Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Flint Group also manufactures chips and resins for inks and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyper dispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and flexographic plates, sleeves and printing equipment. With its Digital Solutions division (the Xeikon brand), Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms offering a unique mix of equipment, consumables and services.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,900 worldwide.

Comments: Flint Group had a solid year in 2019, with Flint Group Packaging driving growth. Global revenues for Flint Group were €2 billion (US $2.2 billion).

“We continue to see strong performance in the packaging market in North America – our acquisitions are fully integrated into the Flint Group business and are creating value,” said Michael Mosely, VP and GM, Packaging Inks North America. “The business continues to experience headwinds with tariffs and raw material cost fluctuations and we continue to do our best to mitigate these challenges. However, the fundamental value proposition of packaging remains strong and continues to create opportunities for us.”

Mosley added that Flint Group expects growth in the packaging inks’ businesses. “The markets for flexible packaging and paper & board are growing; Flint Group’s key objective is to be the supplier of choice for these markets and continue our growth trajectory,” he added.

Deanna Klemesrud, global marketing director-brand & promo, Packaging Inks and Resins for Flint Group, said that in terms of challenges, they change and evolve in the ink and packaging industry. Right now, access to talent, digitalization of business and sustainability require attention.

“With regard to talent, the market is dealing with both an aging workforce and training and education of the next-generation ink makers and package printers,” said Klemesrud. “We are constantly reviewing what our own target organization should look like and how we address people development and retention.

Klemesrud pointed out that Flint Group is launching a modern B2B digital platform in 2020, focused on customers’ needs for efficiency and simplification. “We are already using ‘big data’ in our business operations and are happy to offer advice to our customers,” she noted.

In terms of sustainability, brand owners, who are driven by consumers, regulatory bodies and special interest groups, are looking for package printers to deliver solutions.

“Ink suppliers must be prepared with products and solutions to address current and future packaging requirements targeted toward food waste reduction, recyclability and compostability. Additionally, responsible sourcing of materials is also critical; we must carefully consider our vendors and raw material feedstocks,” Klemesrud noted.

For raw materials, Mosley said that Flint Group’s three main concerns are sustainability, the security of supply, and, right now, minimizing the potential impact of the recent Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.

“The safety and well-being of our environment is a vital concern of Flint Group in every aspect of our business,” said Mosley. “This includes responsible raw material sourcing and careful supplier selection, which are key priorities of our procurement teams. This includes ensuring that our vendors are aligned with our strict supplier standards. As it relates to the security of supply, Flint Group has a dedicated procurement team that manages supply both globally and locally – ensuring that all key materials are on hand with reasonably sized, consistently monitored, safety stocks,” he added. “This has been absolutely critical during the recent Covid-19 outbreak. We have a specific team addressing the potential ramifications and mitigation of the impact of Covid-19 on both our operations and supply chain.”

Mosley said that Flint Group Packaging Inks will continue on its path toward globalized ink and coating technologies. “Throughout 2020, we will continue to launch new water-based product developments under our AquaCode brand hierarchy. Additionally, we will introduce a revised, and globally aligned, solvent-based portfolio to the flexible packaging segment,” he said.

“We must mention, there is no doubt that the global plastics debate is causing consumers to think more about packaging; regardless, we still see a lot of growth with various flexible packaging and paper & board structures,” added Mosley. “We are dedicated to the packaging market and understand the value packaging brings to food preservation, protection of goods in transportation and consumer buying experience. We look forward to working closely with our customers and industry partners to ensure an objective and healthy debate on the future of packaging.

“Regardless of the challenges that may exist within the global economy and within our packaging segments, there is still a wide range of existing, and new, opportunities within the packaging and ink markets into 2020 and beyond,” Mosley concluded. “For Flint Group CPS, we anticipate the continued trend of market shrinkage in the magazine, catalog, newspaper and insert web markets, along with the consolidation of the print customer base. Flint Group CPS continues to adjust our global operational footprints to maintain low cost, high-quality products for customers. We seek to capitalize on our sheetfed positioning through direct and distributor channels to grow our sheetfed ink commercial and packaging business.”

Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Also manufactures dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and flexographic plates, sleeves and printing equipment. With the acquisition of Xeikon, Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms. Flint Group Digital Solutions offers a unique mix of equipment, consumables and services.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,900 worldwide.

Comments: With estimated sales of $2.7 billion, Flint Group had a strong year in 2018, led by Flint Group Packaging.

“The industry was very competitive in 2018, and raw material markets were challenging, but the Flint Group Packaging division did well, growing in revenue over the prior year in most segments,” said Antoine Fady, CEO Flint Group Packaging. “Packaging print markets grow slowly and can be affected by a variety of economic factors, but we move into 2019 optimistic about long-term opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Flint Group’s Commercial, Publication & Sheetfed Inks (CPS) Inks division faced more difficult times, as the publication and commercial printing industry continue to decline.

“Consistent with prior years, the commercial and publication print industries contracted in 2018 due to consumers’ continued preference for online communications,” Steve Dryden, CEO CPS Inks, noted. “CPS Inks’ volumes were affected by that ongoing trend, but our teams did a great job of working smarter and managing costs. Overall, it was a tough but successful year for our business.”

Dryden noted that 2018 was the first full year in which CPS Inks and Flint Group Packaging operated separately, giving both businesses the flexibility to best focus on unique customer needs in the very different segments Flint Group serves.

“CPS Inks established a new strategy and was able to achieve budget in spite of tough industry conditions – including managing the challenge of rising raw material costs and supply continuity so customers could continue to rely on us,” Dryden noted.

Deanna Klemesrud, global marketing director for Flint Group, anticipates that Flint Group will see further expansion in the packaging ink fields.

“Flint Group expects growth in our Packaging Inks’ businesses – the markets for Flexible Packaging and Paper & Board are growing everywhere in the world, and Flint Group’s key objective is to be the supplier of choice for these markets and continue our growth trajectory,” said Klemesrud. “We remained focused on the global packaging market and are determined to develop streamlined products, services and processes which will support our customers’ current and future needs.”

VIVO Colour Solutions is among the new services offered by Flint Group to its packaging ink customers.

