Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, adhesives, coatings, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,351

Comments: Headquartered in Mexico City, Sanchez SA de CV is the largest ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America. The company enjoyed growth last year, with sales increasing more than 5% to $104 million.

Outside of Mexico, Sanchez SA de CV has a significant presence throughout Central America and South America, with subsidiaries in Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia), Costa Rica (Grupo Sanchez Artes Graficas), El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala), and Peru (Grupo Sanchez Peru).

Managing director Ernesto J. Sanchez said that his company’s growth came in spite of the government’s policies.

“As predicted, our economy decreased 0.1% in 2019,” Sanchez reported. “It reflects the wrong decisions taken by our new president Mr. López Obrador. Not only has he canceled big investments by the government, but he managed to scare the private companies, resulting in zero investment from the big corporations. Even in this difficult environment, Grupo Sanchez managed to grow, with healthy results in some of our ink lines, including our heatset  inks.”

Adhesives and coatings also had strong results for Sanchez SA de CV.

“We had great results with our lamination adhesives, which have proven to be an excellent addition to our flexo and gravure inks,” Sanchez noted. “Adhesives will be a big part of our near-future strategy, and our next step will be to introduce them to our Central America and Colombian clients. Our coatings division also had a great year, consolidating our brand in this big and interesting market.”

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, adhesives, coatings, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,351

Comments: With headquarters in Mexico City and subsidiaries in Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia), Costa Rica (Grupo Sanchez Artes Graficas), El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Peru (Grupo Sanchez Peru) and Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA), Sanchez SA de CV is the largest ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America.

Mexico is the key market for Sanchez SA de CV, and political events are having an impact on printing and ink.

“As expected, our new president, Mr. Lopez Obrador, took office on Dec. 1st, and started taking left oriented decisions, like canceling the halfway constructed new state-of-the-art International Airport outside Mexico City,” said managing director Ernesto J. Sanchez. “This decision, among others, have caused a lot of concern among the private sector in the country, as well as a fall in our stock market and the weakness of our currency. Experts predict a slowdown of our economy for 2019, affecting all the markets we serve in the country.”

In a major move, Sanchez SA de CV further expanded its operations into South America, adding a new subsidiary in Peru.

“At the end of 2018 we opened our new office in Peru, Grupo Sanchez Peru,” Sanchez said. “With this, we expect to continue with our growth in the region. Our new office began operations securing a new key customer in the heatset market.”

In recent years, San chez SA de CV has enjoyed growth in flexo, gravure and sheetfed offset inks for packaging, and this year the company expanded its product range for packaging by adding lamination adhesives.

“We have added a line of lamination adhesives to our product range, completing the offer to our packaging customers,” Sanchez reported. “For these, we have expanded our Tepeji plant to install the new equipment.”

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, coatings, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,351

Comments: Sanchez SA de CV, the largest ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America, is headquartered in Mexico City. The company has a major presence in Central America, with subsidiaries in Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia), Costa Rica (Grupo Sanchez Artes Graficas), El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica) and Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA), as well as Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia).

Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director of Sanchez SA de CV, said that 2017 was a good year for Mexico’s economy.

“After all the noise created at the beginning of the year, there were no fundamental changes that could have affected international trade or Mexico’s economy, so our country experienced a relatively positive year in terms of its economy,” Sanchez said. “Not so in the political arena, where we had a bumpy year because of the upcoming 2018 presidential elections.”

As for Sanchez SA de CV, it was a good year for the company.

“We experienced a steady growth is our ink ranges designed for the packaging markets, like flexo, gravure and sheetfed offset, growth that we expect will continue during the present year,” Sanchez reported. “Our branches in Central and South America, had a lot of activity during the year, and each one of them are consolidating its presence in their respective markets.”

Sanchez SA de CV is also making moves into the coatings segment. “Special effort was put in our quite new coatings division and additional equipment and personnel were added, resulting in a very positive year,” noted Sanchez. “The coatings market should be a key element of our strategy in the near future.”

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,150

Comments: Sanchez SA de CV is the largest ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America. The company is located in Mexico City, and has subsidiaries in Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia), Costa Rica (Grupo Sanchez Artes Graficas), El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA) and Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia).

The economy was a major concern in Mexico. In 2016, the economy grew 2.3 %, a bit under the 2015 result of 2.5 %, and the expectations for 2017 are even lower. Meanwhile, the Mexican peso suffered a major decline against the US dollar. The US presidential election also has impacted Mexico.

“The year 2016 was a challenging one for Sanchez,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director of Sanchez SA de CV. “On the one hand, we had a slow economy, and on the other, high concerns regarding the US presidential elections and its effects on the future of our country. Our currency, the Mexican peso, had a terrible performance against the US dollar, with a 20% devaluation, creating a big pressure in our costs.”

Still, Sanchez reported that printing ink sales remained fairly stable year over year, driven by sales throughout the rest of Latin America.

