Major Products: Offset inks, UV/EB-curable inks, highly reactive UV inks, screen inks, inkjet inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, adhesives, laminating adhesives, hot-melt adhesives, electronics adhesives and materials, industrial adhesive tapes & films, marking films, can coatings, hard coatings, functional coating agents, water-based resins, medical adhesive products, natural extracts, organic pigments, pigment dispersions, functional dispersions, plastic colorants, color filter materials for flat panel displays.

Number of Employees: 7,930 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink had solid sales results in 2022, with consolidated sales up 9.7% to $2.41 billion. However, operating profit declined 47.2% to $52 million, impacted by higher raw material and energy prices and supply issues.

“Net sales for the fiscal year under review rose to 315,927 million yen (up 9.7% year on year),” Toyo Ink noted in its annual report. “However, profit fell partly due to surges in raw materials prices. Operating profit stood at 6,865 million yen (down 47.2% year on year) and ordinary profit came to 7,906 million yen (down 48.8% year on year).”

Hideki Ohba, GM, marketing department, International Division at Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. noted that the operating environment for year 2022 proved to be a difficult one.

“The global economy was affected by high raw materials and energy prices and supply constraints chiefly due to the prolonged state of affairs in Ukraine and restrictions on economic activities in China,” Ohba said. “In addition, there were economic slowdowns and violent exchange rate fluctuations due to worldwide monetary tightening. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic was entering a new phase in which people live with COVID-19, and there were signs of a recovery in the global economy.”

Toyo Ink’s printing ink segments did very well in 2022. Toyo Ink’s Packaging Materials Related Business segment sales rose 13.3% to 83,646 million yen ($637 million) during 2022, while operating profit decreased to 963 million yen (down 46.9% year on year).

Ohba said that in the Packaging Materials segment, Japan-based sales of liquid inks, particularly mainstay products for packaging materials, were steady thanks to firm demand for liquid inks for food products such as frozen foods, labels for beverages, and noodles, based on the movement of customers toward increasing inventory in preparation for the disruption of the supply of materials and price increases. Overseas, shipments in China declined due to lockdowns.

Meanwhile, the Printing and Information Related Business segment reported sales of 75,180 million yen ($573 million), while operating profit decreased to 654 million yen (down 62.2% year on year).

“As for the Printing and Information segment, domestic sales of products for flyers, advertising, and publishing were sluggish due to the structural contraction of the information-related printing market,” Ohba reported. “However, domestic sales of products for paper containers and metal printing for beverage cans remained strong. The Group implemented structural reforms and collaborated with competitors to reduce costs, but profit was reduced significantly, chiefly due to the difficulty of procuring raw materials, the increase of prices and high energy costs. In overseas markets, the market was weak in Europe and China due to the war in Ukraine and the impact of COVID-19. In other regions, sales were firm, reflecting a recovery in economic activities and progress in the expansion of sales.”

Toyo Ink made some significant moves during the past year, beginning with its plans to change the company’s name change to artience Co., Ltd., a hybrid of “art” and “science,” effective Jan. 1, 2024.

“The name change is a sign of our strong desire to transform ourselves into a company that delivers pioneering value through cutting-edge technology to people around the world,” Ohba said. “We are committed to creating value that resonates with the senses and to building a future where all people can live enriched lives. We are currently working to ensure a smooth transition throughout the worldwide Group to the new corporate identity by Jan. 1.”

The acquisition of Thai Eurocoat in March 2023, a leader in the metal coatings segment, particularly in the ASEAN canned food market, was a significant move for Toyo Ink.

“We‘re pleased to welcome Thai Eurocoat to the Toyo Ink Group family,” said Jun Mikoshiba, president of Toyo Ink Thailand, in announcing the acquisition. “The Group has been operating in Thailand since 1971 and began the local production of can coatings in 1988 with the establishment of Toyo Ink Thailand. Over the years, we’ve expanded our business by taking advantage of our ability to develop advanced resins, mainly for can coatings that require high functionality. Thai Eurocoat is expected to complement these operations and to expand our business throughout the ASEAN region.”

Toyo Ink announced plans to double the laminating adhesives production capacity from the current level at its Malaysia-based subsidiary Toyochem Specialty Chemical, and also made capital improvements to bolster its packaging materials operations in Turkey, India, China, and Indonesia.

“We aim to strengthen our global supply chain and to expand sales of high-functionality and environmentally friendly solutions such as solvent-free adhesives, the demand for which is expected to grow worldwide,” said “Ohba. Expansion work is now under way at the Malaysian site with full operation slated to begin in the third quarter of 2023.”

As for personnel moves in the Americas Group, in 2022, John Easley, who had served as president of Toyo Ink Mexico since 2016, was named president of LioChem, the inks, plastic colorants and Li-ion battery materials manufacturer based out of Conyers, GA, USA. Jose Ramirez takes over the helm as president of Toyo Ink Mexico, the Guadalajara-based producer of inks, coatings and colorants established in 2015. Ramirez had entered the then LioChem Mexico office (now Toyo Ink Mexico) in 2014 as one of its founding members. He has been driving growth as the sales director for its colorants business ever since.

In addition, Toyo Ink America revealed some executive changes at the start of 2023. Vipul Shah was named president, taking over the reins from Koji Wada, who now becomes the new chairman and CEO. Before being appointed president, Shah had served as VP of sales, Liquid Division for eight years.

Another new face on the executive team is Ron Rauck Jr.. Formerly the GM of the Liquid Division, Rauck is now EVP, Ink Division.

“Both Vipul and Ron are 30-plus-year veterans of the ink industry who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, ranging from technology and sales to business development,” said Ohba.

As for the rest of 2023, Ohba said that the operating environment is expected to remain difficult in the year ahead, characterized by supply chain problems, transportation/distribution-related difficulties, rising materials prices, and other challenges.

“Even so, we plan to undertake the various growth initiatives,” he added “For the Packaging Materials segment, our plans call for speeding up the rollout of eco-friendly products such as high-grade biomass inks, water-based printing solutions, and materials to help reduce plastic waste. In addition, we will boost contributions to earnings from overseas operations with the help of more stable production levels at new plants in China and India, the startup of a new plant in Turkey, and the expansion of sales of strategic products in Southeast Asia and India, where we are looking to increase our market share. At the same time, we will enhance our competitive position in the label/packaging market with the help of new product launches of eco-friendly UV inks.”

Major Products: Offset inks, UV/EB-curable inks, highly reactive UV inks, screen inks, inkjet inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, adhesives, laminating adhesives, hot-melt adhesives, electronics adhesives and materials, industrial adhesive tapes & films, marking films, can coatings, hard coatings, functional coating agents, water-based resins, medical adhesive products, natural extracts, organic pigments, pigment dispersions, functional dispersions, plastic colorants, color filter materials for flat panel displays.

Number of Employees: 7,887 (consolidated)

Comments: Despite all of the challenges that 2021 brought, Toyo Ink had an exceptionally good year, with revenue and profit increasing over 2020. Net sales increased 11.8% year on year to ¥287,989 million and operating profit rose 0.7% year on year to ¥13,005 million.

Hideki Ohba, International Business Department Marketing Division for Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., observed that the outlook for the global economy remained uncertain during 2021 due to variants of the COVID-19 coronavirus, despite the trend of the gradual easing of the harsh conditions caused by the pandemic.

“Constraints on the supply of raw materials and continuing high prices have seriously affected corporate activities,” Ohba noted. “The situation remained extremely challenging, given the occurrence of problems in raw materials procurement and production activities, in addition to sluggish sales growth due to worldwide stagnation in consumption activities.