“Flint Group Paper & Board launched is revolutionary VIVO Colour Solutions – digital color management platform – in the first half of 2018,” Klemesrud reported. “With increasing demand from global brand owners for color equity across geographies and packaging substrates, Flint Group developed a solution that can truly, and reliably, meet the color management needs of all stakeholders in the packaging print industry.

“VIVO Colour Solutions is an industry leading and robust color communication and service platform,” added Klemesrud. “It is an effective end-to-end color management process – the first of its kind in the industry.”

“As savvy printers and converters look for ways to reduce costs throughout their operations, Flint Group will continue to differentiate itself through its XtraMile platform – a unique service-orientated value proposition designed to enable printers to reduce their total cost of operation,” Klemesrud concluded.

In important personnel news, Bill Miller retired as COO of CPS Inks. Miller, who first began on the shop floor of Capitol Printing Ink 42 years ago, was honored in 2013 for his dedication to the ink industry with the prestigious Ault Award – the ink industry’s highest honor, awarded by the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM).

“Bill Miller guided Flint Group through challenging market conditions, serving with integrity and thoughtfulness while guiding the company’s evolution as customer needs changed. In addition, Bill was an esteemed leader and mentor industry-wide. His reach extended far beyond Flint Group,” Dryden noted.

Raw materials remain a huge concern for the ink industry, as availability and costs continue to be unstable, with dramatic cost increases driving ink companies to issue price increases of their own while also absorbing some of the higher costs.

“The raw material market remains volatile,” said Arno de Groot, VP procurement of Flint Group’s Packaging division, “affecting a wide variety of materials used in printing inks, including solvents, additives and more. In particular, costs of pigments and photoinitiators have spiked due to regulatory controls in China.”

In addition, added de Groot, “Ink manufacturing in the US and Europe are affected by regulations such as Prop 65 in California and REACH in Europe, and some regional guidelines have global impacts due to the global nature of our industry.”

“Significant cost headwinds have been witnessed in pigments, solvents, resins and freight, placing uninterrupted cost pressure on the Packaging Inks’ business,” Klemesrud added.

Michael Podd, chief procurement officer of Flint Group’s CPS Inks business, expanded upon REACH and UV raw

material challenges.

“The recent REACH reclassification of certain energy-curable-related materials has led suppliers in Europe and beyond to look for alternative UV materials,” Podd reported. “Unfortunately, the alternative materials come at a much higher cost.”

“Though we try to avoid price increases whenever possible, in 2018 we were forced to share some of the cost burdens with customers,” Dryden added. “Most were aware of the overall supply chain challenges, often because they experienced it first hand as part of other aspects of operating their businesses. Flint CPS has long-term contracts with key raw material suppliers, which means we can maintain reliable supply, albeit sometimes at a higher cost.”

Doug Aldred, president Packaging Inks & Resins, has noted previously that Flint Group is improving efficiencies while developing new products that will benefit customers.

“We are resolutely committed to the efficiency projects first communicated to the market in late 2017,” Aldred pointed out. “In addition, we continue to implement new initiatives to remove cost and complexity, steadfastly focusing on the benefits these activities bring to our customers. Customers will be pleased to learn that we will be introducing new, high-performing products throughout the course of 2019, helping to improve printing efficiencies and support process optimization within our customers’ press room; the influence of these changes will be especially pertinent for our Paper & Board customers.”

Other economic issues are major concerns, such as transportation costs and uncertainty over trade barriers and tariffs.

“Transportation and US trade tariffs on China were big challenges in 2018. We don’t expect that to change in the short term,” Podd noted.

Dryden sees opportunities for growth in the coming year, particularly in sheetfed.

“In the commercial and publication segments of the printing industries, sheetfed will likely experience a modest increase, with slightly higher growth levels in packaging and UV sheetfed segments,” he observed. “In 2019, CPS Inks expects to increase sheetfed revenue and remain the leader in heatset and coldset segments.”

Klemesrud said she sees excellent opportunities ahead for Flint Group Packaging.

“We expect to see further growth in the Paper & Board markets – especially for Flint Group as we launch our new globally available ink systems,” Klemesrud said. “For our Flexible Packaging business, we see some interesting times ahead. There is no doubt that the global plastics debate is causing consumers to think more about packaging but we still see lots of growth in various flexible packaging solutions. We look forward to working closely with our customers and industry partners to ensure an objective debate on the future of packaging.”

Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Also manufactures dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and flexographic plates, sleeves and printing equipment. With the acquisition of Xeikon, Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms. Flint Group Digital Solutions offers a unique mix of equipment, consumable and services.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,900 worldwide.

Comments: Flint Group had an excellent year, with sales increasing to $2.5 billion, up from $2.4 billion in 2016. In particular, the company did well in packaging, energy curing and the digital printing market.

On the packaging and energy curable ink side, Flint Group Narrow Web received a 2017 FTA Technical Innovation Award for EkoCure ANCORA, its UV LED low migration ink.

“We believe that low migration ink combined with UV LED flexographic printing technology is a revolution for the flexible food packaging industry,” said Kelly Kolliopoulos, global marketing director, Flint Group Narrow Web.

On the sheetfed side, Flint Group launched a series of new low migration UV inks, including UltraCURA Sens, UltraCURA Sens Plas and UltraCURA Sens Bases, as well as XCURA EVO, a new UV LED process ink.

Flint Group Digital Solutions was particularly active, as Xeikon launched its new Panther series of UV inkjet label presses, adding to its line of Cheetah toner presses. The Panther PX3000 and PX2000 presses use PantherCure UV inks, which the company notes use a combination of LED and mercury UV lights for curing.

“This rapid product development underscores our commitment to offering a broad portfolio of complementary solutions, for both our Cheetah Series of dry toner and Panther Series of UV inkjet digital label presses,” said Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s VP global marketing.

In the label and narrow web space, Xeikon entered into an exclusive partnership for EFI Jetrion. Xeikon will service and supply Jetrion’s customers.

