David Savastano, Editor02.07.22
As the world continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and life after the pandemic, some things are returning back to a new normal. The ink industry has felt the impact, from supply chain disruptions to shutdowns, but the industry is still seeing growth in some segments, including packaging and digital printing.
Leading equipment suppliers report that they are seeing positive signs from their ink customers.
Sara Fulford, VP sales and marketing for Hockmeyer Equipment, said that Hockmeyer is seeing increasing growth among its customers in the ink industry.
“We are seeing growth and high potential from clients who are seeking to increase capacity and streamline operations by implementing the latest technological advancements, industry pioneers who welcome change as an agent of growth,” Fulford said.
“We are seeing growth around specialty inks, conductive inks, sustainable raw materials, 3D printing resins, pastes and powder blends,” said Christine Banaszek, sales manager, Charles Ross & Son Company.
Patrick Maeder, senior sales director, grinding and dispersion for Buhler Group, added that Buhler is seeing growth, particularly in the packaging ink segment, as well as more interest on the production side.
“Not so much into lab size equipment but more so into production,” Maeder added. “This too may just be in response to COVID and fulfilling demands rather than focusing on improving developments at this time.”
Christophe Rizzo, CEO EMEA/Americas, IM GROUP, said that 2020 and 2021 helped the ink industry to grow and reach their historical highest level.
“This boost was due to three main reasons,” Rizzo said. “The first one is because the pandemic forced people to stay closed at home during the lockdowns; during this period people were ‘consuming’ food packaging. Secondly, due to the requirement of no contamination to avoid any transmission of COVID, packaging was used more to protect the goods. Third, in some countries, to help economies facing a heavy crisis, some governments put in a system of large liquidity quantities by financing the investments also of our customers.
“The point now is to predict the trends of 2022; the pandemic has not as yet been terminated, it is not clear how long governments will be able to finance the economy and it is difficult to predict if the packaging consumption will stay at the same level as it was in 2021,” added Rizzo.
Investing in New Equipment
Equipment manufacturers say they are seeing increasing interest in lab and production equipment. For example, Rizzo said that customers are investing in production equipment to face the current increase in demand.
“Many companies are taking advantage of local governmental incentives,” added Rizzo. “Most of these are granted for investments heading in the direction of industry 4.0 and a circular economy. These incentives are a big opportunity for our customers to renew their production facility and to be technologically advanced.”
“Many of those investments start with trial/rental,” Banaszek said. “Especially in the last couple of years, our rental program has been very busy. Rental equipment often bridges the transition gap between development and pilot scale production.”
“Clients understand that the two work in harmony,” Fulford reported. “Lab development and testing are a necessity in order to implement new technology in the production environment.”
Key Features
Fulford said that the ink industry is looking for a number of key features, including high efficiency, consistent results, maximum product recovery (less waste), ease of cleaning, de-aeration and overall high value for the investment. Maeder pointed to productivity improvements, more automation and data harvesting.
Banaszek reported that for high-viscosity specialty ink formulations, vacuum-capable multi-shaft and planetary mixers are replacing conventional single-shaft dispersers used in typical batching processes.
“The ability to deaerate the material before, during or after mixing; maintain temperature uniformly throughout the batch at all times; impart high shear across a wide viscosity range; easily transfer the finished product and prepare the machine for the next batch - these are all important considerations,” Banaszek added. “On the controls side, there’s been a tremendous evolution in recent years. New software, control systems, and user interfaces are adopted to optimize production cost, service life, data logging and operator safety.”
Rizzo pointed to the quality of a machine, quality of service and software ready for industry 4.0.
“All of our machines are done at the highest quality level thanks to our engineering team and quality control procedures: for example, all our equipment is tested before to leave our factories,” Rizzo continued. “Technical services and after sales services are granted thanks to our network of offices and agents around the world. Finally, the IM GROUP software, internally developed, allows our customers to be totally aligned with the requirements of industry 4.0.”
