Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, offering a wide range of flexo and inkjet inks for applications such as packaging, graphic arts, transactional, coding & marking, textiles, décor, 3D and printed electronics. The portfolio of analog inks includes solvent-based and water-based flexographic inks, rotogravure inks, primers and varnishes. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS offers products for piezo printhead as well as thermal inkjet printhead. Kao APS produces a variety of inkjet inks including UV and UV LED inks, bio oil-based inks, water-based inks, eco-friendly bio-based inks, mineral oil-free ink, coatings and varnishes, and other functional fluids.

Number of Employees: 650.

Comments: Kao Group is an international leader in consumer and chemical products, with consolidated sales of $10.35 billion (¥1,628.4 billion) in 2024, up 6.3% compared to 2023.

On the ink side, Kao APS is made up of Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and focuses on packaging and inkjet inks.

In the graphic arts market, the shift from eco-solvent and UV inks to environmentally friendly water-based pigmented inks has been accelerating. Kristin Adams, marketing manager for Kao Collins, noted that Kao’s water-based pigmented ink—offering high image quality, excellent durability, and long-term printing stability—has been widely adopted across the industry.

“We maintained steady growth by delivering high-performance inks built for demanding production environments,” added Adams. “Our global reach, supported by Kao’s regional ink manufacturing and technical support facilities, allowed us to serve customers locally with improved responsiveness, delivery times, and communication.”

Adams noted that among the top highlights for Kao APS this year were the continued expansion of Kao’s water-based and sustainable ink technologies, stronger collaboration with OEMs and integrators, and rising demand for custom ink development across multiple industrial applications.

“At drupa 2024 in Düsseldorf, the Backtrack printer for corrugated packaging and the X-Bar system for high-speed press applications attracted strong interest from new customers and have since been steadily gaining traction in the market,” said Adams. “We also made significant progress toward full GMP certification at Kao Collins, following Kao Chimigraf, receiving early approval and targeting final accreditation by the end of 2025, which positions us to better support regulated markets, such as indirect food contact, medical, and pharmaceutical packaging.”

Additionally, Kao expanded its regional infrastructure, including the commissioning of a new inkjet ink manufacturing facility in Japan and the ongoing development of another in Barcelona.

“Kao’s inkjet business is positioned as a strategic business within the mid-term plan of the Kao Chemical business globally,” Adams noted. “We continue to make capital investments and strengthen human resources as needed to drive business growth. In particular, to ensure a stable supply—including addressing tariff-related risks—we are building an optimized supply chain based on a local production for local consumption strategy.

“In addition to upgrading our ink manufacturing and R&D facilities in the US, Kao made strategic global investments—most notably the opening of a new inkjet ink plant in Japan and breaking ground on another in Barcelona,” Adams added. “These efforts are part of Kao’s broader strategy to strengthen regional manufacturing and support capabilities. We also expanded our technical and customer service teams to increase application support and responsiveness to our partners worldwide.”

For Kao APS, the most substantial growth is occurring in packaging, product serialization, and healthcare-related printing, particularly in applications requiring high durability and regulatory compliance.

“We also see a significant opportunity in the corrugated packaging space, where the demand for water-based, primer, and sustainable ink continues to rise,” said Adams. “Our solvent-free formulations are gaining traction as more companies prioritize environmental goals. With Kao’s growing global infrastructure, including local manufacturing, language support, and inventory management, we’re uniquely positioned to scale alongside OEMs and customers in these expanding sectors.”

Tariffs should not be a concern for Kao.

“We closely monitor global trade developments and have established a diversified, regionalized supply chain to mitigate the impact of tariffs and regulatory disruptions,” Adams observed. “By leveraging Kao’s international footprint—including regional ink production, local inventory, and currency transaction capabilities—we can remain agile and cost-effective while ensuring reliable supply and service for our customers across markets.”

Overall, Adams noted that Kao APS is optimistic about the future.