“Xeikon is the perfect partner to market, service and support the EFI Jetrion product line as both companies share a common goal of delivering exceptional value, unparalleled service, consistent quality and continuous innovation – values we are committed to secure in the future for all Jetrion customers worldwide,” noted Benoit Chatelard, president and CEO Digital Solutions, Flint Group.

Higher raw material costs and supply concerns are impacting the ink industry. This has led ink manufactures to raise prices, and Flint Group was no exception. Flint Group increased its packaging inks at the end of 2017, and its CPS (Commercial, Publication & Sheetfed Inks) division followed in early 2018.

“Despite our tenacious efforts to mitigate these dynamics by deploying significant capital to efficiency projects, cost pressure has been utterly relentless,” said Doug Aldred, president Packaging Inks for Flint Group. “The situation now necessitates that we pass some increases through the supply chain.”

“Combined, these factors have affected material availability and cost. This has adversely impacted the cost of manufacturing most of our key product lines to a degree that we can no longer absorb,” added Bill Miller, COO of Flint Group CPS Inks.

Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Also manufactures dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market; printing blankets; and flexographic plates, sleeves and printing equipment. With the acquisition of Xeikon, Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms. Flint Group Digital Solutions offers a unique mix of equipment, consumable and services.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,900 worldwide.

Comments: For Flint Group, late 2015 and early 2016 was an extremely active period for mergers and acquisitions. Flint Group added Xeikon and Advanced Color Systems, strengthening its digital and North American packaging ink positions. While Flint Group integrated these companies into their portfolio, the company dramatically expanded its offerings with the acquisition of American Inks & Coatings (AIC) in May 2016.

AIC, the eighth-largest North American printing ink manufacturer in Ink World’s 2016 Top 20 report, recorded sales of $130 million in 2015. AIC’s key markets include water- and solvent-based inks for flexible packaging, folding carton, multi-wall bags, gift wrap and corrugated printing.

“We are very excited by the potential of this partnership,” said Flint Group CEO Antoine Fady. “The investment in AIC leaves Flint Group very well positioned to support the dynamic growth witnessed in the global packaging market and aligns us even closer to customers situated in the important North American packaging and converting market.

“Flint Group will continue to build our businesses in ways that enable us to deliver the very best products, solutions and expertise to the printing industry around the world. The investment in American Inks & Coatings is an important building block of this overall strategy,” Fady concluded.

In October 2016, Flint Group added Marietta, GA-based Printec Industries, Inc. Printec is a specialist in water-based inks flexo and gravure inks, with a focus on the North American paper and board segment.

“We are extremely pleased with this addition to our growing packaging division in North America,” said Doug Aldred, president Flint Group Packaging & Narrow Web.

Flint Group was also very active in the European publication ink market, acquiring Siegwerk Druckfarben’s web offset segment while selling its publication gravure ink business to Sun Chemical.

“Flint Group’s decision to sell its European publication gravure business is in line with the organization’s long-term strategy to increase focus on its core web offset markets, where it continues to build on its market position – as evidenced by the recent purchase of Siegwerk’s global web offset business and expansion of its global Print Media business,” said Tony Lord, Flint Group’s Print Media Europe president.

With these acquisitions, Flint Group has strengthened its portfolio in key market segments, and the company reported excellent results in 2016. Aldred reported that 2016 was an exciting year for Flint Group’s packaging ink business.

“With our recent acquisitions in North America, Flint Group is focusing on supporting customers with the very best products, services and staff of experts,” Aldred said. “We also have had exciting developments within our Flexible Packaging segment in North America, which is a key strategic growth area for Flint Group and our customers.”

On the publication side, printing volumes in the news and heatset web industries have continued to decline, and the publication ink industry has also been impacted.

“Flint Group certainly felt the effects as well, but we planned for this, stuck to our plans, and, as a result, performed well in 2016,” Bill Miller, president Print Media and Pigments, Chips & Resins, said. “All told, Flint Group’s web offset businesses fared well, and we look forward to 2017.”

Aside from its acquisitions, Flint Group continues to invest in its packaging inks operation, adding more than 9,000 square feet to its solvent-based manufacturing facility in Lebanon, OH.

Flint Group was active on the R&D front, adding a wide range of products, notably Flexocure ANCORA 50, a low migration UV flexo range of inks, and EkoCure ANCORA, a UV LED curable low migration narrow web ink series.

Flint Group’s leaders anticipate that the company will continue to grow in all of the markets that it serves during 2017.

“We don’t expect the news, magazine and related print segments to grow in North America, in spite of data that consistently shows a greater impact and return on investment of printed communications channels. These print segments will likely continue to shrink in 2017, though less for heatset than coldset,” Miller observed. “That said, we feel very confident that print still has a very strong role to play in 2017, and far beyond. Flint Group’s goal is to help our customers stay competitive.”

Aldred concluded that 2016 was a very exciting year for Flint Group’s Packaging & Narrow Web businesses.

“We expect to see further consolidation of our customer base in 2017 and the value proposition from Flint Group should help to support our growth within this important segment,” Aldred said.

Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable technologies for various applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset, digital and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Also manufactures dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and flexographic plates, sleeves and printing equipment. With the acquisition of Xeikon, Flint Group shows its commitment to expanding digital platforms. Flint Group Digital Solutions offers a unique mix of equipment, consumable and services.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,300 worldwide.

Comments: Flint Group had an exceptional year in 2015 and early 2016, expanding into new markets (digital inks, South Africa) and adding to core segments (web heatset and news inks and water-based packaging inks).

In the most significant move, Flint Group re-entered the fast-growing digital printing market with the acquisition of Xeikon, a leading press manufacturer, in November. Xeikon became the core part of Flint Group Digital Printing Solutions, Flint Group’s new digital division. Xeikon CEO Wim Maes is president of Flint Group’s Digital Printing Solutions division.

“This acquisition represents an excellent opportunity for Flint Group, propelling the organization further into the digital solutions market,” said Antoine Fady, CEO Flint Group.

“We are very pleased to be joining Flint Group’s global organization and excited by the opportunities this acquisition presents to accelerate business growth,” Maes said.

In the web offset field, Flint Group issued a binding offer to Siegwerk Druckfarben in February 2016 to acquire its heatset and news ink business. Completion is still subject to customary closing conditions.

