1100 N. Harvester Road
West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 231-6500
Fax: (630) 231-6585
www.cicink.com

Sales: $58 million

Major Products: Web offset, heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV/EB inks; pressroom chemicals and blankets.

Key Personnel: Dan Breen, CEO; Gregg Dahleen, president; Scott Feigleson, CFO; Vic Dahleen, VP of sales.

Number of Employees: 156.

Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Plymouth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Doral, FL; Fort Worth, TX; Sparks, NV.

Comments: Central Ink Corporation had a solid year in 2017, with the company expanding through the addition of Impression Inks while overcoming a fire that damaged its main plant in West Chicago, Il.

“This past year was a positive one for Central Ink,”  Vic Dahleen, Central Ink’s VP of sales, reported. “We experienced growth both organically and through the acquisition of Impression Inks.”

Dahleen noted that 2017 saw Central Ink’s second acquisition, that of Impression Inks, a news ink and heatset ink specialist located in Fort Worth, TX. Impression Inks also had a branch in Sparks, NV.

“This has strengthened our position regarding raw materials, and has improved our service and distribution model,” he added. “Our goal is to continue to demonstrate to our customers how these additional efficiencies can benefit them.”

Dahleen said in spite of the damage caused by the fire in the company’s main manufacturing facility, there was good that came out of it.

“We experienced a fire in our main plant,” Dahleen said. “However, even negative events can have positive outcomes. I was heartened by the support and concern offered by our vendors and even by our competitors. Internally, the fire caused everyone at Central Ink to rally, and it was inspiring to see how closely everyone worked together to create solutions. This also gave our other facilities an opportunity to shine and show their worth.”

As a heatset and news ink specialist, Central Ink has been impacted by the declines in the publication printing market. Dahleen said that he saw those markets stabilize during the past year, which is a good sign.

“Central Ink is a pure litho ink manufacturer,” Dahleen observed. “We were glad to see the heatset market stabilize, and although news ink has seemed to have plateaued, the concern is now increasingly with the consolidation of the news ink industry. Through our most recent acquisition, the addition of the Reno and Fort Worth facilities – both of which are also manufacturing sites – has provided our customers with reduced lead time and decreased inventory cost. We have now established manufacturing distribution sites on the East and West Coast, South, and Midwest.”

The raw material market is always a challenge, and 2017 was no different. “Over the last 10 to 15 years, we have seen the impact of volatile raw materials. I imagine that Central Ink and the industry will do what needs to be done – successfully,” Dahleen said.
Dahleen said that Central Ink is looking forward to 2018.

“We at Central Ink see a lot of promise in 2018,” he added. “We have successfully synergized Impression Inks into Central Ink.

We have great opportunities both in North America and also through our international subsidiary.

“One of the things I have always loved about our industry is that it is constantly evolving,” Dahleen continued. “We embrace new technology and are always working to improve. As we look to the next decade, we will strive to continue on our path and encompass new ideas and technology. I know personally I would like to see us in digital ink and increase our commitment to energy curables.”