“As industrial inkjet technology continues to replace legacy systems, Kao Collins—and Kao as a whole—is well-positioned with a robust portfolio of application-specific inks and a growing regional support network,” Adams concluded. “With new facilities coming online and increased investment in local service infrastructure, we anticipate continued growth through 2025, particularly in sectors where precision, compliance, and performance are crucial.”

Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and offers a wide range of flexo and inkjet inks for applications such as packaging, graphic arts, transactional, coding and marking, textiles, décor, 3D and printed electronics. The portfolio of analog inks includes solvent-based and water-based flexography inks, rotogravure inks, primers and varnishes. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS offers products for the piezo printhead as well as for the thermal inkjet printhead. Kao produces a variety of inkjet inks including UV and UV LED inks, Bio oil-based inks, water-based inks, Eco-friendly biobased inks, mineral oil-free ink, coatings and varnishes, and other functional fluids.

Number of Employees: 650

Comments: Kao Group, a global leader in consumer and chemical products, reported consolidated sales of ¥1,532.6 billion in 2023. Kao APS, comprising Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins, and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, excels in developing and manufacturing packaging and inkjet inks.

Kristin Adams, marketing manager for Kao Collins, emphasized innovation as a key driver of the company’s growth.

“Kao has continued innovating and developing high-performance inkjet inks,” Adams noted. “These innovations include improvements in color vibrancy, print durability, and eco-friendly formulations. Kao’s inks are designed to meet the needs of various industrial applications, including textiles, packaging, and signage.”

Adams also highlighted Kao’s commitment to sustainability.

“At Kao, we are deeply committed to developing eco-friendly inks that significantly reduce environmental impact,” she said. “Whether through new formulations or reformulations of existing inks, we prioritize meeting customer demands for environmental responsibility. Our focus on regulatory compliance measures such as EuPIA, REACH SVHC, Non-CMR, and PFAS-free clearly demonstrates our dedication to sustainable practices. This commitment to sustainability is an integral part of Kao’s broader mission of environmental responsibility.”

Kao’s recent exhibition at drupa was a remarkable success, providing a valuable platform to showcase their advancements. “We were able to present our latest products and cutting-edge technologies, such as the X-BAR and Universal Controller, offering an exciting opportunity to demonstrate our innovations and connect with key industry stakeholders. This successful exhibition has set a promising trajectory for Kao’s future in the inkjet inks and chemicals business,” Adams added.

“Our focus on providing customized solutions to meet our client’s specific needs has strengthened relationships with existing customers and attracted new clients seeking tailored ink solutions that deliver high performance and reliability. We continue Kao’s commitment to advancing its inkjet inks and chemicals business through innovation, sustainability, and customer-focused solutions.”

Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, offering a wide range of flexo and inkjet inks for applications such as packaging, graphic arts, transactional, coding & marking, textiles, décor, 3D and printed electronics. The portfolio of analog inks includes solvent-based and water-based flexography inks, rotogravure inks, primers and varnishes. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS offers products for the piezo printhead as well as for the thermal inkjet printhead. Kao produces a variety of inkjet inks including UV & UV LED inks, oil-based inks, water-based inks, Eco-friendly bio-based inks, mineral oil-free ink, coatings and varnishes, and other functional fluids.

Comments: Kao Group is a worldwide leader in consumer and chemical products, with consolidated sales of $10.6 billion (¥1,551.1 billion) in 2022. Kao APS, its ink subsidiary, consists of Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and develops and manufactures packaging and inkjet inks.

François Aguilar, chief commercial officer for Kao Chimigraf, noted that 2022 was a very good year for Kao in terms of inkjet growth.

“Many key projects moved to mass-production stage, and we could confirm the best quality level of our ink development, especially on water-based inkjet ink,” Aguilar observed. “Since 2016, Kao has been working on many developments of inks for water-based, and in the last three years we are growing more and more in this area. We are now producing inkjet inks in US, Europe and Japan and we are able to cover a very large range of applications around the world.”