“We maintained our ink sales as the previous year, with water-based and sheetfed offset inks the ones with the best performance,” he reported. “Our activities in Latin America performed quite well in 2016, with our international operations as a key part of our global strategy.”

As mentioned above, the election of Donald Trump as the US president promises changes in the way business is conducted, and Sanchez said that there may be benefits ahead.

“We expect changes in the international trade of goods due to the results in the US presidential elections, but we feel positive that some of those changes might even benefit us,” Sanchez concluded.

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,150

Comments: The largest ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America, Sanchez SA de CV is headquartered in Mexico City, with subsidiaries in El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA), Costa Rica (Grupo Sanchez Artes Graficas) and Colombia (Grupo Sanchez Colombia). Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director of Sanchez SA de CV, said that the Mexican economy is hampering growth in the nation.

“Although experiencing a final quarter with a little more economic activity, and finishing the year with GDP growth of 2.5%, a positive number compared with the previous year of 2.1%, we are still far from seeing the growth Mexico needs,” Sanchez said. “In addition, the decline of oil prices is bringing concerns about Mexico’s economy for the present year.”

Currency devaluation is affecting the peso, which dropped in value15% compared to the US dollar during 2015, although lower values have mixed results.

“At the end of last year and the beginning of this one, our currency suffered a severe devaluation against the US dollar, increasing our raw material cost, but giving Sanchez an advantage against imported inks,” Sanchez noted.

In spite of the economy, and currency changes, Sanchez had a successful year in 2015.

“Despite our slow economy, Sanchez was able to keep the volume of our sales in kilos, and increased the value of our sales in local currency,” Sanchez said. “We experienced good results in water-based inks and in screenprinting inks in all the markets we serve. In Central America, our subsidiary in El Salvador keeps showing good results and is exporting products to other countries in the area.”

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,150

Comments: Sanchez SA de CV is the largest printing ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America, expanding its operations with subsidiaries in El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA), Costa Rica. In 2012, the company moved into Colombia, adding Grupo Sanchez Colombia.

While the Mexican economy did not show economic growth during 2014, Sanchez SA de CV was able to maintain steady sales due to its regional expansion. The company recorded $126.2 million in ink sales in 2014, and overall sales of $162.9 million, which was relatively similar to 2013’s results.

“Mexico experienced another disappointing year, where the economy grew only 2%, way under what was expected, becoming another difficult year for President Pena Nieto’s administration,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, Sanchez SA de CV’s managing director. “In addition to our slow economy, our Mexican peso suffered a considerable devaluation against the U.S. dollar, increasing the cost of the materials the country imports. The most ‘vigorous’ markets were the ones related to the automotive industry, because of the high number of cars exported to the U.S.”

Sanchez noted that the heatset ink market was particularly strong for Sanchez SA de CV.

“We had very good results with our sales of heatset inks, not only in Mexico but in the rest of the territories we serve,” Sanchez added.

One key to the company’s solid results has come from the new subsidiaries. In particular, Sanchez noted that the company had excellent results in El Salvador.

“Our sales volumes stayed in the same number as the year before, experiencing some growth in Central America, where our subsidiary Sanchez El Salvador had another excellent year,” Sanchez said.

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,150

Sanchez SA de CV’s new liquid inks plant in Tepeji del Rio.

Comments: The largest ink manufacturer in Mexico, Sanchez SA de CV has continued to expand its operations throughout Central America, becoming the largest ink supplier in the region. This expansion has proved to be a wise decision; while Mexico’s economic growth slowed in 2013, Sanchez SA de CV grew in other countries, keeping its 2013 ink sales of $130.5 million relatively equal to the previous year.

“The year 2013 ended up being a disappointment for Mexico,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, Sanchez SA de CV’s managing director. “The economy grew only 1.3%, a number way below from the 3.9% achieved the previous year. The expectations for President Peña Nieto’s first year in the office were much higher.”

In the last few years, Sanchez SA de CV has opened subsidiaries in El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatamala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA) and Costa Rica. In 2012, Sanchez SA de CV partnered with the Samudio family, owners of Preflex, a Colombian resin and adhesive manufacturer, to open Grupo Sanchez Colombia. This allows the company to supply inks to multi-national partners.

“We managed to increase the volumes in the countries we serve outside Mexico in order to compensate for some of the markets that are showing signs of weakness,” Sanchez said. “With our multi-regional coverage, we have been able to supply big international convertors quite successfully, and even some multi-national magazine printers.”

Sanchez SA de CV has embarked on an extensive modernization program, updating its offset ink manufacturing plant in Mexico City, and moving its liquid inks manufacturing activity to the company’s new plant in Tepeji del Rio, north of Mexico City, in 2013. With these modern plants in place and anticipated growth in the Mexican and regional economy, Sanchez expects a strong year in 2014.

“We expect the economy to grow at higher levels this year, and we are sure that with our brand new manufacturing site in Tepeji del Rio we will be ready for the task,” Sanchez concluded.