“Despite this business environment, we operated our business activities in line with the following three management policies: Increase business profitability, create and expand priority development domains, and enhance the value of management resources for sustainable growth,” he continued.

In Japan, demand for liquid packaging inks for paper bags for souvenirs and apparel was sluggish due to people voluntarily refraining from leaving home. However, sales of liquid inks for home-use foods such as frozen foods and noodles were firm. In overseas markets, demand for food packaging materials was strong in Southeast Asia and remained steady also in China, India, and the Middle East.

“Meanwhile, we continued to revise selling prices due to ongoing worldwide difficulties in procuring raw materials and rising prices, but profits were significantly affected,” Ohba added.

In particular, Ohba reported that many of Toyo Ink’s customers in the food packaging sector continued their business with stable demand despite the pandemic.

“In some cases, packaging demand slightly decreased during lockdowns, especially in places where packaged food plays an important role in the canteens of schools and corporations,” Ohba reported.

In 2022, Toyo Ink Group companies overseas announced production capacity expansions.

Toyo Ink Europe Specialty Chemicals announced in April that it has started operations of an all-new €13 million production facility for inkjet inks at its manufacturing complex in Oissel in northern France. With a focus on operational efficiency, the modern, 1,400-square-meter factory has been fitted with advanced automation equipment and ink manufacturing systems for increased process and quality control.

“The new fully automated site is expected to reinforce our leading position in the global digital sector, in particular in the label, interior décor and corrugated markets,” said Ohba.

In January, Toyo Ink India announced the installation of a new gravure ink factory at its Gujarat site along the western coast of India. With a production capacity of more than 5,000 metric tons per annum, the new factory is expected to boost the company’s competitive advantage in India’s rapidly growing flexible packaging market.

“In addition, the site is toluene-free and uses dedicated controls to ensure regulatory compliance and increased safety,” Ohba said. “Now, with a combined capacity of 20,000 tons per annum, Toyo Ink India will work to expand its share and product offerings in the strategic flexible packaging market where it is focusing our efforts to grow.”

Toyo Ink was also active in R&D, launching the new INGEDE-certified, GMP-manufactured LP-9000 TOYO Life Premium Food LO/LM series of sheetfed inks for food packaging.

“In addition to being deinkable, LP-9000 ink systems are engineered and manufactured in accordance with EuPIA guidelines and the GMP standards,” Ohba said. “They are compliant with the Swiss Ordinance and ISEGA according to Regulation (EU) 1935/2004, and meet global requirements for non-food contact surface inks for food packaging.

In response to the growing demand in the market for new materials aiming to support the transition to a circular economy in the printing and packaging industry, the Toyo Ink Group has been developing inks, coatings, lamination adhesives and heat-sealing agents with the topics of carbon footprint reduction, recyclability, biodegradation, and more in mind.

Raw materials are expected to continue to be a concern going forward.

“We believe the operating environment will remain difficult in the year ahead, including supply chain problems, transportation/distribution-related difficulties, rising materials prices, and other challenges,” Ohba said. “Also, the war in Ukraine has led to additional complications in terms of logistics. Therefore until the conflict is resolved, it is likely to continue to have an impact on our business.

“In response to the difficulty in procuring raw materials, the increase of prices and surging energy and other costs, we collaborated with competitors and implemented the structural reform of our business to reduce costs,” said Ohba. “In the overseas markets, sales in the US and Europe remained strong as the impact of COVID-19 decreased and progress was made in the revision of selling prices.”

Major Products: Offset inks, UV/EB-curable inks, highly reactive UV inks, screen inks, inkjet inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, adhesives, laminating adhesives, hot-melt adhesives, electronics adhesives and materials, industrial adhesive tapes & films, marking films, can coatings, hard coatings, functional coating agents, water-based resins, medical adhesive products, natural extracts, organic pigments, pigment dispersions, functional dispersions, plastic colorants, color filter materials for flat panel displays.

Number of Employees: 8,157 (consolidated)

Comments: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worldwide economic downturn were felt throughout the ink and printing industry, and Toyo Ink was no exception.

“In fiscal 2020, the global economy experienced a dramatic downturn driven mainly by reduced consumer spending and corporate activity as a result of the protracted COVID-19 pandemic and there is still no telling when the pandemic will be brought under control,” said Hideki Ohba, GM of the International Business Department, Marketing Division at Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.

Sustainability is a major topic worldwide, and Toyo Ink Group is active in the area, concentrating on the rollout of biomass inks and environmentally-friendly pressure sensitive adhesives.

In emerging markets such as China, Southeast Asia, India and Turkey, demand for daily necessities is expected to continue growing in the future, and the group expanded production lines for inks and adhesives in its Packaging Materials business.

However, conditions remained extremely challenging, with slow growth in sales as a result of a global slump in consumption and disruptions to supplies of raw materials and productions activities. As a result, net sales for the fiscal year under review declined to 257,675 million yen, ($2.33 billion) and profit also fell with operating profit of 12,909 million yen ($116 million). Ohba noted that during the first quarter of 2020, the global economy was dealt a severe blow by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

There was plenty of important news at Toyo Ink in the past year. In March 2020, Satoru Takashima replaced Katsumi Kitagawa as president of Toyo Ink SC Holdings, the parent of the Toyo Ink Group.

Kitagawa was named the new chairman of the board, replacing Kunio Sakuma, who has chaired the board since April 2011. Kitagawa is to serve concurrently as chairman and Group CEO, but has relinquished the role of president to Takashima.

Earlier this year, the Toyo Ink Group announced a cooperative agreement with ITOCHU Corporation, a leading global trading house, to establish a plastic recycling program for the recovery and reuse of multilayer film packaging materials. Specifically, the two companies aim to develop the deinking and layer separation technology needed to create real circularity of multilayer flexible packaging. The plan is to make currently unrecyclable multilayer plastic packaging into a recyclable product by 2022. A pilot plant based on this plastic recovery process is currently being built in Japan.

A few notable new products with enhanced sustainability performance were released this year by a Toyo Ink Group company. In February 2021, Turkey-based Toyo Printing Inks commercialized the LP-9000 Toyo Life Premium Food LO/LM, a new series of sheetfed offset inks with low odor and low migration characteristics. Engineered and manufactured in accordance with EuPIA guidelines and the GMP, the LP-9000 LO/LM product is suitable for use in printed packages for the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and other sensitive applications. This new low-migration offset series has been specially formulated for printing on the non-food contact surface of paper and cardboard media.

In May 2021, Belgium-based Toyo Ink Europe released the FLASH DRY (FD) LED S5 series, a new line of deinkable low energy-curable LE-UV and LED-UV inks for the offset printing market. Developed at Toyo Ink Europe’s lab in Belgium, the new FD LED S5 inks are highly reactive and require minimal levels of energy to cure, while offering higher gloss levels and a wider water window. The formulations have been certified for deinkability by INGEDE (International Association of the Deinking Industry) Method 11, with a passing score of 100/100 points.

Ohba said that Toyo Ink is seeing a return to more normal times. In the first quarter of 2021, net sales were up 7.8% year on year.

“Despite the recovery in China and signs of recovery in developed countries such as Japan, the US and Europe, the outlook for the global economy remains uncertain due to the re-expansion of the COVID-19 and the re-restriction of economic activities,” he added. “The Toyo Ink Group’s business environment remained challenging, as consumer spending was still in the process of recovering both domestically and overseas. In addition, plant damage at several raw material manufacturers and stagnant logistics challenges caused difficulties in procuring raw materials.

