Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings. Pressroom supplies, including photopolymer plates, press washes, blankets and more.

No. of Employees: More than 500

Comments: Wikoff Color had an excellent year in 2019, as the company continued to integrate its 2018 Braden Sutphin Ink acquisition as well as adding new ink and product lines.

Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO, said that 2019 was a year of growth through acquisition and an expanded product offering for Wikoff Color.

“Following our acquisition of Braden Sutphin Ink Company in late 2018, we focused on integrating several new manufacturing sites to our technical service and support model,” Peters noted. “Wikoff Color also partnered with industry leaders in a variety of disciplines to bring a wide breadth of innovative products to customers, providing a comprehensive source for pressroom solutions. At Wikoff, Color we are forecasting for more significant growth in our label, flexible packaging and digital product lines.”

Wikoff Color has successfully expanded its product offerings, including a 2018 agreement to distribute Asahi photopolymer plates and manufacture Gelflex EB Flexo. Peters said that one of the key highlights for Wikoff Color this year was the opening of its Wikoff Graphics location in Green Bay, WI.

“This segment of our business is dedicated to providing Asahi photopolymer plate material, as well as technical support through processing equipment and prepress software. We are excited to see the growth of this new product division,” Peters reported.

“Obtaining the ability to manufacture and sell Gelflex EB Flexo products was another highlight during the past year and demonstrates our commitment to sustainability,” Peters continued. “We have already hosted several customer open houses and successful press trials demonstrating the numerous benefits offered by this technology.

“The major highlight from 2019 would be the way that all the disciplines across Wikoff Color (IT, Finance, HR, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, R&D, Technical Service and Quality) worked with their counterparts at Braden Sutphin to make the integration of the two companies as invisible to our customers and as stress-free to our employees as possible,” Peters added.

The ink industry faces numerous concerns. Greg Burch, VP of sales & regional operations for Wikoff Color, said that the biggest challenges currently facing the printing and ink industries are regulatory concerns driven by consumer demands and raw material sourcing issues from both production disruptions and logistics lead times.

“We continue to monitor these situations very carefully and have worked with suppliers to ensure enough safety stock is in place to not face any supply disruptions,” Burch said.

As for raw materials, supply issues due to coronavirus is an industry concern.

“Like everyone in our industry right now, our biggest concerns in terms of raw materials are logistics challenges due to the coronavirus,” Ken Klug, Wikoff Color’s director of purchasing, reported. “Fortunately, Wikoff continues to avoid inventory issues.

Our suppliers have us well-positioned with inventory for several months.

Peters said that Wikoff Color is well-positioned for another year of growth in 2020.

“In 2020, we anticipate an increase in our customer base and good growth in our label and flexible packaging product lines,” Peters said. “Our Wikoff Digital team is also predicting an increase in sales through new product development. We anticipate our energy-cure products and photopolymer plate technologies to have a strong growth year as well.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: More than 500

Comments: For Wikoff Color, 2018 was another strong year, as the company made a pair of acquisitions, expanded its efforts in South America and continued its growth in its packaging and digital ink segments.

“Wikoff fared well in 2018. We capitalized on several strategic opportunities, including two acquisitions and multiple industry partnerships, positioning us for a promising 2019,” said Wikoff Color CEO Geoff Peters.

In September 2018, Wikoff Color acquired Braden Sutphin Ink Company, Cleveland, OH, increasing their service capabilities and exposure in the North American market.

“A major highlight for Wikoff Color in 2018 was the announcement of our acquisition of Braden Sutphin Ink Company,” Peters said.

“Much like the founding vision for Wikoff Color, Braden Sutphin has a focus on providing technical support and superior service to accompany their high-quality products. This alignment in values gives our companies great synergies.”

The late 2017 acquisition of São Paulo, Brazil-based Verti Produtos Químicos has given Wikoff Color a stronger position in Brazil and South America, and Wikoff Color is placing greater emphasis in the region.