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,150

Comments: Sanchez SA de CV is the largest ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America, and the company continued to strengthen its leadership in the region.

“In Mexico, we experienced a very interesting year with months with a lot of activity, mainly before our presidential election in July 1, and a last quarterin which we noticed a deceleration in our economy,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, Sanchez SA de CV’s managing director.

“We find ourselves in the 30,000 tons per year mark, with good results in heatset and packaging inks,” Mr. Sanchez added. “In 2013 we are experiencing more activity mainly in the packaging area, and are confident that the trend will continue.”

To meet the demands of the growing printing industry in Latin America, Sanchez SA de CV its continuing its extensive modernization program.

“In September, we closed our offset ink manufacturing site in Toluca and transferred the production to our Mexico City facility, and we are about to move our liquid inks manufacturing activity to our new plant in Tepeji del Rio, north of Mexico City,” Mr. Sanchez said. “Once we finish all these changes, we will find ourselves with two manufacturing sites, one specializingin paste inks and the other one in liquid inks, giving us a good advantage over our competitors.”

In recent years, Sanchez SA de CV has opened subsidiaries throughout Central America, including in El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatamala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA) and Costa Rica, which are keying the company’s growth throughout the region.

“In the rest of the region we are seeing good results, with our Colombian subsidiary starting to show good levels of activity, and with very interesting projects in Ecuador,” Mr. Sanchez said.

Major Products: Offset, flexo, gravure and screen inks, overprint varnishes, offset plates, pressroom chemicals and offset presses.

Number of Employees: 1,150

Comments: The leading ink manufacturer in Mexico and Central America, Sanchez SA de CV had a strong year in 2011, with sales on the upswing, although the company did not quite reach its high expectations.

“Although we fell short in our expectations, our growth of 3% in terms of dollars kept us optimistic about our strategies and the behavior of our products in the market,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director.“Our paste inks kept showing signs of recovery, including our heatset inks, which reported excellent results.”

Sanchez SA de CV has opened a series of subsidiaries in Central America, including in El Salvador (Sanchez Centroamerica), Guatemala (Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA) and Costa Rica. These have helped spur the company’s expansion.

The good results of our subsidiaries in Central America have contributed to Grupo Sanchez’ growth,” Mr. Sanchez said.

Sanchez SA de CV saw some stabilization in raw materials near the end of 2011.

“At the end of the year, the raw material cost and supply started to show signs of stabilization, giving us an small relief after having struggled with these issues for many months,” Mr. Sanchez noted.

Packaging inks have enjoyed the most success in recent years. As a result, Sanchez SA de CV is putting more resources into liquid inks, beginning with the construction of a state-of-the-art liquid ink plant north of Mexico City.

“Our steady results in flexo and gravure have led us to build a new plant dedicated to the manufacturing of liquid inks,” Mr. Sanchez said. “We purchased a 400,000 square foot piece of land a few miles north of Mexico City, and we are about to start construction, which we expect to finish by the beginning of 2013. This will also permit us to reorganize our Mexico City plant into a more efficient paste ink manufacturing site.”

Overall, Mr. Sanchez said that 2012 looks to be a good year for Sanchez SA de CV, as sales increase and the company continues to grow outside of Mexico.

“In general, we feel optimistic about 2012, with signs of improvement in our volumes and less pressure in our cost-price balance,” Mr. Sanchez concluded. “Our international subsidiaries will continue to be a key piece of our strategy.”

Number of Employees: 1,150

Comments: Mexico has rebounded from the global recession and enjoyed solid growth in 2010, which bodes well for Sanchez SA de CV, the leading ink manufacturer in Mexico.

“The economy in Mexico seemed to enter into a recovery pace during 2010, not at the expected pace but a recovery at last,” said Ernesto J. Sanchez, managing director of Sanchez SA de CV. “The official GDP growth for 2010 has not been published but it should be around 5 %. Our growth in Sanchez was 3.7% measured in kilos, so we were able to surpass not only our 2009 sales, but also those of 2008, reaching the 39,300 ton mark.”

Mr. Sanchez said that growth occurred across the board in offset inks.

“The market did have a positive reaction, and we had good results in areas like sheetfed offset, heatset and news, markets where we had serious concerns at the beginning of the year,” he noted.

Raw materials are a major concern, with unprecedented raw material price increases putting pressure on all ink manufacturers.

“Our main concern is the shortage of raw materials and increase in its prices. Some of our key raw materials have experienced price increases like we haven’t seen before. This of course has taken us into the process of increasing our prices as well,” Mr. Sanchez said.

Sanchez SA de CV has been making major inroads in Central America. In 2009, the company opened a subsidiary, Tintas Sanchez Guatemala SA, in Guatemala City. In 2010, Sanchez SA de CV opened a new subsidiary in Costa Rica.

“Internationally, we opened our subsidiary in Costa Rica, so along with Sanchez Centroamerica in El Salvador and Sanchez Guatemala, we expect to increase our leadership in the area,” Mr. Sanchez said.