07.28.20
DEERS Building, 54-11
Dongpyeon-ro, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si
Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Tel: +82 31-349-3759
www.daihanink.com or
www.deersi.co.kr
Email: weero@d-ink.co.kr or weero@deersi.co.kr
Sales: $90 million for DEERS I (Daihan Ink) and DEERS M (DI&C); $170 million (consolidated DEERS Group sales).
Major Products: Offset sheetfed, web heatset, UV ink; metal deco ink; letterpress ink; UV inkjet ink; digital sublimation ink. Sister company DI&C produces gravure and flexo ink.
Key Personnel: J.S. Han, chairman; J.Y. Kwon, DEERS I (Daihan Ink) CEO for Offset Ink Division; C. H. Lee, DEER M (DI&C Co.) CEO for Liquid Ink Division.
No. of Employees: 200 (DEERS I and DEERS M).
Comments: DEERS I, or Daihan Ink Co., Ltd., is the oldest ink manufacturer in Korea, having opened its doors in 1945. The company makes a wide variety of inks, with DEERS I focusing on offset inks and DEERS M (or DI&C) specializing in liquid inks.
One of the key highlights from the past year is the company’s continued rebranding, emphasizing its capabilities as a leading chemical supplier.
“We changed our name to become a total chemical solution provider,” said Charlie Lee, head of Daihan Ink’s Overseas Sales Department’s team. “The Daihan Ink name limits us to do only ink. So, we maintain Daihan as our big brand name, and we start with our new name. Step by step, we will do our other chemical business such as coatings, films, etc., but of course, ink is always in our backbone as our identity.”
COVID-19 affected Korea’s domestic market at first and has since been impacting the export segment.
“It’s terrible,” said Lee. “The impact for us from the overseas market started in the second quarter of 2020. During the first quarter, only the Korean local market was affected.”
While Daihan Ink is noted for its offset inks, the company’s decisions to branch out into liquid inks as well as open a factory in Vietnam is paying off.
“The Korean offset market decreases every year,” said Lee. “As usual, commercial printing is not good, but packaging printing, not only offset but also the liquid ink market, is good. From 2019, our Vietnam factory produces inks both from their own ink and our base inks from Korea. Before, they only used to produce ink with Korean base ink.”
“To have more competition in the market, we expanded our capability to overseas markets such as Vietnam and Pakistan,” Lee added. “If there was no COVID, we were planning to attend drupa to promote our three factories in Korea, Vietnam and Pakistan. But luckily, DEERS M has been researching antimicrobial products by using ZnO (zinc oxide), and it met very good timing. So, both DEERS I and M are selling an antimicrobial film that can offset the loss of existing ink.
Another benefit of DEERS’ Vietnam factory is its new partnership with a resin supplier.
“Our raw material price is quite stable, and we have a strategic partner for resin located right next to our Vietnam factory,” Lee noted.
Lee said the rest of the year remains unpredictable, as the COVID-19 pandemic will likely continue.
“Just like the Spanish Flu in 1918, we are expecting the second pandemic will come at the end of the year, in the fourth quarter, so we really can’t anticipate the markets,” Lee added. “But it will be better than now. We will market not only ink but also anti-microbial film as well. And DEERS M’s liquid ink is selling well due to mask package printing.”
Dongpyeon-ro, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si
Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Tel: +82 31-349-3759
www.daihanink.com or
www.deersi.co.kr
Email: weero@d-ink.co.kr or weero@deersi.co.kr
Sales: $90 million for DEERS I (Daihan Ink) and DEERS M (DI&C); $170 million (consolidated DEERS Group sales).
Major Products: Offset sheetfed, web heatset, UV ink; metal deco ink; letterpress ink; UV inkjet ink; digital sublimation ink. Sister company DI&C produces gravure and flexo ink.
Key Personnel: J.S. Han, chairman; J.Y. Kwon, DEERS I (Daihan Ink) CEO for Offset Ink Division; C. H. Lee, DEER M (DI&C Co.) CEO for Liquid Ink Division.
No. of Employees: 200 (DEERS I and DEERS M).
Comments: DEERS I, or Daihan Ink Co., Ltd., is the oldest ink manufacturer in Korea, having opened its doors in 1945. The company makes a wide variety of inks, with DEERS I focusing on offset inks and DEERS M (or DI&C) specializing in liquid inks.
One of the key highlights from the past year is the company’s continued rebranding, emphasizing its capabilities as a leading chemical supplier.
“We changed our name to become a total chemical solution provider,” said Charlie Lee, head of Daihan Ink’s Overseas Sales Department’s team. “The Daihan Ink name limits us to do only ink. So, we maintain Daihan as our big brand name, and we start with our new name. Step by step, we will do our other chemical business such as coatings, films, etc., but of course, ink is always in our backbone as our identity.”
COVID-19 affected Korea’s domestic market at first and has since been impacting the export segment.
“It’s terrible,” said Lee. “The impact for us from the overseas market started in the second quarter of 2020. During the first quarter, only the Korean local market was affected.”
While Daihan Ink is noted for its offset inks, the company’s decisions to branch out into liquid inks as well as open a factory in Vietnam is paying off.
“The Korean offset market decreases every year,” said Lee. “As usual, commercial printing is not good, but packaging printing, not only offset but also the liquid ink market, is good. From 2019, our Vietnam factory produces inks both from their own ink and our base inks from Korea. Before, they only used to produce ink with Korean base ink.”
“To have more competition in the market, we expanded our capability to overseas markets such as Vietnam and Pakistan,” Lee added. “If there was no COVID, we were planning to attend drupa to promote our three factories in Korea, Vietnam and Pakistan. But luckily, DEERS M has been researching antimicrobial products by using ZnO (zinc oxide), and it met very good timing. So, both DEERS I and M are selling an antimicrobial film that can offset the loss of existing ink.
Another benefit of DEERS’ Vietnam factory is its new partnership with a resin supplier.
“Our raw material price is quite stable, and we have a strategic partner for resin located right next to our Vietnam factory,” Lee noted.
Lee said the rest of the year remains unpredictable, as the COVID-19 pandemic will likely continue.
“Just like the Spanish Flu in 1918, we are expecting the second pandemic will come at the end of the year, in the fourth quarter, so we really can’t anticipate the markets,” Lee added. “But it will be better than now. We will market not only ink but also anti-microbial film as well. And DEERS M’s liquid ink is selling well due to mask package printing.”
