Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV, flexo, solvent, aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 250

Comments: hubergroup USA, Inc. and hubergroup Canada Limited are the North American subsidiaries of hubergroup, the sixth-largest worldwide ink manufacturer which had sales of nearly $900 million in 2019. Martin Weber, managing director for hubergroup USA, said the company is balancing the declining sheetfed market with other growing segments.

“The North American operations were affected by the downturn in commercial print as seen globally as well,” Weber observed.

“Adjustments of our organization and the focus on strategic business segments already show positive results.” He added that energy curing offset inks and water/UV flexo are key opportunities for growth.

Weber sees some challenges ahead, including a further downturn in commercial print and ongoing consolidation in the packaging print industry. He also anticipates an overall expected economic downturn due to coronavirus, which might also affect the availability of raw materials.

“How do we cope with it?” Weber said. “Having a lean and well-structured organization can react fast to new market environments.”

Overall, Weber sees growth ahead for hubergroup USA and hubergroup Canada.

“We will continue to grow our offset and flexo business in a challenging market environment,” Weber said. “We are well prepared with our product portfolio to address all demanding requirements regarding sustainability and consumer safety.”

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV, flexo, solvent, aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 250

Comments: hubergroup is the sixth-largest global ink manufacturer, with sales of nearly $1 billion in 2017. The company has significant operations in the Americas, supplying a full portfolio of commercial and packaging inks to its customers.

Derek McFarland, president Americas for hubergroup, said that 2018 presented a lot of challenges and opportunities for hubergroup in North America.

“We experienced pressure from raw material increases, shortages of key ingredients (such as photoinitiators), volatility in global trade policies and lower print demand due to paper supply issues,” McFarland pointed out. “On the positive side, we continue to see growth in our packaging segment due to both market factors and share gain.”

In particular, packaging provides the most growth opportunity for hubergroup.

“To add to our existing portfolio of conventional sheetfed, energy-cured, water/UV flexo, we are adding the Gecko line of solvent-based ink for the flexible packaging market,” McFarland reported. “Gecko is already an extremely successful product for us globally and we are happy to now offer it to our packaging customers in North America.”

hubergroup has placed major emphasis on collaborations, forming a partnership with Koenig & Bauer.

“We are extremely proud of our new global partnership with Koenig & Bauer and happy that they recommend our conventional inks for their sheetfed presses,” McFarland said. “Our joint customers will definitely benefit from this cooperation as the performance and consistency is optimized.”

Developing environmentally friendly products is another important point of emphasis at hubergroup, as customers are emphasizing the benefits of sustainability and the elimination of materials that are raising concerns.

“We achieved very high levels of sustainability in our sheetfed inks, including Cradle-to-Cradle certification,” McFarland noted.

“The assessed and approved printing inks are based on renewable vegetable oils, are formulated cobalt-free and meet the de-inkability criteria specified by the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC). The portfolio includes process and special color inks for conventional offset printing. The inks are enabling our customers to enter new markets, as the demand for print products with a small ecological footprint is increasing.”

Raw material prices and availability are major issues for ink manufacturers. Energy curable inks and coatings are a particular challenge, and in July, hubergroup issued price increases ranging from 6% to 8% for all energy curing inks and varnishes across Europe and the Americas.

“The most concern is related to UV photoinitiators, oligomers and monomers,” McFarland said. “We are working very hard to cover shortages and develop alternatives, but unfortunately we have had to go to our customers to pass along some of these cost increases.”

As for higher tariffs, another major concern for most ink companies, McFarland noted that hubergroup is watching the trade talks between US and China very closely, but the company is fortunate to have an integrated supply chain for pigments from India that is not totally subject to the outcome of the current negotiations.

Overall, McFarland is optimistic about the coming year. “I see many of the market challenges from 2018 continuing into 2019, but we are in a good position to serve our customers due to investments in our product portfolio, supply chain and North American team,” he concluded.

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV, flexo, aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 250

Comments: With sales of $935 million, hubergroup is one of the world’s leading specialists for printing inks, coatings and pressroom auxiliaries, currently comprising 40 companies and 130 sites. This successful, family-owned enterprise brings more than 250 years of experience and expertise in the printing inks industry, manufacturing top quality products for the packaging, commercial and news segments.

Derek McFarland, president Americas for hubergroup, said that the April acquisition of Alden & Ott Printing Inks was a significant move for hubergroup. Founded in 1957, Alden & Ott served the offset and flexo printing markets in the Midwest and Northeast.

“Last year was a good year for hubergroup North America, highlighted by the acquisition of Alden & Ott Printing Inks Company,” McFarland said. “This acquisition made us a better supplier to our customers by enhancing our technical knowledge base, expanding our product lines and increasing our geographical footprint.”