Sustainability is also a key driver.
There’s no doubt that sustainability is playing a role in equipment selection. “Absolutely, sustainability has become a crucial part of the equipment evaluation process,” Fulford said.
Banaszek noted that selecting the proper mixer for a particular application is key from various standpoints, including energy consumption, yield, rework and maintenance.
“In reality, most products can be made in a number of equipment and through a variety of manufacturing methods,” Banaszek added. “Especially when legacy equipment is routinely delegated to produce new formulations, this can compromise product quality and often gives rise to processing inefficiencies. Taking the time and resources to identify the best mixing strategy ultimately helps companies meet their sustainability goals and even gain competitive advantage.”
“Sustainability goals are considered more so now than in the past,” said Maeder. “However, they have to make economical sense and add to safety and productivity.”
“IM GROUP can definitely help its customers respond to sustainability thanks to the technology of the machine and the software included,” said Rizzo. “The benefits of our machines pose less risk of ink pollution because our ink mixing is achieved automatically in a clean way. The software also allows the traceability of VOC consumption, and the study of the ergonomic layout of our equipment enable users to work within safe conditions.”
Maeder said that equipment manufacturers can help ink manufacturers through sustainable and innovative production and service solutions.
“Each plant/lab/factory is its own ecosystem with unique challenges, needs, preferences and culture,” Fulford said. “Equipment manufacturers must be able to develop customized equipment that utilizes the latest technology available, meets performance specifications and addresses current sustainability requirements.”
“Equipment manufacturers and their agents will make on-site visits to better understand process requirements, develop equipment quotes, address end user questions or assist with planning and implementation of equipment,” Banaszek noted. “Ross has a Test & Development Center with the full range of mixing equipment we offer. This facility is open to customers for proof-of-concept demonstrations using their own raw materials.
“During the visit, technical personnel from R&D and production can learn the characteristics of the mixer and how it is operated,” added Banaszek. “Ross has been around for almost 180 years now and based on our collective experience, a good long-term relationship between equipment manufacturer and ink producer is extremely valuable.”
Leading equipment suppliers report that they are seeing positive signs from their ink customers.
Sara Fulford, VP sales and marketing for Hockmeyer Equipment, said that Hockmeyer is seeing increasing growth among its customers in the ink industry.
“We are seeing growth and high potential from clients who are seeking to increase capacity and streamline operations by implementing the latest technological advancements, industry pioneers who welcome change as an agent of growth,” Fulford said.
“We are seeing growth around specialty inks, conductive inks, sustainable raw materials, 3D printing resins, pastes and powder blends,” said Christine Banaszek, sales manager, Charles Ross & Son Company.
Patrick Maeder, senior sales director, grinding and dispersion for Buhler Group, added that Buhler is seeing growth, particularly in the packaging ink segment, as well as more interest on the production side.
“Not so much into lab size equipment but more so into production,” Maeder added. “This too may just be in response to COVID and fulfilling demands rather than focusing on improving developments at this time.”
Christophe Rizzo, CEO EMEA/Americas, IM GROUP, said that 2020 and 2021 helped the ink industry to grow and reach their historical highest level.
“This boost was due to three main reasons,” Rizzo said. “The first one is because the pandemic forced people to stay closed at home during the lockdowns; during this period people were ‘consuming’ food packaging. Secondly, due to the requirement of no contamination to avoid any transmission of COVID, packaging was used more to protect the goods. Third, in some countries, to help economies facing a heavy crisis, some governments put in a system of large liquidity quantities by financing the investments also of our customers.
“The point now is to predict the trends of 2022; the pandemic has not as yet been terminated, it is not clear how long governments will be able to finance the economy and it is difficult to predict if the packaging consumption will stay at the same level as it was in 2021,” added Rizzo.
Investing in New Equipment
Equipment manufacturers say they are seeing increasing interest in lab and production equipment. For example, Rizzo said that customers are investing in production equipment to face the current increase in demand.