“The year included our participation in Expo Print, a major trade show in Brazil following our late 2017 acquisition of Verti Produtos Químicos,” said Peters. “This was the perfect opportunity to communicate Wikoff’s presence in São Paulo, Brazil by way of acquisition.”

In addition, Peters reported that Wikoff Color signed an agreement with Asahi Photoproducts to become a US distributor of their flexographic photopolymer plates. “We will have access to the full range of flexographic plates from Asahi Photoproducts, which adds to Wikoff’s arsenal of one-stop pressroom solutions,” he added.

In most recent news, Wikoff’s license to manufacture and sell GelFlex EB Flexo products was expanded to include North America. “We are excited to bring this innovative product to our customer base around the globe,” Peters noted.

Packaging and digital inks are strong markets for Wikoff Color.

“In addition to our anticipated growth in the flexible packaging and label markets, we expect to see growth in our Wikoff Graphics product line with the expansion of our consumables product offering, which includes photopolymer plates, pre-press software, color management solutions and more. Our recent partnership with Asahi Photoproducts certainly strengthened this area of our business,” said Greg Burch, VP of regional operations & corporate accounts.

“We see high growth potential in our Wikoff Digital division, particularly among our digital primers and the new product releases in water and solvent thermal inkjet still to come this year,” said Daryl Collins, VP of regional operations & marketing for Wikoff Color.

“To strengthen this area of our business we have added to our team of experts, made further capital investments, launched a new website, debuted a brochure and attended digital specific trade shows.”

Wikoff Color maintained its supply of key raw materials even while the raw material market continued its volatility in 2018.

“Photoinitiators used within UV-cure products continue to be the most challenging raw materials to source due to supply shortages, which are driving material cost increases. However, Wikoff Color continues to work with multiple suppliers, allowing us to successfully maintain necessary inventories,” said Ken Klug, Wikoff Color’s director of purchasing.

Klug added that close collaboration with suppliers is also helping to keep the impact of tariffs lower.

“In anticipation of potential trade barriers, tariffs and other economic concerns, Wikoff has partnered with suppliers globally to reduce the impact of these issues,” Klug noted. “These trusted suppliers have worked to provide comparable materials with the same properties and specifications from alternate locations when available.”

Peters sees excellent opportunities ahead for 2019.

“Wikoff Color expects to see good growth in 2019,” he noted. “If we are able to capitalize on even a portion of everything we have in the works right now, we will succeed in that growth. Margins will continue to be under pressure with continually rising raw material costs.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: 475

Comments: Wikoff Color had an excellent year in 2017, with the company doing well in the packaging and energy curing fields, while also making an important move in South America with the acquisition of São Paulo, Brazil-based Verti Produtos Químicos.

“Wikoff Color gained ground in new opportunities, both in North America and internationally in 2017,” said Wikoff Color CEO Geoff Peters. “With an expansion into our Latin American market and a focus on product innovation in developing technologies, we are proud of our results from 2017 and look forward to the year ahead.”

The addition of Verti will allow Wikoff Color to strengthen its position in Brazil and South America.

“Both Wikoff and Verti have a strong reputation in the marketplace for supplying quality, tailor-made products with a customer-focused mentality,” Peters said. “Verti has supported their products with superior technical service and will be able to further those capabilities with the support of Wikoff Color. We believe our cultures will integrate very nicely together.

“Wikoff’s plan is to expand on what is now Wikoff Color – Brazil’s strong relationship with the flexible packaging market and beyond, expanding into other target markets currently serviced by Wikoff, such as label, inkjet, folding carton and commercial.

With a local presence in Brazil, we feel confident in our long-standing service model of superior technical support with a focus on customer success,” Peters added.

“We are looking forward to the new opportunities this will open up in the Latin American market,” noted Daryl Collins, VP of regional operations & marketing for Wikoff Color.

Collins added that Wikoff Color emphasized cultivating new and existing relationships throughout the past year.

“Wikoff worked collaboratively with industry partners to complete several projects that showcased both Wikoff’s superior product performance and the capabilities of our customers,” Collins reported.

