07.21.21
C/Compositor Carcassi, 6-8
08191 Rubí (Barcelona) Spain
Tel: +34 935 862 040
www.kaoprint.com
Email: md@kaochimigraf.com
Sales: $300 million (Ink World estimate)
Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, offering a wide range of industrial inkjet inks for applications like packaging, graphic arts, coding & marking, textile, 3D, and décor. Its portfolio of ink includes solvent-based and water-based flexography and rotogravure inks, varnishes and primers. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS produces UV inks and varnishes, including UV/LED, as well as oil-based and water-based UV inks, Eco-friendly inks, mineral oil-free ink and coating and additives.
Key Personnel: Esteve Granada, president Kao Chimigraf; Laurence Gamblin, president Kao Collins; Yamashita Minoru, business director, Kao Corporation Chemical Business; Yamazaki Masahito, R&D director APS; François Aguilar, CCO Kao Chimigraf; Chris Rogers, VP Kao Collins.
Number of Employees: 650
Comments: Kao APS is a subsidiary of Kao Group, a global leader in consumer and chemical products, with consolidated sales of $12.4 billion (1,382 billion yen) in 2020. Kao APS consists of Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and develops and manufactures packaging and inkjet inks.
Kao APS is in a wide range of markets, and François Aguilar, chief commercial officer for Kao Chimigraf, noted that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kao APS’s sales were steady.
“2020 was a very difficult year for all the markets, but globally the general situation from Kao APS was under control and we had a limited impact on our sales,” Aguilar said. “We saw a clear decrease of activity in certain market like graphics, but in parallel, markets like packaging were increasing so this was giving us some stability on our sales.”
Aguilar observed that since the acquisition of Chimigraf by Kao, many re-organizations of the company were done.
“In 2020, we started to strongly promote new ink technologies (inkjet UV, water, low migration, flexo and bio-based) produced locally by Kao Chimigraf in Barcelona,” said Aguilar. “One of them is water-based inkjet for applications like flexible packaging, corrugated, paper, textile and graphics. We are now able to offer a large range of sustainable ink solution to the market and support our customers with more ecological values.”
Aguilar reported that COVID-19 had a major impact on raw material pricing, and also on available stock and transportation cost.
“This situation started with pigment price increases and very quickly all key raw materials were also impacted by price increases and availability,” added Aguilar. “Being part of Kao Chemical Europe, Kao’s purchasing team was able to create many contacts with suppliers in the market and secure as much as possible the delivery of raw materials. Unfortunately, this situation is still not stable yet.”
Aguilar noted that Kao APS recently launched the kaoprint.com website, where Kao offers businesses involved in the industrial printing industry access to the expertise and innovative capabilities provided by Kao APS.
The site aims to support worldwide industrial printing through stronger supply chain support, efficient access to all inks and services, supporting decentralized production and manufacturing, faster development of custom ink and printing solutions and greater flexibility to support changing markets and business conditions.
“As a global brand serving a worldwide network of industrial printers, packagers and distributors, Kao seeks to prioritize sustainability efforts throughout the supply chain,” Aguilar added.
Aguilar noted that Kao APS is seeing some recovery of market demand, but it is not fully recovered compared to 2019 level.
“2021 will still be a challenging year for recovery and we are expecting a better situation from 2022,” Aguilar added. “We are expecting stable demand in the second half of 2021, but the market will not recover at 100%. Many industries and countries are still impacted with the latest COVID-19 regulations, so we will still see some fluctuation of demand depending on the area.”
08191 Rubí (Barcelona) Spain
Tel: +34 935 862 040
www.kaoprint.com
Email: md@kaochimigraf.com
Sales: $300 million (Ink World estimate)
Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, offering a wide range of industrial inkjet inks for applications like packaging, graphic arts, coding & marking, textile, 3D, and décor. Its portfolio of ink includes solvent-based and water-based flexography and rotogravure inks, varnishes and primers. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS produces UV inks and varnishes, including UV/LED, as well as oil-based and water-based UV inks, Eco-friendly inks, mineral oil-free ink and coating and additives.
Key Personnel: Esteve Granada, president Kao Chimigraf; Laurence Gamblin, president Kao Collins; Yamashita Minoru, business director, Kao Corporation Chemical Business; Yamazaki Masahito, R&D director APS; François Aguilar, CCO Kao Chimigraf; Chris Rogers, VP Kao Collins.
Number of Employees: 650
Comments: Kao APS is a subsidiary of Kao Group, a global leader in consumer and chemical products, with consolidated sales of $12.4 billion (1,382 billion yen) in 2020. Kao APS consists of Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and develops and manufactures packaging and inkjet inks.
Kao APS is in a wide range of markets, and François Aguilar, chief commercial officer for Kao Chimigraf, noted that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kao APS’s sales were steady.
“2020 was a very difficult year for all the markets, but globally the general situation from Kao APS was under control and we had a limited impact on our sales,” Aguilar said. “We saw a clear decrease of activity in certain market like graphics, but in parallel, markets like packaging were increasing so this was giving us some stability on our sales.”
Aguilar observed that since the acquisition of Chimigraf by Kao, many re-organizations of the company were done.
“In 2020, we started to strongly promote new ink technologies (inkjet UV, water, low migration, flexo and bio-based) produced locally by Kao Chimigraf in Barcelona,” said Aguilar. “One of them is water-based inkjet for applications like flexible packaging, corrugated, paper, textile and graphics. We are now able to offer a large range of sustainable ink solution to the market and support our customers with more ecological values.”
Aguilar reported that COVID-19 had a major impact on raw material pricing, and also on available stock and transportation cost.
“This situation started with pigment price increases and very quickly all key raw materials were also impacted by price increases and availability,” added Aguilar. “Being part of Kao Chemical Europe, Kao’s purchasing team was able to create many contacts with suppliers in the market and secure as much as possible the delivery of raw materials. Unfortunately, this situation is still not stable yet.”
Aguilar noted that Kao APS recently launched the kaoprint.com website, where Kao offers businesses involved in the industrial printing industry access to the expertise and innovative capabilities provided by Kao APS.
The site aims to support worldwide industrial printing through stronger supply chain support, efficient access to all inks and services, supporting decentralized production and manufacturing, faster development of custom ink and printing solutions and greater flexibility to support changing markets and business conditions.
“As a global brand serving a worldwide network of industrial printers, packagers and distributors, Kao seeks to prioritize sustainability efforts throughout the supply chain,” Aguilar added.
Aguilar noted that Kao APS is seeing some recovery of market demand, but it is not fully recovered compared to 2019 level.
“2021 will still be a challenging year for recovery and we are expecting a better situation from 2022,” Aguilar added. “We are expecting stable demand in the second half of 2021, but the market will not recover at 100%. Many industries and countries are still impacted with the latest COVID-19 regulations, so we will still see some fluctuation of demand depending on the area.”