Also in February, Flint Group announced the acquisition of Advanced Color Systems, Inc. (ACS), Tualatin, OR, a water-based ink specialist focused on the paper and board packaging segment.

“Flint Group is very pleased with this new partnership and the opportunities it presents to expand in the North American paper and board packaging market,” Fady said. “Tim Becker, Reed Fowler, and the team at Advanced Color Systems have built a customer focused and responsive organization with teams dedicated to its clients’ success.”

In October 2015, Flint Group expanded its geographic range into the sub-Saharan range in Africa, launching Flint Group Africa, a joint venture with Continental Printing Inks and Eagle Ink Systems, two of the leading ink and coatings suppliers to packaging and print media markets in South Africa.

“In 2015, Flint Group experienced a powerful increase of opportunities through product and service innovations, customer-focused care and strategic acquisitions,” said Doug Aldred, Flint Group’s president Packaging & Narrow Web. “By acquiring Xeikon, we broadened Flint Group’s portfolio into the important digital realm for packaging, labels and document printing. Our acquisition of Continental/Eagle Inks South Africa increases our geographic reach in an important and growing market. Both companies were winners in their arenas, and they’re a great fit for Flint Group.”

In terms of inks, Flint Group had a strong year in 2015, with Packaging & Narrow Web leading the way.

“Packaging & Narrow Web delivered growth in North America in 2016 across all packaging business segments,” said Aldred. “We are strongly committed to the packaging industry, which is highlighted by our recent, and significant, investment in our solvent-based manufacturing facility in Lebanon, OH.

“Additionally, our investment in our people capabilities and skills, along with the recruitment of key positions for Packaging & Narrow Web, have contributed to our growth in North America and also in other parts of the world,” Aldred added. “In addition, the recent acquisition of Advanced Color Systems (ACS) further confirms our commitment to the paper and board segment in North America.”

The publication and commercial printing segments have been declining in recent years. Bill Miller, president Print Media for Flint Group, noted that these segments continue to be concerns.

“Industry experts once expected the news industry decline to soften substantially, but in fact, it continues to face steep declines,” Miller said. “Flint Group certainly felt the effects of that in 2015. While the retail, magazine, catalog and book sectors also continued to struggle, they remained vital in 2015. E-book growth remains at low levels, catalogs saw some resurgence, and once again, the number of new magazines outpace folded ones. Flint Group’s Print Media business continued to invest in inks, blankets and pressroom chemistry for the news and publication sectors, and will continue to do so.”

As the printing industry changes, the ink industry also must evolve. Grant Shouldice, VP technology and marketing of the North American packaging group, said that Flint Group’s new technologies are bringing new opportunities in growth areas such as flexible packaging and lamination inks.

“Packaging is a very exciting sector. Color, branding and aesthetics of packaging continue to be the dominant factors that make up minds at the shelf and therefore remains a powerful marketing tool for brand owners,” Shouldice noted. “Flexible packaging in general and especially laminated structures such as stand up pouches and retortable packages – printed both flexo and gravure – are growing significantly. The label segment, especially shrink sleeves, is also growing and remains an area for all printing processes, including electrophotography and inkjet.

“Flint Group is focused on providing inks for all processes and chemistries such that a higher level of graphic quality can be met while maintaining efficiencies with high speed inks,” Shouldice added. “As the number of SKUs explode in the packaging sector, a digital process for short runs is fast becoming essential for efficient manufacturing. With our complete package of products – including, now, digital – Flint Group continues to increase our presence in packaging and label markets, with ink and equipment.”

Mike Green, VP sales, Web, noted that Flint Group remains completely dedicated to publication sector.

“It’s not an easy market for our customers, but it is still a large and important sector with numerous bright spots,” Green said. “Our inks, blankets, chemicals and consumables – backed by some of the most dedicated sales and service people I’ve ever known – are committed to working side by side with web offset printers to help them capitalize on the opportunities.

“Flint Group stands strong in both the Packaging and Print Media sectors,” Miller added. “We are stronger for this diversity for customers in either segment, and for the increasing number of customers who participate in both the packaging and print media worlds.”

Regulatory mandates are on the rise globally in areas such as food packaging, and Shouldice noted that Flint Group is working closely with its customers on these issues.

“This has become a familiar, and very important, trend over the last few years,” said Shouldice. “In Europe and North America, especially, there is a great focus on food packaging. Flint Group’s business managers, scientists, and regulatory specialists all play an important role in ensuring that Flint Group offer packaging inks that meet the many needs faced by printers.”

Raw materials remain an issue for ink manufacturers. While prices for many key ingredients stabilized and crude oil costs came down, consolidation of suppliers and currency effects are concerns.

“There’s never a dull moment in the world of raw materials, and 2015 was no exception,” said Diane Parisi, VP procurement for Flint Group. “The industry was challenged by a number of issues, such as the continued consolidation of raw material suppliers. Global currency rates and rising transportation costs also affected raw material pricing, as did tighter environmental regulations in many regions worldwide.

“Thankfully, those challenges were somewhat offset by stable crude pricing and relatively stable supply for most raw materials we buy,” Parisi added. “Still, we know from a long history of buying raw materials and tracking trends that conditions can – and do – change. We are always looking ahead, talking with our suppliers, and keeping our teams and customers informed of the latest trends.”

All in all, Miller and Aldred believe that Flint Group is ideally positioned to grow along with their customers in 2016 and beyond.

“Publication print markets will continue to feel the pressure of online communications – the news industry more than most,” Miller said. “But print media is still a vital part of marketing spend, and, as in the case with catalogs, can help boost the end-customers’ online businesses. We expect the print media market to continue to be challenging, and we remain steadfastly dedicated to helping our customers maximize their opportunities for success.”

“We are bullish about our possibilities in 2016 and beyond,” Aldred added. “The investments in our manufacturing assets and people put us in a good position for growth – both now and in the future. The cooperation between our Packaging & Narrow Web Division and our colleagues in Flint Group Flexographic Products and Flint Group Digital Printing Solutions will enable us to develop an even stronger value proposition including inks, plates, and digital solutions. We have a unique proposition for the packaging converter, and this will support our growth ambitions for the Packaging & Narrow Web market.”

Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Also manufactures dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market; pressroom chemicals; printing blankets; and flexographic plates and printing equipment.

Number of Employees: Approximately 6,600 worldwide.

Comments: Flint Group had a strong year in 2014, with the packaging and narrow web segments doing well and the publication and commercial markets remaining steady due to the company’s diverse product portfolio.

“The packaging and narrow web ink segments fared well in 2014,” said Doug Aldred, president Packaging & Narrow Web. “Clearly the packaging and label market is strong and growing, and we’re excited to be a leading supplier and partner with printers and converters in this innovative arena.”

“As we’ve seen in prior years, Flint Group’s Print Media business benefited by our uniquely well-rounded portfolio and our ongoing investment in inks, blankets and pressroom chemistry for this marketplace,” said William B. Miller, president Print Media Transatlantic and Japan.

Aldred reported that the packaging and narrow web ink segments experienced some growth in 2014, and Flint Group expects to see further growth as through 2015 and beyond.

“The packaging markets are where Flint Group continues to see increased opportunities, and with a global reach, such as ours, we are able to support global accounts and brand owners with a global proposition,” Aldred added. “With our team of local experts, we are able to provide regional accounts with dedicated customer focus and innovative services.”

Miller said that the print media market was tough in 2014, and Flint Group expects those conditions to continue into the foreseeable future.

“Flint Group fared well in spite of this, in great part by our ability to maintain important business and gain new customers,” Miller noted. “Consolidation continued, providing great opportunities for some printers and their suppliers.”

Grant Shouldice, VP technology and marketing for Flint Group’s North American packaging group, reported that narrow web labels and flexible packaging continues to show growth, and there is also growing interest in shrink applications, particularly in the North American region.

“In addition, wide web flexible packaging continues to show a steady increase as brand owners continue to move packaging in this direction,” Shouldice added. “Packages are becoming more and more sophisticated, and it’s our job as a global ink supplier to be in tune with these innovative developments and have inks and coatings to support these new designs.”

Flint Group Packaging and Narrow Web introduced a number of new products in 2014 – including its ever-expanding line of UV LED inks, coatings and adhesives – and also added to its service operations.

“We took further steps in the service aspects of our business – laying plans for specific programs related to process improvement and digital color communication,” Aldred noted. “We intend to work with our customers throughout 2015 to grow and implement these programs.”

Shouldice noted that the increasing interest in regulating food packaging is becoming more common in North America.

“We all know that the pressures are much more strong in Europe and other parts of the world,” Shouldice said. “But, the focus on food packaging, and packaging compliant inks, is gaining exposure in North America. Flint Group Packaging and Narrow Web has inks suitable for food packaging – for narrow web, sheetfed, flexible packaging and paper and board. Many of our inks have been put through rigorous testing and are proven to be true low migration. In addition, we have facilities in various parts of the world, which are already practicing GMP – and, no doubt, more of our facilities will also follow this model. Bottom line – Flint Group is ready for customer demand.”

Raw materials costs have stabilized, but at levels higher than in the past. Diane Parisi, Flint Group’s VP procurement, reported that new challenges are emerging.

“For packaging inks, we actually see a stable price platform, albeit at a higher price level,” said Parisi. “The materials used are further back in the chain from the base commodities and, as such, react less strongly on commodity movements. If at all, we see the potential for increases in TiO2 and some pigments.”

Parisi noted that publication inks have a different dynamic when it comes to raw materials. She also notes that decreasing oil prices are not the panacea or quick fix the industry would hope for.

“While crude is falling, certainly not all crude derivatives follow the same trend,” Parisi added. “For example, DCPD, a key ingredient for the publication ink business, has not come down at all.

“On a related note, the shale oil/gas revolution in the U.S. means that there is more availability of lighter oil types; however, the industry needs more of the heavy fractions from crude, and those become less available,” Parisi concluded. “Unfortunately, on top of this, we have the logistics challenges in the U.S. The ink industry is dependent on imports from all over the world; the ongoing threat and reality of port strikes has increased significantly. And, further to this, the increases in road transport are growing areas for concern.

“Currency affects the raw material market as well. Right now, North America feels the negative affect of currency movements; for example, pigments and pigments intermediates coming from China, where the Chinese yuan has strengthened against the U.S. dollar.”

Overall, Aldred and Miller anticipate much the same from their respective markets in the coming year.

“This is not an industry for the weary,” Miller said. “We will continue to see a challenging Print Media market as the years progress.”

“We expect the packaging and narrow web business to continue growing at a similar level to GDP and the consolidation of our customer base to continue,” Aldred said. “Flint Group Packaging and Narrow Web, over the past year, has designed detailed long range strategies to address this growing, and changing, market around the world.”

Major Products: A wide range of inks, coatings, blankets, pressroom chemistry, printing plates, consumables and more. Expertise in solvent-based, water-based, oil-based and energy curable applications, including offset lithography, flexography, gravure, rotary screen, rotary offset and letterpress. Products are designed to support nearly all print segments in the print media and packaging sectors. Also manufactures dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market.

Number of Employees: More than 6,800 worldwide.

Comments: Flint Group had a good year in 2013, with the company achieving strong results despite facing lower demand.

“As far as ink demand, 2013 felt familiar – lower market demand due to the factors we’ve discussed many times before,” said Bill Miller, president Print Media for Flint Group. “Still, Flint Group fared well. Our strategies take these market conditions into account. By staying true to them, we were able to end the year with strong results.

“By offering unique value to customers, we were able to maintain important business and gain new customers, all of which supported our sales targets in 2013,” Miller added. “Printers, like all other companies in the graphic arts industry, varied widely in gains or losses. Consolidation continued, providing great opportunities for some printers and their suppliers, and innovations enabled some printers to gain leads over their competitors, but the market overall remained tight.”

Doug Aldred, president, Flint Group Packaging & Narrow Web, noted that the packaging and narrow web ink segments also fared well.

“The packaging and label market is strong and growing, and we’re excited to be a leading supplier and partner with printers and converters in this innovative arena,” said Aldred.”The packaging and narrow web ink segments did experience growth in 2013. We have a great team in place; every person is dedicated to bringing Flint Group’s expertise to all markets globally.