“Alden & Ott gave us a much-needed presence in the important Chicago market and also instantly expanded our water-based flexo capabilities. Alden & Ott customers also gained access to the global hubergroup knowledge base and product basket,” he added.

This acquisition is evidence of hubergroup’s continuing commitment to the growing packaging market by investing in conventional, water-based, low migration and energy-cured inks.

“We will continue to invest in people, processes and facilities to serve this important segment,” McFarland noted. “Our customers are very sophisticated and capable, and they face an increasingly demanding market with regard to package design and performance.  It is critical that we listen carefully and bring them ink solutions that enable them to delight their customers.”

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV, flexo, aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 180

Comments: hubergroup USA, Inc. and hubergroup Canada Limited are the North American subsidiaries of hubergroup, Kirchheim, Germany, a family-owned printing ink manufacturer, which reported sales of $925 million in 2015.

Derek McFarland, president, Americas for hubergroup USA, Inc., reported that hubergroup enjoyed growth during the past year, particularly in packaging and UV.

“For 2016, hubergroup North America achieved modest, single-digit growth over the prior year,” McFarland noted. “Even though some of our served markets were challenged, we had significant growth in key market segments and product categories, especially packaging and UV.”

McFarland added that hubergroup’s global R&D team is working on new developments in these growth segments.

“Our global organization continues to invest heavily in liquid and energy curing segments.,” McFarland observed. “We have dedicated resources to new curing technologies and packaging. The chances and new opportunities for printing food packaging with LED curing technologies are obvious, but the chemistry behind it is still challenging.”

hubergroup has reorganized in North American operations, and McFarland sees benefits from the new structure.

“We spent a considerable amount of effort making sure our North American organization is structured to provide the best possible service to our customers in each of our market segments,” he said. “This market focus, along with our excellent product basket, is providing value to new and existing customers.”

Printers are being asked for shorter runs and quicker deliveries. In turn, hubergroup is working to help their customers meet these mandates.

“Many of our customers are faced with compressed lead times and shorter run lengths,” McFarland said.. “We are responding by expanding our service network while offering stable and reliable products – specifically, rapid and energy-cured inks that enable quick finishing.”

As the company closely monitors raw material costs, currency fluctuations and trade policies, McFarland sees reason for optimism for growth in 2017.

“Even considering the political and economic uncertainties that have characterized the beginning of the year, we are optimistic about 2017 and expect the pattern of slow growth to continue,” McFarland concluded.

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV, flexo, aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 180

Comments: hubergroup is a Kirchheim, Germany-based family-owned printing ink manufacturer, which had annual sales of slightly more than $1 billion in 2014. hubergroup USA, Inc. and hubergroup Canada Limited are the North American subsidiaries of hubergroup.

Martin Weber, group managing director, North America for hubergroup, noted that while the company went through structural changes, North America achieved its expectations for the year.

“We finished our restructuring of Canadian activities and opened our new state-of-the-art Service Center in Mississauga,” Weber added. “We continued our growth in the packaging inks market in North America, and we entered into a successful cooperation with Pfeifer Representaciones, our new dealer in Mexico.”

The company also made a significant personnel move, with Weber returning to the parent company on April 1. Derek McFarland joined hubergroup USA on Feb. 1 as president Americas after a 25-year career at Sonoco.

Weber noted that the company is making further inroads into the packaging and UV ink markets.

“Although we still have a very stable business in commercial print, we focus on high-end packaging ink solutions supported by effective service centers and inplants,” he said. “We also cater to the growing demand for UV inks, including low energy solutions.”

As a result of hubergroup’s roots in Germany, the company has had to meet the environmental regulations from REACH, the Nestle guidelines and others. Weber believes this has prepared the company for changes in North America as well.

“As the pioneer in this segment, we have significant experience in all regulatory requirements and have developed a comprehensive line of low migration solutions,” Weber said. “We believe that the more stringent European regulations will eventually come to North America, and we are ready with proven product solutions and technical knowledge.”

Weber anticipates the company’s results for 2016 to be fairly similar to 2015.

“We expect existing market conditions to continue in 2016,” Weber concluded.

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV, flexo, aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 210

Comments: hubergroup USA, Inc. and hubergroup Canada Limited are the North American subsidiaries of hubergroup, a Kirchheim, Germany-based family-owned ink manufacturer with annual sales of approximately $1 billion.

Martin Weber, group managing director, North America for hubergroup USA, Inc., reported that business development in 2014 was in line with the company’s expectations, and was generally positive.

“We still see declining markets in line with industry expectations,” Weber added. “Ongoing consolidation of printers will lead to further decrease in printing capacity, especially in the segment of commercial printing.”

High end sheetfed products, UV inks, low energy UV inks and water-based flexo inks did particularly well, supported by hubergroup’s state-of-the-art technical service and service centers.

The biggest news for hubergroup in North America was its name change from Hostmann-Steinberg, and the company’s integration of its manufacturing operations.