Collins noted that the energy-curing market has been particularly good for Wikoff Color.

“Wikoff has seen promising growth in the energy-cure market, particularly with the growth of low energy curing technologies, such as HUV and LED,” Collins pointed out. “Wikoff has historically been on the leading edge of energy-cure technology, and we are continuing our prominence by formulating exceptional products for this emerging technology.”

With the raw material market facing numerous challenges, ink manufacturers are working hard to ensure supply for their customers.

“While it is true our supply chain has seen some challenges throughout 2017 due to many unforeseen environmental conditions, Wikoff has procedures and plans in place to keep this from being detrimental to our everyday operations,” said Ken Klug, Wikoff Color’s director of purchasing.

As for 2018, Peters sees excellent possibilities ahead, particularly in packaging.

“Wikoff continues to forecast an increase in sales in 2018,” Peters added. “In the short term, we expect the awareness and attention on industry regulations for food and pharmaceutical packaging safety to offer more opportunities as we continue to promote our products suitable for these applications. Over the long term, we anticipate the packaging market to see continued growth, including the utilization of energy-cure and digital technologies to increase mass customization and decrease time to market.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: 473

Comments: Wikoff Color had a strong year in 2016, as the company showed growth worldwide in the packaging, energy curing and digital ink markets.

“Wikoff Color saw sustained growth in 2016, both in North America and internationally,” said Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO. “A large part of this can be attributed to increased sales in the label, flexible packaging and digital market segments.”

For the first time, Wikoff Color participated in drupa, and Peters said that the response from the global printing community.

“One important highlight for Wikoff Color in 2016 was our participation in drupa,” Peters said. “As the largest printing industry trade show in the world, this was a great opportunity for Wikoff to expand its global customer base. The focus for this event was to showcase the outstanding products that Wikoff offers, which are supported by unrivaled level of service provided by local and corporate staff.”

Wikoff Color continued to expand its activities in the digital printing.

“Wikoff Color experienced good growth in the digital printing and international market segments throughout 2016,” Peters noted. “This can be attributed to two significant factors: 1) an increase in capacity from capital investments made for our digital portfolio and 2) a focus on global expansion, both organically and through acquisition.”

In major personnel news, Dr. Don Duncan, longtime director of research at Wikoff Color, announced his retirement. Dr. Duncan joined Wikoff in November 1996; in addition to his work at Wikoff Color, Dr. Duncan was active in RadTech, TAGA, TAPPI, ASTM, SGIA and the American Chemical Society, serving as president for both RadTech and TAGA.

“We are proud to have called Dr. Duncan a member of the Wikoff family for 20 years. His vast knowledge of our industry and his expertise in growing EB, UV and inkjet technologies made him a remarkable asset in our Research & Development center and across our company,” said Peters.

The company has brought on Dr. Evan Benbow, as its new director of R&D. Dr. Benbow joined Wikoff Color in 2015 as assistant director of R&D.

Wikoff Color developed a wide range of innovative products during the past year. For example, the company launched Divergent, a new oil-based litho ink series designed to be printed with reduced water levels. On average Wikoff customers are able to cut water settings by 8% to 10%.

The company also introduced Compass Ultra White, a high-performance laminating white flexo ink that exhibits excellent opacity levels.

At Labelexpo Americas 2016, the company introduced its Photoflex UV flexo line, including Photoflex III, a benzo-free, TX-free and HDODA-free system; Photoflex High Shrink system, a silicone-free and wax-free series that shows exceptional print quality at shrink levels in excess of 80%; and Photoflex LED.

“By staying abreast of the new LED technologies emerging in the market place and maintaining relationships with these manufacturers, Wikoff is able to communicate to our customers how these technologies can best suit our customer’s needs and interests,” said Dr. Benbow. “Through established relationships with material suppliers, Wikoff continues to challenge our suppliers as we innovate our LED offerings in traditional printing technologies as well as digital.”

All in all, Peters anticipates a strong year ahead for Wikoff Color.