“We expect a modest recovery in 2021 as society adapts to the new normal on the assumption of a protracted pandemic,” Ohba observed. “However, there is also mounting concern over a potential slowdown as economic activity continues to be restricted to some extent. The Toyo Ink Group also expects to continue facing a harsh business environment with challenges such as the high cost of raw materials.

“As for our Packaging Materials business, we will develop a supply framework to meet firm demand through the early startup of a new factory in China and the smooth construction of a new factory in Turkey,

while also seeking to further expand sales in the growing Southeast Asia and India markets by focusing our resources on these markets. In emerging markets such as China, Southeast Asia, India and Turkey, demand for daily necessities is expected to continue grow, so we are expanding production lines for packaging ink and adhesives in these areas.

“In Printing and Information, we will continue to reduce the cost of raw materials for UV inks and strengthen the rollout of sticky labels and paper containers to the packaging market. At the same time, the Group will strengthen the business through further structural reforms in response to market contraction,” Ohba concluded.

Major Products: Offset inks, UV/EB-curable inks, highly reactive UV inks, screen inks, inkjet inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, adhesives, laminating adhesives, hot-melt adhesives, electronics adhesives and materials, industrial adhesive tapes & films, marking films, can coatings, hard coatings, functional coating agents, water-based resins, medical adhesive products, natural extracts, organic pigments, pigment dispersions, functional dispersions, plastic colorants, color filter materials for flat panel displays.

Number of Employees: 8,246 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink had a solid year in 2019, spurred on by growth overseas as well as increasing opportunities in UV and inkjet inks.

“Given the shrinking domestic information-related print market associated with the progress of digitization, the Toyo Ink Group strongly sought to optimize our business scale by product, facilitate collaboration with other companies in the same trade, and reduce costs in Japan, while bolstering sales overseas by expanding our global bases,” said Yoshirou Nishikawa, GM, Business Strategy Department of Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. “This resulted in the advancement of sales expansion in India. In addition, we promoted sales expansion in the growing African market by establishing a sales company in Morocco. The development and sales expansion of highly sensitive UV ink using leading-edge technology and other products such as inkjet ink for on-demand printing also made progress.”

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted the global economy, and that is having an impact on the ink industry.

“In the early part of 2020, the global economy was dealt a severe blow by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at a time when it was already vulnerable due to the drawn-out trade dispute between the United States and China,” said Nishikawa. “The Toyo Ink Group continued to face challenging conditions, with slow growth in sales resulting from the stagnation of consumption globally and disruption to supplies of raw materials and production activities.

In major news, Toyo Ink SC Holdings appointed Satoru Takashima, former senior managing director, as its new president and COO, on March 26, 2020, after shareholders approved the nomination at a meeting. He replaces Katsumi Kitagawa, the previous president and group CEO. Kitagawa now concurrently serves as chairman and group CEO but has relinquished the role of president to Takashima.

Toyo Ink Group also made two big expansion moves in 2019.

“We made our first foray into the African continent with the establishment of a new sales subsidiary, Toyo Ink North Africa in Casablanca, Morocco, in late 2019,” Nishikawa noted. “Toyo Ink North Africa is engaged in developing business opportunities for a wide range of Group products such as commercial printing inks, liquid inks and adhesives for food packaging, and can coatings

“Another new subsidiary, Toyo Ink Myanmar, opened its new plant in Yangon’s Thilawa zone, to much fanfare in November 2019,” Nishikawa added. “As the first major ink manufacturer to set up a production foothold in Myanmar, the Group establishes an early leadership position in the country where we can play to our strengths like food packaging and commercial printing. Toyo Ink Myanmar is engaged in the production of liquid inks for packaging, adhesives for films, and offset inks for the commercial printing market.”

There remains tremendous uncertainty as to what the rest of the year will hold.

“Regarding the outlook for the rest of 2020, it is quite difficult to foresee since the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over,” Nishikawa observed. “Its impact on the printing industry and the whole packaging sector is not clear. That said, we believe that the need for having food packaged in sanitary virus-free conditions will spur on the demand for packaging, therefore keeping the demand for inks in good shape.”

Major Products: Offset inks, UV / EB-curable inks, highly reactive UV inks, screen inks, inkjet inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, adhesives, laminating adhesives, hot-melt adhesives, electronics adhesives and materials, industrial adhesive tapes & films, marking films, can coatings, hard coatings, functional coating agents, water-based resins, medical adhesive products, natural extracts, organic pigments, pigment dispersions, functional dispersions, plastic colorants, color filter materials for FPDs.

Number of Employees: 8,274 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink Group reported sales of $1.37 billion (¥147.4 billion) from its Printing and Information and Packaging Materials businesses, and consolidated sales of $2.7 billion (¥290.2 billion) overall.

2018 had its challenges, Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. President Shintaro Yamaoka said.

“FY 2018 was a challenging year due to the effect of rising prices of raw materials as a result of the rise in oil prices and the deteriorated supply-demand balance associated with environmental regulations in many countries,” he said. “As such, 2018 financial results grew at a sluggish pace because of the deteriorated business environment. Net sales increased to ¥290,208, but operating profit decreased to ¥15,337 million.”

While domestic demand for gravure inks for publication continued to decline in 2018, Yamaoka said domestic sales of mainstay gravure inks for packaging – mainly for private brand applications and convenience stores – were strong. Same with the domestic sales of gravure inks for construction materials – and sales of solvents also grew.

“However, the sharp rise in the prices of raw materials, mainly caused by the rise in the oil price, put a squeeze on profits beyond self-efforts, leading to revisions to selling prices,” Yamaoka said. “Overseas sales of eco-friendly type products also increased in Southeast Asia, India, China and South Korea. We expect the packaging market to remain firm in 2019, both at home and abroad.”

In Japan, sales of gravure inks for the packaging of food and drinks remain strong and sales of biomass inks to the Japan market and of eco-friendly packaging materials in Southeast Asia and India are on a growth trajectory, he added.

Domestic demand for offset inks for the commercial printing of circulars and other materials, existing information publications including newspapers and magazines, and related materials remained weaker than expected.

Given the shrinking domestic information-related print market associated with the progress of digitization, the Group sought to optimize its business scale by product and reduce costs in Japan, while bolstering sales overseas by expanding its global bases, which resulted in the advancement of sales expansion in India and Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Group focused on the development and sale of highly sensitive UV ink using leading-edge technology and other products such as inkjet ink for on-demand printing and the increase of the linkage among different businesses, thereby facilitating business growth in 2018.

According to Yamaoka, FY2019 started off strong for the Packaging Materials Business. “Above all, sales of biomass inks grew strongly,” he said. “Overseas, sales of eco-friendly type products expanded in Southeast Asia and India, while sales did not grow much in China.

“The Group continues to focus on the development and sale of highly sensitive or energy-saving inks for ozone-free and LED-UV curing systems. The popular FLASH DRY series of low-energy UV inks effectively reduce power consumption and CO2 during the printing process,” Yamaoka continued. “Our next-generation inkjet inks meet the industry demand for increased quality images and printability for offset printing as well as offer the flexibility of on-demand printing. Toyo Ink America also introduced multiple high-performance lamination ink products for both flexo and gravure in addition to high-end laminating adhesive solutions into North America. TOMOFLEX TM-250HV-US two-component polyester adhesives are developed for retort pouches processed at temperatures up to 135°C.”

Toyo Ink added new operations in Myanmar and Morocco.

