David Savastano, Editor07.31.15
The Asia-Pacific printing industry has enjoyed
tremendous economic growth, and Korea has certainly shared in this expansion. For the most part, the printing industry also continues to perform very well. This is good news for Daihan Ink Co., Ltd., the country’s largest domestic ink manufacturer.
Founded in 1945, Daihan Ink Co., Ltd. is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Daihan Ink Co., Ltd. remains a family-owned company; its chairman, J.S. Han, has successfully succeeded in the ink business from his father, the company’s founder.
“We were the first ink manufacturer in Korea,” said Charlie Lee of Daihan Ink. “After our independence following World War II in 1945, we were in the midst of devastated social circumstances. Our founder, Mr. J.D. Han, thought that education is the essential aspect to overcome difficult situation.
“At that time, he studied chemicals, so he decided to make an ink company to press text books and newspapers. With the company’s growth he expanded the business to manufacture paint.” The company became known as the Noroo Group, specializing in paints for cars, construction and ships.
In 1994, Daihan Ink separated from the Noroo group, becoming an independent company under the control of J.S. Han. When Daihan Ink started, it was a small company; it has grown to five companies in the Daihan Ink Group (Daihan Ink, DI&C, Seda, Izen and Digital J).
The company specializes in sheetfed, web heatset, UV ink and metal deco ink, while its sister company, DI&C, produces liquid inks. Daihan Ink is enjoying excellent success; its sales were $87 million in 2014.
Lee said that Daihan Ink’s success can be traced to the theme of Choice and Concentration. “To focus more on offset ink, even under the unclear future, we decided to build a new automated factory that led us to have more competitiveness for quality,” he said. “With consistent quality, we have more than doubled our export business after moving to our new factory.”
In particular, Daihan Ink is doing well in Asia, Southwest Asia, the Middle East, and some African countries. Much of its success is due to its high quality and emphasis on R&D.
“In our new factory, we have improved our quality a lot thanks to new and automated equipment and investment in R&D every year,” Lee said. “Based on this good quality ink, Korean ink is no longer positioned between Chinese and Japanese ink. I can say that Korean ink is in the same quality standard with Japanese ink. And we invest money in R&D every year. Daihan Ink is the company that is willing to take responsibility. So, we always open our ears and eyes to hear the voices from the customers, and if there is something wrong in our products, we admit the fault, and agree. This leads us to get continuous orders from our customers.”
While the offset printing market remains challenging, Daihan Ink is well positioned to continue its growth globally and developing new markets.
“Due to the decreasing market for commercial printing, we will focus more on packaging, spot colors and coatings,” Lee said. “It has been several years since the local market has had a decrease. We see that it will continue day by day, and the strongest company will remain in the end.
“This year it is our 70 year anniversary, and we will work hard to be the first ink company in Korea who remained more than 100 years,” Lee concluded. “We have survived longer than any other ink company in Korea, and we will keep challenging to find specialties that no one can follow. We will do the best until the day that the color you can see everywhere is Daihan Ink.”
Founded in 1945, Daihan Ink Co., Ltd. is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Daihan Ink Co., Ltd. remains a family-owned company; its chairman, J.S. Han, has successfully succeeded in the ink business from his father, the company’s founder.
“We were the first ink manufacturer in Korea,” said Charlie Lee of Daihan Ink. “After our independence following World War II in 1945, we were in the midst of devastated social circumstances. Our founder, Mr. J.D. Han, thought that education is the essential aspect to overcome difficult situation.
“At that time, he studied chemicals, so he decided to make an ink company to press text books and newspapers. With the company’s growth he expanded the business to manufacture paint.” The company became known as the Noroo Group, specializing in paints for cars, construction and ships.
In 1994, Daihan Ink separated from the Noroo group, becoming an independent company under the control of J.S. Han. When Daihan Ink started, it was a small company; it has grown to five companies in the Daihan Ink Group (Daihan Ink, DI&C, Seda, Izen and Digital J).
The company specializes in sheetfed, web heatset, UV ink and metal deco ink, while its sister company, DI&C, produces liquid inks. Daihan Ink is enjoying excellent success; its sales were $87 million in 2014.
Lee said that Daihan Ink’s success can be traced to the theme of Choice and Concentration. “To focus more on offset ink, even under the unclear future, we decided to build a new automated factory that led us to have more competitiveness for quality,” he said. “With consistent quality, we have more than doubled our export business after moving to our new factory.”
In particular, Daihan Ink is doing well in Asia, Southwest Asia, the Middle East, and some African countries. Much of its success is due to its high quality and emphasis on R&D.
“In our new factory, we have improved our quality a lot thanks to new and automated equipment and investment in R&D every year,” Lee said. “Based on this good quality ink, Korean ink is no longer positioned between Chinese and Japanese ink. I can say that Korean ink is in the same quality standard with Japanese ink. And we invest money in R&D every year. Daihan Ink is the company that is willing to take responsibility. So, we always open our ears and eyes to hear the voices from the customers, and if there is something wrong in our products, we admit the fault, and agree. This leads us to get continuous orders from our customers.”
While the offset printing market remains challenging, Daihan Ink is well positioned to continue its growth globally and developing new markets.
“Due to the decreasing market for commercial printing, we will focus more on packaging, spot colors and coatings,” Lee said. “It has been several years since the local market has had a decrease. We see that it will continue day by day, and the strongest company will remain in the end.
“This year it is our 70 year anniversary, and we will work hard to be the first ink company in Korea who remained more than 100 years,” Lee concluded. “We have survived longer than any other ink company in Korea, and we will keep challenging to find specialties that no one can follow. We will do the best until the day that the color you can see everywhere is Daihan Ink.”