“In 2014, both North American entities changed names from Hostmann-Steinberg to hubergroup,” Weber said. “This is in line with our worldwide strategy of consolidating the corporate image. In line with this global integration, we utilize manufacturing capacities of our European mother plants, which allows us to focus all our resources in servicing our customers.”

Weber reported that hubergroup is working closely with its printers and global brand owners on regulatory issues.

“This had been an ongoing strategy of working with our clients and worldwide brand owners to share our knowledge about ‘Best Practice’ and North American requirements versus European requirements and legislation,” Weber said.

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV and EB, forms and flexo inks; aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 250

Comments: Hostmann-Steinberg is the North American subsidiary of hubergroup, a Kirchheim, Germany-based family-owned ink manufacturer with annual sales of approximately $1 billion. Martin Weber, group managing director Americas for Hostmann-Steinberg, reported that the company had a solid year in 2013, with Hostmann-Steinberg enjoying strong growth in UV inks and inks for the packaging industry.

“Although the market conditions remained difficult, we are quite satisfied with our performance, progress and final result for 2013,” Weber said. “Structural changes and the focus on specialty products and services formed the basis for this positive development.”

While Hostmann-Steinberg fared particularly well in the packaging and UV markets, other segments were more challenging. Weber noted that the company emphasized R&D and process improvements to overcome these challenges.

“Hostmann-Steinberg enjoyed market growth in strategic sectors, as did some of our clients,” Weber said. “Unfortunately, though, we are still seeing varying levels of attrition and lower volumes in the remaining business segments. New technologies and improved manufacturing processes in both sheetfed and UV inks have enabled us to offer further added value and efficiency advantages to our existing and target clients.”

Raw materials remain a concern for Hostmann-Steinberg.

“The raw material situation remains volatile and the unpredictability of this and foreign currency fluctuations will make 2014 a challenge,” Weber said.

Overall, Weber anticipates a changing marketplace for printing, and sees opportunities for ink manufacturers who emphasize quality and value.

“We expect to see more consolidation of key print companies and print groups together with continued attrition in certain sectors,” Weber concluded. “The ability to maintain the highest quality products and add value to our customers remains our core strategy.”

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV and EB, forms and flexo inks; aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 300 (Ink World estimate)

Operational Facilities: Main plants in Kankakee, IL, USA and Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and 22 branch facilities coast to coast.

Comments: Hostmann-Steinberg is the North American division of hubergroup, a Kirchheim, Germany-based family-owned printing ink manufacturer with sales of approximately $1 billion in 2010.

Environmentally friendly inks have been an area of emphasis for Hostmann-Steinberg, with many of its inks containing 70% Bio Renewable Content (BRC), including !NKREDIBLE Reflecta, !NKREDIBLE Hard Dry Resista, !NKREDIBLE Perfexion and Envira inks.

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV and EB, forms and flexo Inks; aqueous and UV coatings.

Key Personnel: Michael Geiger, group managing director America, Canada; Vivy DaCosta, VP, Canada; Mark Wilson, sales director, Canada; Dr. Thomas Griebel, technical director, Canada; Debu Sengupta, CTO, USA; Steve Martin, director of sales/marketing, USA.

Number of Employees: 300 (Ink World estimate)

Operational Facilities: Main plants in Kankakee, IL and Toronto, Canada, and 22 branch facilities coast to coast.

Comments: The North American division of hubergroup, Hostmann-Steinberg is the North American division of hubergroup, Kirchheim, Germany, a family-owned printing ink manufacturer with sales of nearly $1 billion in 2010.

Hostmann-Steinberg has put much emphasis on environmentally friendly inks. Many of Hostmann-Steinberg !NKREDIBLE inks contain 70% Bio Renewable Content (BRC), including !NKREDIBLE Reflecta, !NKREDIBLE Hard Dry Resista, !NKREDIBLE Perfexion and Envira inks.

Major Products: Heatset, sheetfed, coldset, UV and EB, forms and flexo Inks; aqueous and UV coatings.

Number of Employees: 300

Operational Facilities: Main plants in Kankakee, IL and Toronto, Canada, and 16 branch facilities coast to coast.

Comments: Hostmann-Steinberg is the North American subsidiary of hubergroup, headquartered in Kirchheim Heimstetten, Germany, which amassed nearly $1 billion in sales in 2010. The company offers a full range of inks and coatings for publication, commercial and packaging printing, and puts a strong emphasis on R&D.

Hostmann-Steinberg’s !NKREDIBLE series of inks has been a strong addition to the company’s ink offerings. Its !NKREDIBLE sheetfed inks has been successful in the marketplace. Meanwhile, REVOLUTION, Hostmann-Steinberg’s heatset ink series based on !NKREDIBLE technology, and !NKREDIBLE GOOD NEWS, its coldset ink system, have also gained acceptance in the market.