“We see the packaging markets as growth opportunities – brand owners continue to become more sophisticated in the way they package products to attract consumers,” Aldred added. “We also realize the market need for sustainable packaging solutions – products that offer sustainable solutions for our environment, but also economic sustainability – and printing inks and applications can play a key role in this.”

Flint Group puts great emphasis on safety, and Frank Mastria, vice president operations/global SHE, said the efforts are paying off with incident levels better than the industry average.

“Our safety levels have been improving for some time, but that doesn’t mean we can relax,” said Mastria. “We have to make sure our Operational Excellence Processes and employee focus remain in place to fight complacency and mitigate risks. Our teams did an outstanding job. Our average global recordable incident rate was lower than ever before and better than industry averages. Flint Group employees have truly incorporated safety culture into their daily lives and into our company culture as a core value – which is important, since this remains an ongoing effort day in, day out.”

“Flint Group reached unprecedented safety results in 2013, the result of changes in our systems and culture,” Miller noted. “I am very pleased to see each employee take this seriously day after day.”

Flint Group had an active year on a number of fronts, with the December 2013 acquisition of the remaining shares of Tintas Graficas Vencedor (TGV) from Corporacion Peruana de Productos Quimicos S.A. (CPPQ) among the major highlights. Located in Lima, Peru, TGV was a joint venture between Flint Group (49.95% Flint Group GmbH) and CPPQ. TGV is a specialist in liquid packaging inks (solvent- and water-based) and the resale of narrow web, flexographic plates and sheetfed inks.

Aldred noted that on the packaging and label side alone, Flint Group brought more than 30 new products to the market to support both wide web and narrow web package and label printers in 2013.

“A game-changing solution, UV LED technology, was launched globally for both narrow web printers and sheetfed offset printers, as well as several new and proven, high quality low-migration technologies,” Aldred added.

Flint Group enjoyed growth in many product segments last year, with packaging, narrow web and energy curing being particularly strong.

“Flexible packaging and labels will continue to lead industry growth,” said Grant Shouldice, vice president technology and marketing for Flint Group’s North American packaging group. “We also expect folding carton to continue a slow and steady increase, especially as printers continue to capitalize on – and expand – their energy curing capability. Flint Group’s Packaging & Narrow Web group launched a number of new and innovative products that will provide valuable momentum for our growth in 2014.”

“Flint Group has a uniquely well-rounded portfolio,” Miller added. “Our ongoing investment in print media inks, blankets and pressroom chemistry helped us gain new customers in 2013. In fact, we’ve seen an increase in all customers – old and new – who buy from multiple Flint Group product lines.”

The cost of many key raw materials for ink stabilized at high levels during the past year, but Diane Parisi, Flint Group’s vice president procurement, said the company is preparing for more challenges in 2014.

“Many raw material prices did stabilize – albeit at uncomfortably high levels compared to years before,” said Parisi. “We don’t expect this quiet time to last for long. The trends that have caused raw material costs to increase continue to be a factor in our industry. In fact, we expect 2014 to be tougher than 2013 in terms of raw materials.”

All in all, Miller anticipates 2014 to be a year full of challenges and opportunities.

“I’ve been in this industry since 1976, and I haven’t experienced a dull year yet,” Miller concluded. “I expect more of the same. Challenges, opportunities and excitement are sure to keep us engaged in 2014.”

Major Products: Coldset and heatset web offset, sheetfed offset, flexographic, gravure and UV/EB inks; coatings for publication, packaging and commercial applications. A wide range of inks and coatings for narrow web tag and label applications. Photopolymer plates and sleeve systems for flexographic applications; highly engineered printing blankets and sleeves for offset applications; Full suite of pressroom chemicals and supplies. Dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market.

Number of Employees: Approximately 6,900 worldwide.

Comments: In 2012, Flint Group worked hard to overcome global economic challenges, add new customers and launch new products.

“2012 followed the general trend of the few years prior to it, and in all likelihood foreshadows the next few years,” said Bill Miller, president, Print Media Americas for Flint Group. “Keep in mind, that’s not all bad news. Though 2012 was tough, and though the economic recovery continued at a slower pace than we would have liked, we did see improvement, including growth in select print markets.

“In spite of the continued economic and industry challenges, Flint Group persevered,” Mr. Miller added. “We gained new customers, launched new products and forged new ground. Perhaps most importantly, Flint Group employees reached a powerful milestone in terms of safety. Our year-end total global incident rate was well below world-class levels.”

Flint Group emphasizes the importance of safety, and takes much pride in achieving these low global incident rates.

“Flint Group’s ongoing commitment to safety continued to pay off,” said Frank Mastria, vice president operations/global SHE. “Globally, our average recordable incident rate was lower than it has ever been – far better than industry averages. I am proud of the way Flint Group employees around the world have incorporated the safety culture into their daily lives.”

On a different front, Rodney Balmer, director of global research and product development –sheetfed inks, earned the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers’ (NAPIM) 2012 Printing Ink Pioneer Award. In his 25 years in the field. Mr. Balmer has shaped energy curable science across the globe. He has also led efforts on multiple patents, has written numerous white papers, and has spoken at many forums over the years.

“He certainly deserves this award,” Mr. Miller said.

Flint Group also introduced a number of new offerings –inks as well as other pressroom supplies they provide customers – to the North American print market, including the commercial and packaging sectors.

The raw material situation remains challenging, as some key ingredients have seen costs stabilize, while others remain volatile. Diane Parisi, vice president supply chain management for Flint Group, noted that either way, prices are now higher than in the past, and added that ongoing communication with customers is absolutely essential.

“From a raw material perspective, 2012 mirrored 2011,” said Ms. Parisi. “Cost volatility continued for many raw materials while stabilizing for some others, but at much higher levels than in the past. Geopolitical conditions and environmental factors – remember the hot summer and drought? – affected crop yields, creating tight supply of many materials. This medley of challenges is the new norm, though, and Flint Group’s global procurement team works with our suppliers and our colleagues to prepare for the trends and minimize any disruption these conditions may cause us and our customers.”