“In June 2018, the Group’s parent Toyo Ink SC Holdings announced the establishment of a new manufacturing subsidiary in the Thilawa economic zone in Yangon, Myanmar,” Yamaoka said. “The new factory broke ground in November 2018 with production expected to begin in November 2019.

“Up to now, the Group had been supplying Myanmar with exports via neighboring countries while eyeing expansion in the country,” he continued, adding that Toyo is the first major ink manufacturer to set up a production foothold there. “In recent years, the Myanmar government has pushed forward with aggressive policies to attract foreign funding, such as infrastructure enhancements and the relaxation of import restrictions. Such initiatives have substantially strengthened Myanmar’s investment climate, making it an attractive investment destination.

In March 2019, Toyo Ink SC Holdings announced plans to open its first office in Africa. The new sales subsidiary, Toyo Ink North Africa, opened in Casablanca, Morocco, in mid-June. It is engaged in developing business opportunities for a wide range of Group products such as commercial printing inks, liquid (flexo and gravure) inks and adhesives for food packaging, and can coatings.

“Following China and India, the African continent is believed to be one of the future growth engines of the global economy,” Yamaoka said. “Up until now, the Toyo Ink Group had been developing its business in the region by way of our existing operating bases. The decision to establish an office in Morocco is a result of these early successes.”

The Group has long focused on developing environmentally friendly products and technologies that help materialize a sustainable, recycle-oriented society. Toyo Ink’s latest contribution in this area is biomass solutions that use petrochemical-free, naturally-derived materials as well as reduces CO2. In addition to offset, gravure and flexo inks, Toyo Ink’s biomass lineup offers products for the packaging market, such as laminating adhesives and hot-melt adhesives. For these efforts, in April 2018, the Toyo Ink Group was awarded Japan’s Environment Minister Award at the 27th Global Environment Awards.

“As the printing and packaging fields accelerate themselves toward carbon dioxide emissions reductions, the entire Group is actively promoting the development of biomass products,” Yamaoka said. “We have been focusing on the development of environmentally friendly products such as toluene-free, MEK-free and water-based inks for gravure and flexo print packaging.”

Raw materials remain a concern for the ink industry, and Toyo Ink is coping with raw material pricing and availability through a variety of measures.

“China’s Blue Sky anti-pollution initiative continues to curb production in the country, and availability of products remains a concern,” Yamaoka said. “The price of many products increased due to shortage and additional 10% tariff implemented in September 2018. The Group continues to source raw materials produced outside of China to reduce the dependency of direct purchases from China and lessen the impact of the 10% tariff. We have also implemented countermeasures such as boosting the in-house production of eco-friendly resins for UV inks, expanding the adoption of new, more efficient production methods, and promoting structural reforms at domestic sales and logistic bases. In this environment, we have also taken steps to raise our prices.”

Yamaoka said Toyo Ink Group expects global uncertainty to continue to place pressure on the operating environment in 2019.

“The global economy shows signs of a slowdown associated with trade friction between the US and China and the increasing political risk,” said Yamaoka. “In Japan, a sense of stagnation is also growing, particularly in exports, while a moderate recovery trend is said to continue. We also expect challenges such as the rising cost of raw materials to continue. Despite this harsh business environment, the Group sees reasons to be optimistic in 2019 as we pursue the many opportunities for growth and boosting our productivity. The Group as a whole will aim to develop eco-friendly production methods and bases, and review the production and management systems utilizing data science.

“In the Packaging Materials Business, the Group will continuously launch eco-friendly products using raw materials derived from natural sources in the market and promote the improved performance and sales expansion of gravure inks for the volume zone, and curable flexographic inks overseas. We will also work to reduce costs by promoting the integration of product types and greater production efficiency,” Yamaoka continued. “In the Printing and Information Business, the Group plans to accelerate structural reforms in Japan where the market is shrinking and continue to promote expansion to emerging markets where demand is expected to increase. In addition, we will further enhance UV inks that contribute to energy savings and the inkjet ink business that will respond to digitalization. With the recent advances we have achieved thus far, we remain confident that 2019 will be another year of progress for the Group.”

Major Products: Printing inks; newspaper inks; UV/EB-curing inks; gravure inks; flexo inks; screen inks,; highly reactive UV inks; metal decorating inks; hard coatings; graphic arts supplies; graphic arts equipment; can coatings; resins; adhesives; laminating adhesives; coating materials; pigments; processed pigments; plastic colorants; color filter materials; natural extracts.

Number of Employees: 8,135 (consolidated)

Comments: Led by its packaging and UV inks, Toyo Ink Group had a solid year in 2017, as the company reported sales of $1.3 billion (¥145.9 billion) from its Printing and Information and Packaging Materials businesses, and consolidated sales of $2.49 billion (¥280.1 billion) overall.

Haruhiko Akutsu, GM, Commercial and Publication Business Department, Global Business Division for Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., said that gravure inks for packaging fared well in Japan.

“Although domestic demand for gravure inks for publication continued to decline, domestic sales of mainstay gravure inks for packaging mainly for private brand applications and convenience stores were strong,” Akutsu observed. “Domestic sales of gravure inks for construction materials also increased. Overseas sales increased in North America, Central and South America, India, and other regions despite sluggish demand in China due largely to environmental regulations.”

Domestic demand for inks for commercial printing of circulars and other materials, existing information publications including newspapers and magazines, and related materials remained weaker than expected. A decline in capacity utilization at printing companies in China and Southeast Asia due to an economic slowdown and environmental regulations also caused a fall in sales.

“Regarding the Printing and Information Business, given the shrinking domestic information-related print market associated with the progress of digitization, the group sought to optimize our business scale by product line and streamlined products in Japan, while bolstering sales overseas by expanding global bases,” added Akutsu. “Meanwhile, we focused on the development and sale of highly sensitive UV ink using leading-edge technology and other products such as inkjet ink for on-demand printing, thereby facilitating business growth.”

In an important move, Toyo Ink Group and its domestic subsidiaries changed their fiscal year end from March 31 to Dec. 31, which is the same as that of its overseas subsidiaries. The new fiscal year end was applied from fiscal 2017. Also in 2017, the Toyo Ink Group unveiled a new long-term vision, the Scientific Innovation Chain 2027 (SIC27), which was executed Group-wide on Jan. 1, 2018.
“The group decided that the value it would provide in the next 10 years until 2027 would be to create a more vibrant world, as reflected in the new company tagline ‘For a Vibrant World,’” Akutsu said. “Under this new vision, the group will strive to reform itself to build a corporate structure capable of achieving long-term sustainable growth and become a corporate group that contributes to the development of a world where all living beings and the environment coexist harmoniously.”

For its Packaging Materials business, Toyo Ink Group developed a product line of biomass inks using plant-derived raw materials and began sales in Japan. In addition to growing sales of water-based inks for flexible packaging in Japan and other Asian countries, Toyo Ink established a supply and sales promotion network for environmentally friendly products in the European market.

In its Printing and Information business, Toyo Ink promoted sales of new UV-curable ink products developed at a new plant built at the Fuji Factory in Japan for continuous production with pigments and developed the application of inkjet inks for on-demand printing.

“The Printing and Information Business will continue to develop and promote the sale of energy-saving type UV curable inks and increase the application of inkjet inks,” said Akutsu.

Toyo Ink is expanding its operations globally. In November 2017, the group announced plans to purchase land for the future expansion of its Turkish operations in Manisa, for a total investment of approximately $26.7 million. The land will be used to build not only a new manufacturing facility for the upgrading and expansion of existing R&D and production facilities but also to construct a new production site for polymers.