Packaging is also an excellent market for KAO APS.

“Packaging is one the strongest markets for us,” said Aguilar. “We are offering different types of inks for this market, such as UV low migration and water-based ink with certifications like Swiss Ordinance, Nestlé compliance and others.”

“Recently, markets like corrugated were growing with inkjet technology using higher resolution PH and lower viscosity range,” he added. “Kao has been working on new development of low migration UV LED inks for low viscosity printheads and finally this solution was introduced to the market recently. On top of that, we worked also on the development of a water-based ink solution for corrugated and paper. We are now able to provide a full set of water-based inks to be use on different substrates with a combination of primers.”

While Kao APS is seeing some stability in terms of raw material pricing and availability, that could turn quickly.

“The raw material market was very complex in 2022, but we could manage all issues about prices increase and availability of materials,” Aguilar said. “Since the end of 2022, we can see more stability on the raw material market, but we still think that this market can be impacted by sudden change in energy cost and production level.”

As for the rest of 2023 and beyond, Aguilar said that Kao APS wants to continue to grow in the packaging market and launch more projects with its OEM partners, especially for flexible packaging.

“Kao is also providing consumer products into the market, and we are strongly interested in new technologies for flexible packaging, not only for printing but also for recycling and deinking solutions,” Aguilar added.

“Kao is actually developing several solutions around this market, and we will introduce them from 2023 and onward,” Aguilar concluded. “Kao is a global chemical manufacturer, and we are always putting high priority on innovation and R&D development. We are present in a wide range of industries, and we can combine all our knowledge to bring new product solutions to the inkjet industry. We have flexibility to fine-tune our products based on customer and market demand, so we are completely open to new cooperation development with OEM partners.”

Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Business, offering a wide range of flexo and inkjet inks for applications such as packaging, graphic arts, transactional, coding & marking, textiles, décor, 3D and printed electronics. The portfolio of analog inks includes solvent-based and water-based flexography inks, rotogravure inks, primers and varnishes. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS offers products for the piezo printhead as well as for the thermal inkjet printhead. We produce a variety of inkjet inks including UV & UV LED inks, oil-based inks, water-based inks, Eco-friendly biobased inks, mineral oil-free ink, coatings and varnishes, and other functional fluids.

Number of Employees: 650

Comments: Kao Group is a worldwide leader in consumer and chemical products, with consolidated sales of $12.3 billion (￥1,418.8 billion) in 2021. Kao APS, its ink subsidiary, consists of Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and develops and manufactures packaging and inkjet inks. Kao APS had a solid year in 2021, as the company saw some growth, particularly in the packaging segment.

“2021 was a good year compared to 2020,” said Kao Chimigraf CCO François Aguilar. “We saw some recovery in certain markets. Since the global market situation was still impacted by COVID restrictions, we couldn’t see a full recovery.

“We saw in 2021 that the packaging market was continuously growing and we concentrated our efforts on the development of key items such as water-based inkjet inks,” added Aguilar. “Kao is one of the pioneers of water-based inkjet inks for the packaging industry, and our water-based inks are based on unique pigment dispersion technology that enables us to offer key solutions to the market needs. We also launched a bio-based ink, which is focused on compostability, and we also started delivering solutions to the 3D printing market.”

Aguilar noted that some markets are performing even better than in 2019, but some markets are still not yet recovered.

“Overall, the situation is much better than in 2020,” added Aguilar. “New changes in political and economic situations give additional uncertainties and it is getting more difficult to predict the future.”

Kao APS expects the raw material issues to remain a challenge for the foreseeable future.

“We are strongly impacted by the price increase on raw materials, transportation costs and others,” said Aguilar. “All key materials prices are increased since 2021 and we are not seeing any improvements until now. Unfortunately, we see that the difficult situation may continue until 2023.”

For Kao APS, early returns for 2022 are mixed, as sales are up but so are raw materials and transportation costs.