Moving forward, Flint Group’s leaders see opportunities for further growth across the printing spectrum.

“Flexible packaging and labels will continue to lead industry growth, and we also expect folding carton to continue a slow and steady increase,” said Grant Shouldice, vice president technology and marketing of the North American packaging group. “Flint Group’s Packaging & Narrow Web group launched a number of new and innovative products that will provide valuable momentum for our growth in 2012.”

“I’m confident that Flint Group will continue to be a leader in all the major graphic arts segments,” Mr. Miller added. “Year after year, we remain committed to offering high-quality products and expert support to our customers. That more than pays off, regardless of the economic and industry challenges we face.”

Major Products: Coldset and heatset web offset, sheetfed offset, flexographic, gravure and UV/EB inks; coatings for publication, packaging and commercial applications. A wide range of inks and coatings for narrow web tag and label applications. Photopolymer plates and sleeve systems for flexographic applications; highly engineered printing blankets and sleeves for offset applications; Full suite of pressroom chemicals and supplies. Dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,300 worldwide.

Comments: The ink industry faced another challenging year in 2011, as raw material prices continued to rise through most of the year, while the improvement in the economy did not overcome the higher costs. Bill Miller, president, Print Media Americas for Flint Group 2011, said that 2011 was a difficult year for the printing industry and for Flint Group, although the company did perform well.

“Economic recovery was not strong enough to spark a notable recovery, though we did see a slight uptick in demand in some segments,” Mr. Miller said. “The major factor contributing to worse-than-expected results was the continuation of highly elevated raw material costs. Even though we saw some raw material costs stabilize, they did so at record-high levels. Considering the economic and industry headwinds that the graphic arts industry has been fighting for some years now, Flint Group performed commendably in 2011.”

Mr. Miller said that Flint Group had plenty of highlights in 2011, beginning with its impressive safety record.

“One of our greatest accomplishments in 2011 was Flint Group’s ongoing commitment to safety and impressive improvement in safety results,” Mr. Miller said. “We ended 2011 with an average recordable incident rate below 1. A rate of ‘one’ is considered ‘world class’, and our employees definitely earn that description. Everyone in the company –at all levels, in all jobs, in all sites –helped to make Flint Group’s safety culture more and more a part of who we are and what we do each day. Safety is an ongoing journey as we continue to strive for perfection. Our employees are doing a great job at making that journey safer and safer.”

Mr. Miller noted that two key Flint Group leaders earned prestigious industry honors this year.

“Two of our team members were nationally recognized for their contributions to the industry,” Mr. Miller said. “Diane Parisi, vice president supply chain management, earned the 2011 Ault Award bestowed by the National Association for Printing Ink Manufacturers, and Jed Batchelder, national account manager, was inducted into the Gravure Association of America’s Golden Cylinder Society. These are great and well deserved honors.

“It’s worth noting that many deserve a great deal of credit for day-to-day efforts that elude the headlines,” Mr. Miller added. “I’m referring to work such as providing customers with consistent and reliable service and quality each day; helping customers manage their cost to print; and continuing to evolve our product lines.”

Flint Group also introduced a number of new offerings to the North American print market, including Lithokett UV offset inks for label and other narrow web applications.

Higher raw material costs as well as supply issues have been a huge concern for ink manufacturers in the last few years. Ms. Parisi noted that the raw material market continues to be a challenge for a number of reasons.

“For example, many raw material costs continue to rise,” Ms. Parisi said. “Costs that have stabilized have done so at much higher levels than years past. In addition, supply is still tight, as crop yields have been sub-optimal while demand is still high. In 2011, just as we’ve done in the past and will continue into the future, Flint Group’s global procurement team addressed these challenges head on. We continue to leverage our worldwide resources, formulating skills and strategic forecasting and planning expertise.”

“Flint Group continues to stay abreast of raw material trends, especially as volatility continues,” Mr. Miller added. “Recent cost increases of WTI (West Texas Intermediate) and Brent crude oil are testament to that unpredictability.”

Even with these concerns, Flint Group’s leaders anticipate growth in the coming years, as the company has built the foundation for success through its R&D efforts, extensive portfolio of new products and emphasis on customer support.

“Flexible packaging will continue to take the lead in terms of growth, and experts expect the folding carton packaging segment to begin a slow and steady recuperation,” said Susan Kuchta, vice president of the North American packaging group. “Labels will continue to be a high focus area and is expected to grow at a higher rate than many other ink market segments.In 2011 Flint Group’s Packaging & Narrow Web group launched a number of new and innovative products that will provide valuable momentum for our growth in 2012.”

“Demand for energy curable and environmentally friendly inks are growing in nearly all print sectors, including –and perhaps most of all –in sheetfed,” added Doug Labertew, vice president, sheetfed. “Flint Group’s broad portfolio, including our ability to offer a suite of inks, chemicals and blankets, will fuel our growth in those and other areas.”

“As a strong player in all the major graphic arts segments, Flint Group will succeed by continuing the simple yet successful formula of creating quality products that customers want and need, and backing them by expert support,” Mr. Miller concluded.

Major Products: Coldset and heatset web offset, sheetfed offset, flexographic, gravure and UV/EB inks; coatings for publication, packaging and commercial applications. A wide range of inks and coatings for narrow web tag and label applications. Photopolymer plates and sleeve systems for flexographic applications; highly engineered printing blankets and sleeves for offset applications, pressroom chemicals and supplies. Dry, flushed and press cake pigments, chips and resins for ink and other applications, aqueous dispersions, hyperdispersants and additives for the colorant market.

Number of Employees: Approximately 7,300 worldwide.

Comments: The past few years have been challenging for the printing and ink industries. In general, the publication printing segment has been impacted by the global recession as well as the shift to newer technologies, while packaging has held steady. Meanwhile, the ink industry is coping with unprecedented raw material price increases as well as disruptions in supply.