“Many companies are taking advantage of local governmental incentives,” added Rizzo. “Most of these are granted for investments heading in the direction of industry 4.0 and a circular economy. These incentives are a big opportunity for our customers to renew their production facility and to be technologically advanced.”
“Many of those investments start with trial/rental,” Banaszek said. “Especially in the last couple of years, our rental program has been very busy. Rental equipment often bridges the transition gap between development and pilot scale production.”
“Clients understand that the two work in harmony,” Fulford reported. “Lab development and testing are a necessity in order to implement new technology in the production environment.”
Key Features
Fulford said that the ink industry is looking for a number of key features, including high efficiency, consistent results, maximum product recovery (less waste), ease of cleaning, de-aeration and overall high value for the investment. Maeder pointed to productivity improvements, more automation and data harvesting.
Banaszek reported that for high-viscosity specialty ink formulations, vacuum-capable multi-shaft and planetary mixers are replacing conventional single-shaft dispersers used in typical batching processes.
“The ability to deaerate the material before, during or after mixing; maintain temperature uniformly throughout the batch at all times; impart high shear across a wide viscosity range; easily transfer the finished product and prepare the machine for the next batch - these are all important considerations,” Banaszek added. “On the controls side, there’s been a tremendous evolution in recent years. New software, control systems, and user interfaces are adopted to optimize production cost, service life, data logging and operator safety.”
Rizzo pointed to the quality of a machine, quality of service and software ready for industry 4.0.
“All of our machines are done at the highest quality level thanks to our engineering team and quality control procedures: for example, all our equipment is tested before to leave our factories,” Rizzo continued. “Technical services and after sales services are granted thanks to our network of offices and agents around the world. Finally, the IM GROUP software, internally developed, allows our customers to be totally aligned with the requirements of industry 4.0.”
Sustainability is also a key driver.
There’s no doubt that sustainability is playing a role in equipment selection. “Absolutely, sustainability has become a crucial part of the equipment evaluation process,” Fulford said.
Banaszek noted that selecting the proper mixer for a particular application is key from various standpoints, including energy consumption, yield, rework and maintenance.
“In reality, most products can be made in a number of equipment and through a variety of manufacturing methods,” Banaszek added. “Especially when legacy equipment is routinely delegated to produce new formulations, this can compromise product quality and often gives rise to processing inefficiencies. Taking the time and resources to identify the best mixing strategy ultimately helps companies meet their sustainability goals and even gain competitive advantage.”
“Sustainability goals are considered more so now than in the past,” said Maeder. “However, they have to make economical sense and add to safety and productivity.”
“IM GROUP can definitely help its customers respond to sustainability thanks to the technology of the machine and the software included,” said Rizzo. “The benefits of our machines pose less risk of ink pollution because our ink mixing is achieved automatically in a clean way. The software also allows the traceability of VOC consumption, and the study of the ergonomic layout of our equipment enable users to work within safe conditions.”
Maeder said that equipment manufacturers can help ink manufacturers through sustainable and innovative production and service solutions.
“Each plant/lab/factory is its own ecosystem with unique challenges, needs, preferences and culture,” Fulford said. “Equipment manufacturers must be able to develop customized equipment that utilizes the latest technology available, meets performance specifications and addresses current sustainability requirements.”
“Equipment manufacturers and their agents will make on-site visits to better understand process requirements, develop equipment quotes, address end user questions or assist with planning and implementation of equipment,” Banaszek noted. “Ross has a Test & Development Center with the full range of mixing equipment we offer. This facility is open to customers for proof-of-concept demonstrations using their own raw materials.
“During the visit, technical personnel from R&D and production can learn the characteristics of the mixer and how it is operated,” added Banaszek. “Ross has been around for almost 180 years now and based on our collective experience, a good long-term relationship between equipment manufacturer and ink producer is extremely valuable.”