In June 2018, Toyo Ink SC Holdings announced plans to enter the Myanmar market with the establishment of a production base in Yangon.

“This July, we will be setting up a wholly-owned company Toyo Ink Myanmar Co., Ltd. with an initial paid-in capital of $6.5 million,” Akutsu said. “The new factory is scheduled to break ground in November 2018 with commercial operation expected to begin a year later.”

“The Toyo Ink Group enhanced our gravure ink production facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam to keep pace with increasing demand for packaging materials,” he added. “In addition, we continued with procedures to acquire land for new factory construction in Turkey, Mexico and Myanmar, in order to strengthen our supply systems and expand businesses in regions where demand is expected to grow. Plans are also underway to expand offset ink production in India and Brazil and extend business into peripheral countries.”

Akutsu noted that Toyo Ink has been taking actions to identify and evaluate alternative sources, broadening its geographic reach and diversifying supply, in response to the raw material challenges, but there still remain concerns.

“The coming year already looks to be a challenging one in terms of raw material availability and supply shortages,” Akutsu added. “Despite the supply turmoil and a soft first quarter, the outlook for the year overall is good. The impact of soaring prices of materials will continue, but it will be offset by an increase in sales volume and sales of high-function products.”

Akutsu also noted that Toyo Ink will continue its strong emphasis on environmentally friendly products.

“In response to a global increase in environmental awareness, we will further develop environmentally friendly packaging products and materials that are differentiated to meet needs by area, including water-based flexographic inks, electron beam-curable flexo inks for flexible packaging and biomass ink-based packaging for to-go foods at convenience stores,” Akutsu said. “Moreover, we will develop a supply system in regions where demand is growing by commencing the operation of additional gravure ink production facilities constructed in Southeast Asia at an early stage.”

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV/EB-curing inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, screen inks, highly reactive UV inks, metal decorative inks, hard coatings, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coatings and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 8,021 (consolidated).

Comments: Toyo Ink Group had a strong year in 2016, with UV and packaging inks enjoying excellent results, with $1.3 billion (¥144,616 million) in sales in its Printing and Information and Packaging Materials businesses, and consolidated sales of $2.41 billion (¥268,484 million) overall.

Haruhiko Akutsu, GM, Commercial and Publication Business Department Global Business Division for Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., said that the global economy showed mixed results.

“During fiscal 2016 (year ending March 31, 2017), the US economy has continued to recover on the back of strong personal consumption, but growth has slowed in China and other emerging countries,” Akutsu observed. “Moreover, a sense of uncertainty is growing in economies due to protectionism spreading in politics and societies. In addition, in response to this, Japan has faced continued sluggishness, although its economy is on a recovery trend.

“Consequently, net sales for the fiscal 2016 decreased to ¥268,484 million (down 5.2% year on year) partly due to the foreign exchange conversion of overseas companies’ results, but profits increased with operating profit of ¥19,222 million (up 4.1% year on year), ordinary profit of ¥19,257 million (up 3.0% year on year) and profit attributable to owners of parent of ¥12,687 million (up 4.1% year on year),” Akutsu added.

Group sales for fiscal 2015 for the overall Packaging Materials Related Business was relatively flat, at $566 million (¥62,965 million), and operating income increased 5.4% to $26 million (¥2,871 million), showing a rise in sales and income, with Toyo Ink’s strength in environmentally friendly products keying its growth.

In the Packaging Materials Related Business, Toyo Ink Group continuously expanded sales of non-toluene gravure inks for packaging for Southeast Asia and India, and released water-based flexographic inks and non-VOC-type EB (electron beam) curable flexographic inks for flexible packaging for Europe to proactively promote environmentally friendly products.

In addition to the continuous decline in domestic demand for gravure inks for publication, sales of solvents as resale products declined. On the other hand, domestic sales of mainstay gravure inks for packaging were strong, mainly for beverage and private brand applications. Demand for gravure inks for construction materials recovered in the latter half of the period, and profitability improved. Overseas, sales of eco-friendly inks for packaging continued to expand in Southeast Asia and India.

Sales in the Printing and Information Related Business for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 declined 6.6%, at $734 million (¥81,651 million), but operating income rose 11.4% year on year, to $30 million (¥3,317 million).

In the Printing and Information Related Business, the Group promoted increased sales of UV inks on a global scale by releasing new products of energy-saving type UV curable offset inks and facilitated the development and sales expansion of hard coating agents for touch panels and inkjet inks for on-demand printing of various types in small lots for commercial and packaging uses.

In offset inks, the export profit from Japan was squeezed by the strong yen in the first half of the fiscal 2016, in addition to the continuous decrease in demand due to the structural depression where the information-related print market shrank associated with the progress of digitalization in Japan. Meanwhile, sales of UV ink expanded not only in Japan but also on a global scale, particularly in Europe, and hard coating agents for touch panels sold well. Sales were weak in China and Southeast Asia, reflecting the slowdown of economic activity. In India and Brazil, sales expanded and profitability also improved.

Toyo Ink Group reported numerous highlights during the past year, beginning with its move to new headquarters in Tokyo.

“The Toyo Ink Group kicked off 2017 at its new home in the Kyobashi Edogrand commercial complex in Tokyo,” Akutsu said. “The Group’s head office operations had been temporarily relocated to a nearby commercial building until November 2016, when the construction of the new high-rise came to completion. While the building is new, the location holds historical significance in that it has served as the head office of the Toyo Ink Group since 1907.”

For the Group, the past year was host to some significant technological breakthroughs. Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. rolled out two new series of low-energy UV-curable offset inks, the FLASH DRY LPC EX for ozone-free UV curing systems and the FLASH DRY LED EX for LED-UV curing systems.

“The latest additions to the FLASH DRY family demonstrate our commitment and ability to deliver innovative solutions that support the needs of our customers,” Akutsu said.

Another growth area for energy-curable inks is the packaging field, owing to their green properties, handling ease and high print quality. In keeping with the trend, Toyo Ink officially released the Elex-one series of zero-solvent, 100% solids EB (electron beam) curable flexo inks after a soft launch at last year’s drupa. The new series is completely VOC-free, making it an ideal solution for keeping flexible and carton packages free from unwanted residual compounds.

“Since drupa, we have been receiving more inquiries about Elex-one and our EB offering from new and existing customers,” Akutsu noted.

Another important highlight for the Toyo Ink Group was interpack 2017.

“Our debut showing at interpack provided us with a great opportunity to demonstrate to the global packaging industry the full range of solutions and capabilities that the Group can offer,” Akutsu reported. “In recent years, we have been investing heavily and implementing strategies to build up our brand image, in particular in markets outside Asia. Interpack enabled us to further build brand recognition in the industry and expand our customer base.”

In April 2017, Toyo Ink and Doneck Euroflex, a manufacturer of flexo and gravure inks for the European marketplace, announced a licensing agreement that allows Doneck to manufacture and sell Toyo Ink’s water-based lamination inks to markets in the region. The deal involves the AQUA LIONA flexo lamination ink and the AQUAECOL gravure lamination ink series, which are formulated to perform well on a wide variety of films, for applications such as snack food packaging, stand-up pouches and many other laminated packages.

With the agreement, both companies expect to strengthen their position in the competitive global packaging industry, as water-based alternatives to printing inks are projected to fuel the future growth of the industry, especially in the food packaging sector.

