Fulton, VP of strategic accounts; Joe Schlinkert, director of technology; Hixon Boyd, VP, field operations, U.S. Southern Region; Dave Barker, VP, field operations, Northern Region/West Coast; Jim Distler, VP, specialty products.
Number of employees: 117.
Operating Facilities: Manufacturing plant in Fairfield, OH, and 18 blending sites.
Comments: The global recession took its toll on the entire printing industry, and while the packaging side fared better relative to publication and commercial, packaging converters also felt the impact. For Color Resolution International (CRI), a specialist in water-based and UV-curable packaging inks, particularly the high-end corrugated business, 2010 was a continuation of the previous year.
“Sales and income were on par with 2009 and below 2008,” said George Sickinger, CRI’s president and CEO. “All in all, business was okay but certainly not our best year. It actually was a good time to look closely at our business and how best to insulate ourselves from the shifts in economic climate. Certainly, picking the right customers and markets is part of it.”
Mr. Sickinger noted that the economy did pick up in the second half of 2010.
“The economy and our business did improve in the last half of the year,” Mr. Sickinger said. “The customers who had been making investments in equipment to produce a higher level of graphics had a very good year in 2010. We have observed the ‘strong getting stronger.’”
Even with the economy at a standstill, Color Resolutions moved forward, with an eye toward improving its customer service through training as well as adding new people.
“We took a lot of time expanding the technical knowledge of our service people to match the growing demand for higher-level technical support,” Mr. Sickinger said. “We also took advantage of the poor job market and hired some bright young people to be groomed for positions in technical sales and service.”
Raw material cost and supply are major concerns throughout the ink industry. Mr. Sickinger said that the rise in global demand, especially in China, along with the cutback in production and consolidation among the supplier base that took place when the recession began has resulted in both a rise in prices and some shortages in many key ingredients.
“Acrylic resin prices went up several times last year and are continuing to rise this year,” Mr. Sickinger said. “Titanium has had several double-digit increases and more are expected. Pigments, especially violet 23, have increased as well.
“Material cost increases are our biggest challenge,” Mr. Sickinger added. “Once you have negotiated the best terms possible with your suppliers, the only way to cope with the situation is to raise ink prices. This must happen, but it is very challenging when most customers are just emerging from the recession along with their customers.”
Consolidation in the packaging industry is a fact of life, and Mr. Sickinger said it does provide opportunities for ink manufacturers who can show their value to customers, an area CRI is placing great emphasis on.
“I have seen consolidation accelerating across all packaging sectors,” Mr. Sickinger said. “This can be an opportunity or a problem depending on where you are sitting. If you are an incumbent, it can mean more volume at lower margins. It presents a challenge to ink makers to better define their value proposition and to be as efficient as possible. If you have a solid ‘brand’ in the market place, you will prevail.
“In the packaging arena, customers want and need more value added services such as color management, onsite technical services and inventory management,” Mr. Sickinger said. “They expect you to thoroughly understand their processes and their business. Ink formulations must be more ‘intuitive’ and allow for process variation. Just making and shipping ink on time will no longer get the job done. I am amazed at the variety of skill sets we have brought into our company over the last few years. The new mantra is ‘top quality at machine design speeds.’ It takes a broader knowledge of the whole process to achieve this on a regular basis.”
Not only did CRI add to its talent during the past year, the company also emphasized its efforts on health, safety and environmental issues.
“Our plant is now seven years old, and our business has changed over the years,” Mr. Sickinger said. “We have changed work centers to reflect our growth in new markets. We have hired a couple of former junior military officers for supervisory positions. Being largely in the food packaging sector, plant cleanliness is a very high priority, and our plant shows very well to customers and CPCs.
“As a member of NAPIM (National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers), we invited the manager of environmental affairs, George Fuchs, to our plant for a voluntary health, safety and environmental audit,” Mr. Sickinger added. “We value outside opinions of our operations; we think we’re doing all the right things, and this program sorts through the complicated regulations. Mr. Fuchs was able to view our practices that may fall under federal, state or OSHA regulations and provide an assessment on how we’re meeting them. Specifically, Mr. Fuchs noted our ‘highly automated manufacturing process that minimizes or eliminates both employee exposures and environmental impact’ and ‘state-of-the-art materials handling techniques which reduce the risk of employee injuries.’”
With all that Color Resolutions has put into place, Mr. Sickinger sees sales growth ahead for 2011.
“We expect 2011 to be a very good year for sales growth,” Mr. Sickinger concluded. “We are concerned about the rapid rise in material prices and the impact on margins, but this will somehow sort itself out as it always does. I believe our customers and our target prospects are beginning to view ink as a strategic material, and it is becoming easier to form true partnerships. I am excited about the future of our industry.”
