David Savastano, Editor01.03.24
For the ink industry, 2023 was a year defined by relative stability. The raw material market has calmed down somewhat, which is certainly good news for the industry. There remain serious geopolitical concerns, particularly in the Gaza Strip and in the Ukraine and there is always potential for further destabilizing worldwide.
For the most part, the ink industry was relatively quiet. This can be seen in a variety of areas, whether it is mergers and acquisitions, major personnel moves or fairly quiet markets.
In January 2023, Siris Capital Group LLC, the owner of Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (EFI), announced the split of its Fiery operations. This allows Fiery, a leader in the digital front end market, to work closely with OEMs including EFI.
On the packaging side, Toyo Ink SC Holdings added Thai Eurocoat Ltd., a leading producer of external coatings for non-printed cans in the Thai canned food market, in March 2023. This acquisition allows Toyo Ink Group to add to its regional business operations, with an eye on becoming the top metal coatings supplier in the ASEAN canned food market.
The other move of note was Precision Ink’s acquisition of all intellectual property related to Gans Ink’s Energy Curable, Sublimation, and Security Ink Divisions, including formulations, raw material specifications, processing techniques, and QC methodology. Gans Ink was a longtime leader in the sheetfed ink segment.
On the supplier side, there were two moves of note. In February 2023, Excelitas Technologies, a photonic solutions specialist, added Phoseon Technologies, a leader in the UV LED segment. On the production side, Schold Manufacturing added EMI Mills, a specialist in bead mills, mixers, and dispersers, in August 2023. For distributors, Apollo Funds’ acquisition of Univar Solutions in March 2023 was the biggest purchase. Univar had 2022 sales of $8.265 billion.
The biggest potential move can be found on the customer side, when, in September 2023, the boards of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock announced the signing of a definitive transaction agreement to create Smurfit WestRock, a global packaging leader. Smurfit Kappa and WestRock generated combined last twelve months’ adjusted annual revenue of approximately $34 billion as of June 30, 2023, which would make Smurfit WestRock the largest listed global packaging partner by revenue.
Ikeda has been with DIC Corporation since April 1990, after he finished the master’s degree program at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University. In 2013, Ikeda became director, of Sun Chemical Corporation.
In 2019, Ikeda was appointed GM, Functional Products Business Planning Department, and in 2020, he was named executive officer and GM, Composite Material Products Division. In 2021, Ikeda was chosen as president, Functional Products Business Group, and GM, Composite Material Products Division, and in January 2022, he became managing executive officer in addition to his other roles.
On April 30, 2023, John Hrdlick, president and CEO of INX International Ink Company, retired, with Bryce Kristo promoted into those positions. Hrdlick, who had been a member of INX since 1991, had served as INX’s president and CEO since 2018; Kristo, who was EVP and CFO with INX, has been with INX for 31 years.
In North America, Geoff Peters stepped down as president and CEO of Wikoff Color in the fall of 2023, with Mark C. Lewis being selected as the company’s next CEO. Peters remains a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Peters joined Wikoff Color in 2006, and led Wikoff through international expansion and acquisitions, including Brazil-based Verti Produtos Químicos in 2017 and Braden Sutphin Ink in the US in 2018.
Lewis has a lengthy resume in the specialty chemicals segment, having served more than 20 years at Honeywell International, earning promotions to global sales director and global business director. After Honeywell, Lewis became GM of the Fine Chemicals business at Vertellus, then president of Sontara Specialty and Performance Materials and Custom Laminating Corporation.
At EFI, in conjunction with its decision to separate the Fiery digital front end business in January 2023, Frank Pennisi was selected as EFI’s new CEO. Jeff Jacobson, who was previously EFI’s CEO, became chairman of both EFI and Fiery. Pennisi was most recently president and CEO of Orora Packaging Solutions.
In terms of printing, packaging remains the strongest segment for the ink industry, with anecdotal evidence pointing to slight growth in this market. Flexo, gravure, sheetfed offset, UV and digital printing all are holding their own in this segment.
The publication side is different. It will come as little surprise that publication and commercial printing continue to see declines; the newspaper industry has seen consolidation and shrinkage, and many of what were once the largest magazines in terms of subscriptions just a decade or two ago have either reduced frequency or become online-only offerings.
For the most part, the ink industry was relatively quiet. This can be seen in a variety of areas, whether it is mergers and acquisitions, major personnel moves or fairly quiet markets.
