888 Veterans Highway, Suite 440
Hauppauge, NY 11788
Phone: (631) 715-7000
Fax: (631) 715-7026
Sales: $60 million.
Major Products: Conventional offset, waterless offset, UV curable, heatset web, duplicator and wide format inkjet inks.
Key Personnel: Joe Bendowski, CEO; John Sammis, president; John Bendowski, vice president; Ed Friesendorf, national lab and product manager.
Number of Employees: 100.
Operating Facilities: Headquarters in Hauppauge, NY, a central distribution and mixing center in Chicago and blending facilities in Miami, FL, and Los Angeles, CA.
Comments: The commercial sheetfed market has changed over the past decade, with smaller offset printers declining in number. For Van Son Holland Ink, the North American subsidiary of Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories Van Son, changing along with their customers has been essential to its success.
“Van Son continues to experience growth in the commercial sheetfed side of the business,” said Joseph Bendowski, CEO of Van Son Holland Ink Corporation of America. “Through this growth, we have been able to replace the continuing declineof our original small offset market. Also adding to increased revenues during 2012 was the success of our recently launched wide format inkjet series.”
Royal Dutch Van Son just celebrated its 140th anniversary, and it remains owned by the same family who started it.
“The most significant highlight of 2012 was the celebration of our 140th year in business,” Mr. Bendowski noted. “Since our founding in 1872, we have been operating under the same family ownership, and look forward to continuing this story into future generations.”
Outside of the sheetfed market, Van Son Holland Ink has seen growth in a number of markets.
“In addition to our success in commercial sheet-fed, we are anticipating continued growth in several areas,” Mr. Bendowski said. “These include UV curable inks, inks for wide format, heatset web and custom blends. The ongoing addition of local ink mixing stations has had a significant impact on the growth of our custom mixed offerings.”
Even with its own growth, Mr, Bendowski said that the printing industry is clearly changing.
“The printing industry continues to struggle along with the general economy,” Mr. Bendowski said. “Traditional ink on paper printers are continually impacted by closures, smaller run lengths, consolidations and digital technologies. Those that have embraced the digital revolution have been able to marry traditional offset with digital to product the most desirable and economical options for their customers. Of course, this transition has had some negative impact on printing ink manufacturers.”
While raw material costs and supply have stabilized somewhat during the past year, Mr. Bendowski said these remain a concern for ink manufacturers.
“There has been some temporary stabilization within the raw materials side of our business in both pricing and availability,” he added. “However, these issues still represent a challenge to ink manufacturers as this stability is always uncertain.”
While Mr. Bendowski is optimistic heading into the future, concerns about the economy remain an issue for printers and ink manufacturers alike.
“We expect 2013 to show slow but steady growth in the same segments that performed well during 2012,” Mr. Bendowski concluded. “Until there is a major sign of improvement in our sluggish national economy, I think printing companies and ink companies alike will continue to face the uncertain patterns that we have seen in recent years.