“Wikoff Color expects an increase in our revenue stream in the coming year,” Peters said. “We are forecasting continued growth in the packaging segment as well as in our label and digital markets. Our expertise and capabilities in energy-cure technology will certainly contribute to this growth.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

No. of Employees: 473

Comments: Wikoff Color had an excellent year in 2015, as the company enjoyed growth in the expanding energy curable, flexible packaging, label and inkjet segments.

“Wikoff Color fared quite well globally in 2015,” said Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO. “Continued growth in key target markets such as flexible packaging, label and digital technologies influenced our success not only in North America, but also in international markets.

“In addition to the sustained expansion in our digital and international businesses, Wikoff Color was pleased to have experienced good growth with our energy curable ink and coating product lines,” Peters added.

As the packaging and digital printing markets evolve, Wikoff Color is capitalizing on its strengths in areas such as low migration and energy curable inkjet technologies to make gains in these fields.

“Packaging, particularly food packaging, is a large and growing area where there are opportunities to excel and differentiate,” said Dr. Don Duncan, director of research for Wikoff Color. “The significant interest in packaging that allows low-to-no migration of any chemicals into food, whether they are from ink, coating, adhesives or the substrate itself, is a huge opportunity. Wikoff has always been strong in defining and training on migration issues, and this has enabled us to be in a leadership position as these issues are discussed. The packaging area would include labels, folding carton as well as flexible packaging.

“Inkjet in the commercial/industrial sector is also rapidly growing,” Dr. Duncan added. “Increasing numbers of people recognize that product decoration is a value-enhancing process and are extremely interested in printing on large numbers of irregularly shaped objects that have never been available for printing before. By having a strong development program for UV and EB curable inkjet inks, plus having an established network of integrators and printhead manufacturers, Wikoff is well positioned to provide new solutions for this active business area.”

In personnel news, Wikoff Color named Dr. Evan Benbow as assistant director of research in January 2016. Dr. Benbow will oversee water-and oil-based inks and water-based coatings development, as well as customer service operations.

Brand owners and printers alike are concerned about ever-changing regulations worldwide, and ink manufacturers are helping their customers remain ahead of new mandates. Daryl Collins, VP – corporate sales and regional operations for Wikoff Color, reported that Wikoff Color has taken the necessary steps to prepare for the increased regulations affecting the ink industry and its customers.

“We are here to help our customers navigate through some of the more complex subjects, such as food packaging safety,” Collins added. “Our dedication to research, paired with our exceptional technical service, makes us a great partner when tackling these issues.”

During the past year, currency rates have been volatile, which is affecting ink companies for sales as well as purchasing raw materials.

“We are certainly impacted on a consolidated basis by currency fluctuations as the US dollar continues to strengthen against the Canadian dollar and the Great British pound,” noted Frieda Liles, Wikoff Color’s VP – finance and treasurer.

Peters anticipates a successful year ahead for Wikoff Color.

“Good growth is anticipated for Wikoff Color in 2016,” Peters said. “We expect this growth to come from a combination of increases in our international and digital markets, as well as strong sales in the traditional sectors of our business.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Comments: Wikoff Color reported a strong year of growth in 2014, with significant gains being made in sales outside of North America.

“Wikoff had another decent growth year in 2014, notwithstanding a rapidly changing packaging market influenced by regulation and industry consolidation,” said Geoff Peters, president and CEO.

“Wikoff has seen sustained growth at a large segment of our customers as well as a trend to invest back into their businesses. The packaging and label markets remained strong, while we saw a slight decline in the commercial market.

“Flexographic inks and coatings (water, energy cure and solvent) were our largest growth segments in 2014, followed by our energy cure litho and inkjet inks,” Peters added. “Wikoff made significant capital investments in manufacturing and quality control in these segments to sustain this growth.”

Peters said that Wikoff’s growth outside of North America is a major highlight from 2014.

“We have a growing network of distributors along with an operation in the United Kingdom that have contributed to this growth,” he said. “We were also very pleased with the continued expansion of our industrial inkjet business.”