Mergers and Acquisitions
The mergers and acquisitions market was a quiet one for the ink industry this year, although the rest of the supply chain saw changes. In the most significant move, IN Groupe acquired 100% of the shares of Gleitsmann Security Inks GmbH (GSI) from hubergroup Deutschland GmbH in July 2023. It’s an ideal fit: IN Groupe (formerly known as Imprimerie Nationale) is a French-headquartered leader in identity and secured digital services worldwide, while GSI is a leading producer of high security printing inks.In January 2023, Siris Capital Group LLC, the owner of Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (EFI), announced the split of its Fiery operations. This allows Fiery, a leader in the digital front end market, to work closely with OEMs including EFI.
On the packaging side, Toyo Ink SC Holdings added Thai Eurocoat Ltd., a leading producer of external coatings for non-printed cans in the Thai canned food market, in March 2023. This acquisition allows Toyo Ink Group to add to its regional business operations, with an eye on becoming the top metal coatings supplier in the ASEAN canned food market.
The other move of note was Precision Ink’s acquisition of all intellectual property related to Gans Ink’s Energy Curable, Sublimation, and Security Ink Divisions, including formulations, raw material specifications, processing techniques, and QC methodology. Gans Ink was a longtime leader in the sheetfed ink segment.
On the supplier side, there were two moves of note. In February 2023, Excelitas Technologies, a photonic solutions specialist, added Phoseon Technologies, a leader in the UV LED segment. On the production side, Schold Manufacturing added EMI Mills, a specialist in bead mills, mixers, and dispersers, in August 2023. For distributors, Apollo Funds’ acquisition of Univar Solutions in March 2023 was the biggest purchase. Univar had 2022 sales of $8.265 billion.
The biggest potential move can be found on the customer side, when, in September 2023, the boards of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock announced the signing of a definitive transaction agreement to create Smurfit WestRock, a global packaging leader. Smurfit Kappa and WestRock generated combined last twelve months’ adjusted annual revenue of approximately $34 billion as of June 30, 2023, which would make Smurfit WestRock the largest listed global packaging partner by revenue.
Key Personnel Moves
The ink industry did see major changes in the leadership at major companies this year. This begins at DIC Corporation, the largest ink manufacturer in the world, where Takashi Ikeda has become president and CEO of the company as of Jan. 1, 2024. Ikeda has succeeded Kaoru Ino, who is now serving as chairman of the Board of Directors and representative director at DIC Corporation.Ikeda has been with DIC Corporation since April 1990, after he finished the master’s degree program at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University. In 2013, Ikeda became director, of Sun Chemical Corporation.
In 2019, Ikeda was appointed GM, Functional Products Business Planning Department, and in 2020, he was named executive officer and GM, Composite Material Products Division. In 2021, Ikeda was chosen as president, Functional Products Business Group, and GM, Composite Material Products Division, and in January 2022, he became managing executive officer in addition to his other roles.
On April 30, 2023, John Hrdlick, president and CEO of INX International Ink Company, retired, with Bryce Kristo promoted into those positions. Hrdlick, who had been a member of INX since 1991, had served as INX’s president and CEO since 2018; Kristo, who was EVP and CFO with INX, has been with INX for 31 years.
In North America, Geoff Peters stepped down as president and CEO of Wikoff Color in the fall of 2023, with Mark C. Lewis being selected as the company’s next CEO. Peters remains a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Peters joined Wikoff Color in 2006, and led Wikoff through international expansion and acquisitions, including Brazil-based Verti Produtos Químicos in 2017 and Braden Sutphin Ink in the US in 2018.
Lewis has a lengthy resume in the specialty chemicals segment, having served more than 20 years at Honeywell International, earning promotions to global sales director and global business director. After Honeywell, Lewis became GM of the Fine Chemicals business at Vertellus, then president of Sontara Specialty and Performance Materials and Custom Laminating Corporation.
At EFI, in conjunction with its decision to separate the Fiery digital front end business in January 2023, Frank Pennisi was selected as EFI’s new CEO. Jeff Jacobson, who was previously EFI’s CEO, became chairman of both EFI and Fiery. Pennisi was most recently president and CEO of Orora Packaging Solutions.
Printing Markets Remain the Same
On the market side, there isn’t a lot of change to note. Over the past decade, digital printing has continued to take share in a variety of markets, and the past year has been no different. There is continued growth for digital printing in textile printing and packaging, most notably in corrugated.In terms of printing, packaging remains the strongest segment for the ink industry, with anecdotal evidence pointing to slight growth in this market. Flexo, gravure, sheetfed offset, UV and digital printing all are holding their own in this segment.
The publication side is different. It will come as little surprise that publication and commercial printing continue to see declines; the newspaper industry has seen consolidation and shrinkage, and many of what were once the largest magazines in terms of subscriptions just a decade or two ago have either reduced frequency or become online-only offerings.