With the aim of expanding demand for low energy UV inks in line with the growing industry demand for UV-curable technology, Toyo Ink installed a dedicated UV ink production line in the summer of 2016 at the Fuji Plant, a facility in Japan operated by sister subsidiary Toyocolor Co. Meanwhile, Toyo Ink is also opening a new water-based ink plant in China.

“Toyo Ink is committed to bringing new products and services to the low-energy UV printing market by building a stable ink supply system through the ongoing streamlining of production lines and reinforcing economy of scale,” Akutsu noted. “With the demand for water-based ink systems poised to grow on a global scale, we will launch a new production base for water-based inks and sales expansion in the China region.”

To help its customers cope with differences in regulatory issues from region to region, the Toyo Ink Group maintains technical departments in every region to help implement and keep up with regional regulatory issues, and country or region-specific functional requirements.

“Each is dedicated to keeping up with regulatory changes and adapting product functions to regional standards,” Akutsu added.

In one key change, Toyo Ink Group is transitioning as it standardizes the closing date of the fiscal year for all Group companies from the current March 31 to Dec. 31. As a result of this change, fiscal 2017 will span a nine-month period from April 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2017. Closing the books of all Group companies under a unified Dec. 31 is expected to help promote the integration of its global business operation and improve management transparency through the timely and appropriate disclosure of management information.

Akutsu said that Toyo Ink Group is looking forward to a strong year in 2017.

“As far as the coming year goes, the overall outlook for the Toyo Ink Group remains good in line with expectations,” Akutsu said. “Growth momentum is continuing in Japan due in part to a weak currency and improved external demand. However, the consequence of economic slowdowns in China and Southeast Asian markets remain a concern, and trends in currency rates and raw material pricing is still uncertain.

“As environmental regulations are expected to further tighten on a global level, Toyo Ink Group has been pressing forward with the development and business expansion of eco-friendly products, such as non-VOC sheetfed, water-based inkjet and water-based flexo and gravure, and energy curable products,” he added.

UV and water-based ink systems should also continue to flourish in the coming year, and inkjet is poised to expand as well.

“We expect to see solid growth across all sectors for UV inks, with sales of high reactivity UV offset being exceptionally strong on a global scale, in particular Europe and Japan,” Akutsu said. “The Group will also be making a greater push to expand sales of UV products in Southeast Asian markets as demand in the region for energy-conversing technology is on the rise. Toyo Ink sales of water-based gravure and flexo inks for flexible packaging are projected to grow in Europe under the licensing agreement with Doneck.

“Digital print continues to fare well in commercial print and labels and is forecast to increase in market share, particularly in packaging. Toyo Ink is closely watching this market and working to develop higher value inkjet ink systems to support digital print as new applications grow,” he concluded.

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV/EB-curing inks, gravure inks, flexo inks, screen inks, high-sensitive UV inks, metal decorative inks, hard coatings, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coatings and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 8,116 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink Group had a solid year in 2015, with UV and packaging inks enjoying excellent results.

Sales in the overall Printing and Information Related Business for the consolidated fiscal year (ended March 31, 2016) remained mostly the same as a year earlier, at ¥87,439 million, but operating income increased 12.8% year on year, to ¥2,977 million, showing a rise in income.

In offset inks, domestic demand for sheetfed printing, offset rotary printing and newspaper inks continued to fall due to the structural recession resulting from the shrinking printing market associated with digitization, and raw material prices, which remained at a high level, continued to put pressure on operating income. Meanwhile, on a global scale, especially in Japan and Europe, sales of products with high UV sensitivity expanded.

Offset sales were weak in China and Southeast Asia, reflecting a slowdown of economic activity. In India and Brazil, sales expanded, but initial investment costs for business expansion adversely impacted income.

Group sales for fiscal 2015 for the overall Packaging Materials Related Business rose 2.4% year on year, to ¥64,623 million, and operating income increased 54.0% year on year, to ¥2,723 million, showing a rise in sales and income.

Domestic sales of gravure inks for publications remained on a structurally declining trend, and sales of gravure inks for construction materials were also sluggish. On the other hand, domestic sales of mainstay gravure inks for packaging, mainly for food applications, were strong, and sales of new products expanded. These factors contributed to an improvement in operating income.

Sales of eco-friendly inks for packaging expanded in Southeast Asia and India. Sales of gravure inks for construction materials were also strong in North America.

Tadashi Nakano, manager, Global Business Division, Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., reported that the packaging market continues to be a bright spot in the industry on a global basis.

“This field has rapidly grown in recent years owing in part to improving economic conditions worldwide, with increased urbanization in developing economies contributing the most to recent positive growth rates,” Nakano observed. “This has resulted in significant lifestyle changes and growing consumer markets, in particular in the steadily expanding developing countries in Southeast Asia.

“With the passage of new, stricter environmental legislation in China and other areas of Asia, the printing ink industry has followed suit, shifting towards the use of more environmentally friendly products,” added Nakano. “Long a pioneer in the development of VOC-free products using renewable sources, the Toyo Ink Group continues to develop new and innovative products capable of meeting both the cost and performance requirements while effectively reducing VOC emissions.”

As environmental regulations are expected to further tighten on a global level, Toyo Ink Group will push forward with the development and business expansion of eco-friendly products, such as non-VOC sheetfed, water-based inkjet and water-based liquid inks.

“The heightened focus on sustainability offers not only big challenges but also tremendous opportunities for growth,” Nakano said. “We see solid growth across the board for UV inks, with sales of high sensitivity UV offset (low-energy UV-curable) being exceptionally strong on a global scale, in particular Europe and Japan.”

Another growth area for energy-curable inks is the packaging field, owing to their green properties, handling ease, high print quality and wide range of applications.

“In particular, for Toyo, we are seeing the most growth in UV flexo, labels and tags, and other flexible packaging applications,” noted Nakano. “We’ve also been receiving more inquiries on EB technology.”

In major news, Toyo Ink Group concluded an agreement with Yasar Holdings to acquire 75% of outstanding shares of the Turkey-based ink company DYO Printing Inks (now Toyo Printing Inks), a subsidiary of Yasar, in January 2016. The acquisition gives Toyo Ink an immediate foothold in the priority areas of MENA, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

For Toyo Ink, drupa 2016 was another important highlight.

“This year’s show provided us with a solid platform from which to showcase our latest printing innovations and announce new industry partnerships,” Nakano said. “On the opening day of the show, Toyo Ink announced that its FLASH DRY series – including the standard Karton series, the energy-conserving HS series and LED series – was chosen as the recommended UV inks for KBA-Sheetfed’s UV presses.”

Toyo Ink also introduced an upgraded lineup of the FLASH DRY FL Kaleido series of UV flexo inks.

Toyo Ink partnered with Windmöller & Hölscher in spotlighting its newly developed LIOFLEX AQUA LIONA NF series of flexogtaphic flexible packaging inks, which debuted at drupa.

Steraflex UV flexo inks for packaging made their debut at drupa this year. Available in two grades – Steraflex and low migration Steraflex FOOD – the latest product portfolio from Toyo Ink Arets are formulated without ITX, benzophenone and VOCs, making it an environmentally friendly choice for today’s pressroom.

To expand its global supply system, the Toyo Ink Group will initiate the operation of a new manufacturing site at its Fuji factory currently under construction and a factory in Belgium specializing in food-related printing. The new site in Japan is expected to come onstream in the fall of 2016.

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV-curing inks, gravure inks, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coating and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 7,919 (consolidated)

Comments: The Toyo Ink Group had a solid year last year, as consolidated sales rose 2.5% to ¥286,684 million yen ($2.7 billion). Operating income was ¥18,210 million ($172 million), a decline of 7.7%, although net income rose 8.5% to ¥13,304 million ($125 million).