In a major move, Wikoff Color announced organizational changes during 2014. Greg Burch was promoted to VP – international and security markets, and is responsible for all Wikoff sales and branch plant operations outside the U.S., including Wikoff’s Canadian operations. He is also responsible for the Alpharetta, GA branch plant and the global sales and technical support of Wikoff’s security business.

Bowman Shaw was promoted to regional VP – Midwest, West Coast. He is responsible for sales and branch plant operations for seven Wikoff manufacturing operations. Ben Price was promoted to regional manager, Southwest, where he is responsible for three manufacturing operations and one sales/service center within the Southwest region.

Ken Klug was promoted to director, purchasing, replacing Price. Klug joined Wikoff in 2007 with responsibility for implementing its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications and led the ERP implementation in all 29 current Wikoff locations.

Regulatory pressures are increasing, and ink manufacturers have to be mindful of the different standards that are in place in each country. Dr. Don Duncan, director of research for Wikoff Color, noted that Wikoff has formulated products that fully conform to all the regulatory requirements in throughout the world.

“The United States’ regulations and the EU are much the same as they have been for many years,” said Duncan. “The regulations in Switzerland, while not new, are much more stringent than in other parts of the world. The practical issue is not the regulations, but rather the desire to exceed regulatory requirements in order to meet requirement by food packaging/producing companies.

“The US regulatory position is more aligned to protect the consumer where materials that are known to be safe can migrate into food and cause no regulatory concern,” Dr. Duncan added. “In Europe, product integrity seems to be the focus of pending regulations: It does not matter so much whether a migratory chemical is safe. Rather, the position is that if the food producer didn’t put it in the food, then it doesn’t belong in the food.

“This type of ‘low migration’ thinking has become a de facto regulation,” Dr. Duncan noted. “Wikoff has developed a full line of products that meet this need, and we also have other products that fully conform to all the regulatory requirements in different parts of the world.”

As for raw materials, Klug noted that prices and supply have stabilized.

“Most raw materials have stabilized as a result of increased inventory in addition to the falling prices of crude and natural gas,” Klug said. “Unavoidable disruptions to the supply chain for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance are not a concern, but something we expect to happen from time to time and try to address in our procurement strategies.”

Peters is optimistic that Wikoff Color is well positioned for continued growth.

“Wikoff Color expects to continue our sales growth in 2015,” Peters concluded. “We made a series of organizational changes to promote our growth in international sales and the flexible packaging and label markets. We continue to look for opportunities for organic growth as well as growth through acquisition.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: 490

Comments: Wikoff Color had another strong year in 2013 across the company’s diverse product lines.

“Wikoff finished 2013 with moderate growth as projected,” said Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO. “We continued to see higher growth in the packaging and label markets, and more moderate sales growth in other markets. A large percentage of Wikoff’s customer base saw improvement in their business and, in turn, Wikoff saw growth in our ink and coating sales.

“Wikoff saw the most growth in the flexible packaging, label and inkjet markets, because of the overall growth in those industries and the strength of our offerings to those markets,” Peters added. “We also saw continued growth in our energy curable business, including our UV and EB inks and coatings.”

Wikoff Color has never been one to stand still. In recent years, the company has expanded into new markets such as flexible packaging, narrow web and label. In June, Wikoff Color Corporation converted a space in its Fort Mill, SC manufacturing plant into a state-of-the-art energy-cure inkjet ink manufacturing facility and cleanroom. The company has also increased its global presence. These moves are all paying dividends for Wikoff Color.

“We were extremely pleased with the continued growth of our inkjet business in 2013 and the ongoing expansion of our international markets,” Peters said. “Sales to flexible packaging and label customers once again experienced double digit growth rates. Our two newest branches, one in Leeds, England and the other in Sacramento, CA, both had outstanding results in their first full year of operations. And of course, we couldn’t be more pleased with the customer reception of our new inkjet cleanroom and manufacturing facility. Wikoff was also very proud to celebrate the first two 50-year employees in the company’s history – which we attribute in large part to our employee-ownership culture.”