“The COVID situation seems to be under control for the moment, but unfortunately, we are influenced by other factors (political conflicts, material price increases, high transportation costs, etc.),” said Aguilar. “We saw a good trend in volumes in the first part of the year, but the printing market is severely impacted by the price increases.”

Ultimately, Kao is a major chemical solution provider as well as a brand owner, and the company is putting a huge focus on sustainability.

“Kao is not just an ink manufacturer,” said Aguilar. “Kao is an industrial chemical solution provider serving many different industries, and Kao is a consumer brand owner too. Since we are located in various positions in the supply chain, we need to consider the full lifecycle of the printed materials. Therefore, we are always minding the sustainability throughout the product development such as choice of raw materials, environmental effects, impact on the workplace, end of life of the product, etc. Those are not shown on the specification sheet, but we believe that is our additional contribution to the market.”

Major Products: Kao APS is formed by the companies Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, offering a wide range of industrial inkjet inks for applications like packaging, graphic arts, coding & marking, textile, 3D, and décor. Its portfolio of ink includes solvent-based and water-based flexography and rotogravure inks, varnishes and primers. For the inkjet segment, Kao APS produces UV inks and varnishes, including UV/LED, as well as oil-based and water-based UV inks, Eco-friendly inks, mineral oil-free ink and coating and additives.

Number of Employees: 650

Comments: Kao APS is a subsidiary of Kao Group, a global leader in consumer and chemical products, with consolidated sales of $12.4 billion (1,382 billion yen) in 2020. Kao APS consists of Kao Chimigraf, Kao Collins and Kao Corporation Chemical Business, and develops and manufactures packaging and inkjet inks.

Kao APS is in a wide range of markets, and François Aguilar, chief commercial officer for Kao Chimigraf, noted that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kao APS’s sales were steady.

“2020 was a very difficult year for all the markets, but globally the general situation from Kao APS was under control and we had a limited impact on our sales,” Aguilar said. “We saw a clear decrease of activity in certain market like graphics, but in parallel, markets like packaging were increasing so this was giving us some stability on our sales.”

Aguilar observed that since the acquisition of Chimigraf by Kao, many re-organizations of the company were done.

“In 2020, we started to strongly promote new ink technologies (inkjet UV, water, low migration, flexo and bio-based) produced locally by Kao Chimigraf in Barcelona,” said Aguilar. “One of them is water-based inkjet for applications like flexible packaging, corrugated, paper, textile and graphics. We are now able to offer a large range of sustainable ink solution to the market and support our customers with more ecological values.”

Aguilar reported that COVID-19 had a major impact on raw material pricing, and also on available stock and transportation cost.

“This situation started with pigment price increases and very quickly all key raw materials were also impacted by price increases and availability,” added Aguilar. “Being part of Kao Chemical Europe, Kao’s purchasing team was able to create many contacts with suppliers in the market and secure as much as possible the delivery of raw materials. Unfortunately, this situation is still not stable yet.”

Aguilar noted that Kao APS recently launched the kaoprint.com website, where Kao offers businesses involved in the industrial printing industry access to the expertise and innovative capabilities provided by Kao APS.

The site aims to support worldwide industrial printing through stronger supply chain support, efficient access to all inks and services, supporting decentralized production and manufacturing, faster development of custom ink and printing solutions and greater flexibility to support changing markets and business conditions.

“As a global brand serving a worldwide network of industrial printers, packagers and distributors, Kao seeks to prioritize sustainability efforts throughout the supply chain,” Aguilar added.

Aguilar noted that Kao APS is seeing some recovery of market demand, but it is not fully recovered compared to 2019 level.

“2021 will still be a challenging year for recovery and we are expecting a better situation from 2022,” Aguilar added. “We are expecting stable demand in the second half of 2021, but the market will not recover at 100%. Many industries and countries are still impacted with the latest COVID-19 regulations, so we will still see some fluctuation of demand depending on the area.”