The business environment of Toyo Ink Group remained challenging, as domestic demand for printing was sluggish and the prices of raw materials remained high due to the weak yen. Toyo Ink Group fared well on the printing ink and graphic arts side. Graphic arts are represented in two segments at Toyo Ink, Printing and Information and Packaging Materials, which totaled ¥150,582 million ($1.42 billion) in sales in 2014.

The Printing and Information segment had net sales of ¥87,468 million ($824 million) in 2014, an increase of 2.3%. The company noted that operating income declined 38.1% year in year, to ¥2,639 million yen ($25 million), largely due to higher raw material prices.

In the Printing and Information sector, Toyo Ink reported that domestic sales of advanced offset inks increased, including products with high UV sensitivity and hard coat products used in touchscreens. Demand for sheetfed printing, offset rotary and newspaper inks declined due to the shrinking printing market associated with digitization and the significant effect of the consumption tax hike.

Demand for offset inks grew in Southeast Asia and India, and Toyo Ink expanded UV ink business globally through its April 2013 acquisition of the Arets Group. In Brazil and India, the company added a second manufacturing base to meet expanding demand.

In the Printing and Information segment, Toyo Ink is accelerating development and global sales of high-function products such as products with high UV sensitivity and functional coat products for the electronics market. The company is also aiming for improving quality and reducing cost at the same time through in-house production of key materials for ink production, the integration of models, the improvement of production processes, and the rationalization of sales organizations.

Toyo Ink reports it will increase the production capacities in India, Brazil, and inland areas of China and move forward with expansion into the Middle East and Africa, centered on Turkey, where the company recently established its subsidiary, Toyo Ink Turkey Kimya Sanayi A.S.

The Packaging Materials segment increased 0.9% to ¥63,114 million ($594 million), but operating income dropped 10.8% to ¥1,768 million ($16.7 million). Domestic sales of publication gravure inks continued to decline, and packaging gravure inks sales suffered due to unseasonable summer weather.

Overseas, Toyo Ink reported that sales of eco-friendly packaging inks grew in Southeast Asia and India. Sales of gravure inks for construction materials saw sluggish growth in North America.

In Packaging Materials, Toyo Ink is focusing on improving quality and increasing sales of gravure inks that support environmental consciousness and food hygiene and flexographic inks for soft packaging. Meanwhile, the company is emphasizing cost reduction through integration of raw materials and basic prescriptions on a global scale. Toyo Ink will also seek to expand production capacity in countries such as India and Brazil, where the market is expected to expand going forward.

In January, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. merged two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Toyo Ink Chemicals Taiwan Co., Ltd. and Toyo Ink Taiwan Co., Ltd., into Toyo Advanced Science Taiwan Co., Ltd.

The merger absorbed Toyo Ink Taiwan, which imported and sold Toyo Ink Group color and functional materials, polymers and coatings, into Toyo Ink Chemicals Taiwan, which manufactures and sells resist inks used for LCD color filters.

Toyo Advanced Science Taiwan manufactures and sells color resist inks for LCDs and imports and sells printing inks, printing-related materials, pigments, optical materials and adhesives.

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV curing inks, gravure inks, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coating and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 7,469 (consolidated)

Comments: The Toyo Ink Group enjoyed an excellent year in 2013, with consolidated sales increasing to ¥279,557 million yen ($2.72 billion), an increase of 12.4%. Profits also reached record-high levels, with operating income at ¥19,728 million ($192 million), recurring income at ¥20,553 million ($200 million), and net income at ¥12,260 million ($120 million).

On the printing ink and graphic arts side, Toyo Ink Group fared well. Graphic arts are represented in two segments at Toyo: Printing and Information and Packaging Materials, which totaled ¥148,050 million ($1.44 billion) in sales in 2013, 12.8% growth from ¥131,291 million in 2012.

The Printing and Information segment had net sales of ¥85,250 million ($829 million) in 2013, an increase of 13.8%. The Packaging Materials segment increased 11.3% to ¥62,530 million ($608 million).

Demand for offset inks in Japan remained low, resulting from ongoing digitalization. However, sales of advanced products increased, including products with high UV sensitivity.

Overseas, the growth of demand for offset inks in China slowed slightly, but demand grew in Southeast Asia and India, and sales of products with high UV sensitivity also increased in the U.S. and Europe.

Regarding gravure inks, demand in Japan for beverage and food-related products remained steady, and sales of new environmentally friendly lamination ink products increased in the second half of the period. Overseas, sales of eco-friendly inks for packaging increased in China and Southeast Asia, and the newly built gravure ink plant commenced full-scale operations in India. Demand for gravure inks for construction materials also remained strong in North America.

In important news, the Toyo Ink Group acquired all outstanding shares of Arets International NV (now Toyo-Arets International NV), the holding company of the Arets Group, a Belgian manufacturer of UV inks.

In terms of raw material costs, Toyo Ink officials noted that prices for petrochemical products and rosin rose sharply, squeezing profits. In response, Toyo Ink expanded its global procurement capability and developed new products. These measures led to the development and sales expansion of commodity gravure ink products with excellent cost performance for growth markets such as Southeast Asia.

Toyo Ink is active in R&D, launching its REXTA solvent-based flexo lamination ink for high-pressure, high heat boil and retort applications, and RIVET, a solvent-based flexo lamination ink formulated for general-purpose packaging applications. Sales of the Multistar SW line of eco-friendly toluene-free and MEK-free lamination gravure inks for packaging increased in China and Southeast Asia.

Toyo Ink is actively expanding its operations throughout the world. Toyo Ink Brasil broke ground on the Jundiai site in 2013 and began operations there this year. The Jundiai factory is expected to meet the increased demand for consumer goods. In China, the company just began operations at a new liquid ink plant in Chengdu; offset ink production is expected to begin there in January. In India, Toyo Ink will soon be starting up operations at its new offset ink plant in Gujarat.

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV curing inks, gravure inks, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coating and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 7,469 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. made slight gains in sales in 2012, with the company’s overall sales increasing 1.4% to 248,700 million yen ($2.64 billion). Profits were also up significantly, with operating income at 17,547 million yen ($186 million), up 28.6% compared to the previous fiscal year.

Graphic arts are represented in two segments at Toyo, Printing and Information and Packaging Materials, which totaled 131,291 million yen ($1.39 billion) in sales in 2012, virtually flat in terms of growth from 131,700 million yen in 2011.

The Printing and Information segment had net sales of 75,131 million yen ($797 million) in 2012, a decline of 1.3%. The Packaging Materials segment increased 1.1% to 56,160 million yen ($596 million).

In offset inks, demand in Japan remained stagnant, but demand for commercial and newspaper printing has been recovering. Sales of inks for web offset printing and advanced products also increased, including products with high UV sensitivity and hard coat products used for touch screens.

In China, sales of UV inks remained steady due to increased packaging demand for goods such as alcohol, tobacco and cosmetics. As for gravure inks in Japan, sales of mainstay gravure inks for packaging were sluggish in the first half, but demand recovered in the second half, especially for food packaging. The general consumer market in China and Southeast Asia continued to expand, resulting in increased sales of gravure inks for packaging. Demand for gravure inks for decorative surface materials also remained strong in North America.

Toyo Ink made two significant moves during the past year. In April, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. acquired Arets International NV, the holding company of the Arets Group, a Niel, Belgian-based UV ink specialist. Toyo Ink Group paid €9 million (1.17 billion yen, or $11.8 million) to obtain all the outstanding shares in Arets International NV. Arets had sales of €48,680,000 ($63.6 million) in 2012, although, after taxes, the company recorded a loss of €2,423,000 ($3,167,000).