On the raw material side, Ben Price, director of purchasing, said that as a general rule, raw material prices have been relatively stable for the past couple of years. However, considering the wide range of basic chemicals that impact printing inks, there are always exceptions.

“Rosin resin used in oil-based inks continues to be a concern,” Price noted. “Chinese gum rosin has increased over 50% since the summer of 2013, and this trend has led to higher rosin resin and oil-based varnish prices. Styrene prices have also been on the rise recently, putting upward pressure on resins used in water-based inks. While most pigment prices have held steady, we are hearing reports out of China about possible increases for some reds and yellows. Plant shutdowns resulting from environmental protection measures are the reported driver of these increases.”

With the company growing in all of its markets and new operations underway, Peters anticipates another excellent year in 2014.

“Wikoff Color expects very good sales growth in 2014 and has started off the year very well,” Peters said. “In addition to strong sales in our traditional markets, we are forecasting continued growth in our inkjet and international businesses. Additionally, we could see new sales coming from the expansion of our geographic footprint and possibly through acquisition. We expect that the ink industry will continue to work its way through the uncertain global economy, but we would not be surprised to see further consolidation in the industry in the coming years.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: 490

Comments: Wikoff Color enjoyed a strong year in 2012, with sales growth as well as expansion into Europe being key highlights.

“Overall, 2012 was a good year for Wikoff,” Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO, said. “We experienced significant sales growth, and although margins continued to be under pressure throughout the year, we were able to achieve nice growth in net income due to improvement in manufacturing efficiency.”

“Wikoff saw good growth in most of our strategic target markets in 2012,” Daryl Collins, vice president of sales and marketing, added. “Sales in folding carton, flexible packaging, label and security inks were strong.Additionally, we continued to see good growth in our international markets and across our complete line ofinkjet inks.”

Part of that growth came from two new facilities, as Wikoff Color added operations in California and in the UK, developed new ink lines and added new manufacturing capabilities.

“In 2012, Wikoff opened new facilities in both Sacramento, CA, and Leeds, England,” Mr. Peters said. “Both of these facilities exceeded their 2012 sales targets and were profitable in their first year of operation.

“Other highlights included running Wikoff inks on new EB litho press technology for flexible packaging at drupa, completing our 30-location ERP implementation and building our new inkjet lab, manufacturing and cleanroom facility in Fort Mill, SC,” Mr. Peters added. “We were also very pleased that our director of research and development, Dr. Don Duncan, was elected to be the president of RadTech and the president of TAGA for 2013.”

In addition, Wikoff continued to excel in new product development with the introduction of UV LED-curable inks and a number of new series of low migration inks for packaging.

The printing industry continues to look for new ways to grow business, and press technologies are one key area of interest.

“From what we could see, it was a pretty light year for new press sales in the printing industry,” said.“However, we did see increased utilization of existing presses for a greater return on investment for printers and continued growth in ink sales for our industry.There were a number of new press technologies introduced at drupa, some of which appeared to be very promising.The digital market also continued to experience nice growth.”

Ben Price, Wikoff Color’s director of purchasing, reported that raw material prices finally stabilized during the past year.

“In general, raw material costsstabilized in 2012,” Mr. Price said. “Throughout 2010 and 2011, Wikoff Color’s raw material costs increased drastically, and the supply chain was strained. There were shortages of titanium dioxide, nitrocellulose and carbazole violet, to name a few. Rosin resin prices were another significant concern during this time. In late 2011, prices for most of our raw materials peaked, and we had price stabilization with a few modest price decreases throughout 2012. After two years of significant increases, titanium dioxide prices finally changed course in mid-2012 and improved slightly but still remain significantly higher than historic levels. Supply is not a concern for the majority of our raw materials at this time.”