All things considered, Flint Group was able to withstand the recession relatively well. “2010, like the recent years before it, was difficult for the printing industry,” said William B. Miller, president, Print Media Americas for Flint Group. “There were ups and downs as demand – and consumer confidence – ebbed and flowed. In the end, nearly all printers continued to feel the lingering effects of the recession. Naturally, graphic arts suppliers felt the impact as well. Still, Flint Group performed commendably under those circumstances.”

With an eye toward the future, Flint Group made key management moves as well as a major acquisition. In January 2011, Antoine Fady succeeded Charles Knott as CEO of Flint Group, with Mr. Knott becoming Flint Group’s chairman. Mr. Fady has more than 20 years of global specialty chemical experience, most recently serving as general manager, Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints-Europe, and prior to that, as CEO of ICI Packaging & Coatings.

“For Flint Group, the most notable leadership event was the appointment of Antoine Fady as CEO,” Mr. Miller said. “Antoine has already made great strides in getting to know our organization, products and people. His chemical and industrial background – including years with Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints and ICI Packaging & Coatings – gave him a running start at understanding the kind of business we’re in.”

The February 2010 acquisition of Torda Ink, a leading manufacturer of printing inks for the packaging markets in Northern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East with a substantial presence in Eastern Europe, has had a positive impact on Flint Group’s product range in packaging, and the company has added to its capabilities with innovative new products such as its Premo Film ETS ink, which offers enhanced flexographic printing performance at economical cost for printers of merchandise bags in North America.

“There were other exciting events as well, including the acquisition of Torda in Europe and product launches here in North America,” Mr. Miller noted. “Water flexo inks for the North American T-shirt bag market are one example, as well as eco-friendly sheetfed inks, as well as non-ink launches by our blankets, pressroom chemistry and Flexographic Products groups.”

For the ink industry, raw materials are perhaps the largest concern. The rapid increase in prices on most ingredients is one matter, especially considering the difficulty in passing along those higher costs to printers, many of whom are not in the position to take on much more additional costs.

However, the availability of certain key raw materials is a major issue for ink manufacturers. In some cases, suppliers are pulling their products out of the ink industry to focus on other industries, while consolidation is eliminating other suppliers. Flint Group has been working closely with its customers and suppliers alike to try to lessen the impact of these changes.

“The raw materials used to make ink continue to face an uphill battle in terms of cost and availability,” said Diane Parisi, vice president, supply chain management for Flint Group. “Capacity constraints, government policies around the world, environmental concerns, currency fluctuations and decreased production of feedstocks are some of the many reasons.”

As just one example, Ms. Parisi pointed to gum rosin, and its impact on the ink industry.

“One of the major concerns continues to be gum rosin,” Ms. Parisi noted. “Though in North America we typically use tall oil rosin to make our inks, we still strongly feel the affects of gum rosin. Let me explain:

“Capacity of crude tall oil – a by-product of paper production – is down because of the decline in paper demand. Remaining capacity is divided among competing industries, especially bio fuel, as well as industries that traditionally relied upon gum rosin, such as adhesives and road markings. Even overseas ink manufacturing plants that typically used gum rosin-based resins are now using tall oil-based resins,” Ms. Parisi noted.

“Why the mass exodus from gum to tall oil?” Ms. Parisi added. “There are many reasons: China limited gum rosin capacity significantly; crop yields were lower than usual; already-decreased supplies were stretched to the limit when demand increased in industries from rubber to adhesives and even ink; gum rosin has been used as a substitute for other crude-based commodities in short supply.

“We do not foresee any near-term relief of the gum rosin situation and tall oil will continue to be directly affected. The outcome for tall oil rosin, gum rosin and hydrocarbon resins is the same: extremely tight supply and greatly increasing costs through 2011.”

The current situation in the Middle East is a more recent concern, as the global oil supply is being impacted. Crude oil is a major component of feedstocks that are essential to ink.

“Oil is a significant concern,” said Jan Paul van der Velde, Flint Group’s senior vice president, procurement. “Costs of crude oil started to increase in Q4 2010, even before developments in the Middle East accelerated to current levels. For the time being, WTI costs are increasing less than the rest, but Brent crude and many others have shown significant cost increases, which will start to impact the cost of raw materials in the next few months.”

Acquisitions will also play a major role in graphic arts.

“Acquisitions will continue to be a major strategy all along the graphic arts supply chain, especially as major players understand that demand will not return to historic levels,” said Doug Labertew, vice president of product management and strategy for Print Media North America. “The acquisition of Worldcolor by QuadGraphics is perhaps the most notable example among printers. “ Suppliers are also actively involved in M&A efforts.

“On the supplier side, mergers also continue to occur,” Mr. Labertew added. “For example, Aditya Birla Group just announced its agreement to purchase Atlanta’s Columbian Chemicals Company, making ABG the largest global producer of carbon black. The risk to the graphic arts industry with any supplier merger is that, with less competition and more global leverage, companies will increase the price of key raw material for inks.

“I’m confident that consolidation will continue among printers, ink suppliers and raw material manufacturers for years to come,” Mr. Labertew concluded.

Meanwhile, Flint Group is prepared to move forward in all of its business areas, by developing innovative products and providing services to help its customers succeed in the packaging and publication segments.

“We are excited about the packaging and label market in 2011 in terms of growing our share of the business in the industry,” said Susan Kuchta, vice president of the North American packaging group. “We have new products and improved products that are providing converters with some throughput advantage. Similar to us, customers will be motivated by optimism for growth, yet still cautious about increasing their cost of doing business. Flexible packaging will continue to lead the packaging market in growth as consumer goods continue the ongoing, long-term shift to this technology.”

“Our sales and service teams continue to deliver on our strategies, bringing value to customers’ pressrooms each day,” said Mike Neroni, vice president sales & service, Print Media North America. “We are well aware of the ongoing challenges of the economy, electronic media and other market elements, but we have everything in place to continue to help our customers stay competitive.”

“There are opportunities in each market,” Mr. Miller concluded. “For example, the news industry – hard hit by electronic media – continues to find new opportunities with UV news inks. Environmentally friendly inks are important for almost all technologies, especially sheetfed. Energy curable inks continue to offer differentiation, and we’re a strong player in that segment. If we continue to focus on creating quality products that customers need – supported by unfailing service and support – we will continue to succeed.”