In an internal matter, Toyo Ink merged Toyo Ink Mfg. America, LLC into Toyo Ink America, LLC. The merging of the two companies, the Group’s consolidated subsidiaries, will reinforce the management base and bolster Toyo Ink Group’s competitiveness in North America.

To offset higher raw material prices, the Toyo Ink Group continues to implement cost reductions, locating alternative raw materials, adopting locally available resources as the company moves forward with the localization of its production operations, and issuing selling price adjustments.

The company made some significant product introductions during the past year. These include Multistar, a toluene- and MEK-free lamination ink; Lioalpha, a high-functional lamination gravure ink; and the T-Press Liojet series of water-based inkjet inks.

Responding to increased demand for environmentally conscious products from the printing market, the Toyo Ink Group will push forward with the development and business expansion of environmentally sound ink products, such as non-VOC sheetfed, high-sensitive UV (low-power UV-curable), water-based inkjet and water-based gravure. The Group also stepped up global deployment, expanding production bases in growth regions and developing products suited to local needs.

In Delhi, India, the Toyo Ink Group established a new manufacturing site for gravure inks at the end of last year. At present, sales volume is showing favorable growth and is expected to show a rising trend in the future. Toyo Ink has already broken ground on a second production site, Toyo Ink India Gujarat factory, in western India, and plan to start production of offset inks by spring of 2014.

The Group is also expanding production bases in growth regions such as Vietnam and Brazil, with the aim of developing products suited to regional needs. Toyo Ink Vietnam Co., Ltd., a new gravure ink production base in Vietnam, will start up by the end of this fiscal year. A new offset and gravure manufacturing facility is also under construction in Brazil, with plans to being operations in 2014.

In inland China, Toyo Ink Group also plans to launch a sales and color-mixing base at Chengdu Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. by fall of 2013 and has sites to set up a gravure ink production facility in China sometime in the future.

In the strategic markets of India, China and Brazil, the Toyo Ink Group will press forward with the expansion of production bases and further business development activities. In addition, to ensure effective coordination of processed product supply between raw materials procurement sites and global operating units, Toyo Ink Group will expand its global SCM system and maximize supply chain synergies throughout the Group.

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV-curing inks, gravure inks, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coating and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 7,351 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. held steady during fiscal year 2011, with overall sales off slightly by 0.3%, at ¥245,337 million ($3.11 billion). Because of the higher cost of raw materials, company officials reported that operating income was adversely affected, declining 28.7% to ¥13,600 million ($172 million).

Graphic arts are represented in two segments, Printing and Information and Packaging Materials, which totaled ¥131,700 million ($1.67 billion) in sales in 2011.

The Printing and Information segment had net sales of ¥76,100 million ($963 million) in 2011, a decline of 0.9%. Market share improved in offset inks although domestic demand was lower. Profit margins declined in China due to rising raw material prices, and export sales declined because of product shortages following the earthquake and the rapid appreciation of the yen. In addition, Toyo Ink withdrew from production in Oceania due to worsening performance.

The Packaging Materials segment’s sales rose to ¥55,600 million ($704 million), an increase of 2.1%. The increase was partially driven by increased sales of daily necessities, and sales expanded in China and Southeast Asia. Here, too, profit margins declined because of rising raw material prices, and the gravure and flexo ink business was sluggish as demand fell following the earthquake.

There were numerous highlights in Toyo Ink’s graphic arts divisions. The Printing and Information Division increased domestic market share in Japan, started production of inkjet ink in India, expanded sales in Indonesia and the Middle East, and acquired land for a factory in Brazil. The company’s non-VOC rice ink series won three prizes.

For 2012, the company plans to expand inkjet sales, expand new products and high value-added products, progress in localized production and make use of Indian and Chinese products to develop globally.

The Packaging Materials Division expanded its sales in India, Indonesia and other emerging countries, began construction of gravure ink factories in India and Vietnam and constructed new bases in the interior of China. In 2012, Toyo Ink plans to further strengthen its development of environmentally conscious products, expand sales of high quality flexo inks, design general purpose grade resins for emerging countries and start production of gravure inks in India and Vietnam.

Toyo Ink’s R&D team is noted for its excellence, as evidenced by the introduction of its Flash Dry K-HS, Flash Dry LED, and Flash Dry LPC UV inks; LIOVALUE and AQUAECOL gravure inks and AQUALIONA flexo inks, the first water-based flexo lamination ink applicable to boil/retort pouch packaging.

Major Products: Printing inks, newspaper inks, UV curing inks, gravure inks, graphic arts supplies, graphic arts equipment, can coating finishes, resins, adhesives, waxes, laminating adhesives, coating and painting materials, pigments, processed pigments, plastic colorants, media materials, natural products.

Number of Employees: 7,155 (consolidated)

Comments: Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. enjoyed a very strong year in 2010, as sales grew 8.7% to ¥245,732 million ($2.97 billion). The company’s operating income also grew substantially, showing a 43.6% gain to ¥19,152 million. Surges in raw materials prices pressured income, leading Toyo Ink to implement supply chain management to improve procurement processes, and to build a flexible production system better able to respond to changes in demand.

On the ink side, packaging inks enjoyed 9% growth, while sales of publication inks essentially remained flat. In particular, Toyo Ink enjoyed excellent growth in UV inks and coatings throughout the year, and inkjet ink sales expanded, particularly in South Korea, although demand slowed in the second half of the fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2011.

In North America, demand for gravure inks for construction materials started to recover, and sales of flexographic inks expanded. China saw an improvement in demand as well as special demand from the Expo, while sales in inland areas also increased.

In Southeast Asia, demand also recovered, and sales rose in India. Demand for gravure inks for food packaging was strong in China and Southeast Asia, and sales of eco-friendly inks expanded in the same manner as in Japan. The company also expanded its operations in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Toyo Ink boosted the use of new natural materials of our printing inks and related materials as well as developed and expanded sales of environmentally-friendly products,” said Yu Adachi, corporate communications for Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. “We also established a sales base in Brazil and expanded our production facilities in China, India and other emerging markets.”

On April 1, 2011, the Toyo Ink Group adopted a holding company structure for new corporate governance framework. Toyo Ink Mfg. Co., Ltd. transformed into a holding company called Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. Two core operating companies of Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. and Toyochem Co., Ltd were established.

Toyo Ink continues to emphasize its expertise in developing high-end inks. In 2010, Toyo Ink introduced a new high-sensitivity UV ink called the UVK-HS series. This new product was specially designed for the Komori H-UV System. When used with the Komori curing system, the Toyo K-HS series delivers quality prints at lower residual delivery temperatures, offering excellent cost and environmental benefits.

Toyo Ink’s new line of UV Power Sheen Coatings offer the printer a wide range of gloss from full to matte and a variety of end use properties from standard cover coatings to chemical resistance. These coatings are available for coater, screen, flexo and gravure applications with excellent flow leveling and cure response.

UV Power Flex Liqui Foil is a flexographic, UV-curable, high-sheen silver coating that is used to simulate foil applications on paper and film substrates. Liqui Foil prints much cleaner with more gloss than is obtainable with standard silver inks. This can eliminate the high cost and waste of laminating foil to substrates where the look of foil is needed and barrier properties are not required. Toyo Ink also debuted a new line of high-quality specialty adhesive inks formulated for inline UV foil systems and cold foil systems.