“In general, raw material costsstabilized in 2012,” Mr. Price said. “Throughout 2010 and 2011, Wikoff Color’s raw material costs increased drastically, and the supply chain was strained. There were shortages of titanium dioxide, nitrocellulose and carbazole violet, to name a few. Rosin resin prices were another significant concern during this time. In late 2011, prices for most of our raw materials peaked, and we had price stabilization with a few modest price decreases throughout 2012. After two years of significant increases, titanium dioxide prices finally changed course in mid-2012 and improved slightly but still remain significantly higher than historic levels. Supply is not a concern for the majority of our raw materials at this time.”

All in all, Mr. Peters is optimistic that Wikoff Color is on track for further growth in 2013.

“Wikoff Color expects to continue to grow in 2013, in the U.S., Canada and overseas,” Mr. Peters added. “We expect sales in all of our strategic target marketsto remain strong with the possible exception of the commercial market, which will continue to see a modest decline in its printing volumes. Wikoff also expects to see solid growth in our inkjet business.If we can successfully continue to drive efficiencies in our manufacturing operations, coupled with the expected sales growth, we should see continued improvement in our net income.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, UV inkjet inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: 490

Comments: Wikoff Color enjoyed a decent 2011, as the company continues to make gains in flexible packaging and inkjet as well as expanding its global reach.

“Wikoff saw sales improvement in 2011, continuing the trend that started in 2010,” said Geoff Peters, Wikoff Color’s president and CEO . “With raw material prices continuing to rise throughout the year and the challenge of passing through the full amount of the material cost increases, margins remained under pressure during all of 2011.

“We have seen positive growth in our packaging and label customer base and we are optimistic about the outlook in both of those markets,” Mr. Peters added. “Additionally, we were excited by the growth in our energy curable product lines and in our label and flexible packaging markets. Overall, the commercial printing market did not fare as well, but we saw the strong commercial printers grow their businesses as others contracted or went out of business.”

Wikoff Color is always looking for opportunities to grow its business, including adding new facilities and products to its portfolio. For example, during the past year, Wikoff Color expanded its operations into the UK.

“Wikoff recently opened new facilities in the UK and in Sacramento, CA, expanding our geographic footprint,” Mr. Peters noted. “We also significantly grew our inkjet business and strengthened our technical service capabilities by adding new people and processes to what we already offered to our customers. We have also invested capital in our inkjet business and in equipment to grow our energy curable product lines.Key personnel additions include a product manager for our inkjet business and a manager of our international sales efforts.”

Mr. Peters reported that raw material supply issues have stabilized for the most part, but costs remain high.

“Supply has stabilized across most categories of ink raw materials, so obtaining the materials we need is no longer a significant concern,” Mr. Peters said. “That was not the case a year ago, when there were supply issues with rosin resin and a number of pigments, including carbazole violet and phthalo greens and blues. While we have experienced some price relief as supply has improved, our overall raw material cost is still substantially higher than it was two years ago. We continue to work with our suppliers to look for opportunities to improve our supply chain and control our costs.”

Mr. Peters sees the company’s expansion into new markets as being the key to Wikoff Color’s growth in the coming years.

“Wikoff’s growth areas continue to be in the packaging, especially flexible packaging, and label markets, our inkjet business and across all of our energy curable product lines,” Mr. Peters noted. “We are also very excited about our expanding international presence and the customer base we are building overseas.

“Unfortunately, we do not see significant improvement in the global economic environment in 2012,” Mr. Peters concluded. “Recognizing that the macro conditions won’t drive much growth, we are counting on our geographic expansion, continued improvement in the packaging and label markets, and the further growth of our inkjet business to drive strong sales improvement for Wikoff Color in 2012 and beyond.”

Major Products: Sheetfed and web offset inks, solvent-based and water-based flexo and gravure inks, energy-curable inks and coatings, security inks, overprint varnish and aqueous coatings.

Number of Employees: 490

Comments: Wikoff Color was able to weather the economic challenges of 2010, and is poised for growth in 2011.

“For Wikoff Color, 2010 had its challenges, but given the economic climate, we were not too disappointed with the results,” said Geoff Peters, president and CEO. “While sales were off slightly, margins were not overly impacted as the company continued to aggressively streamline its operations and reduce controllable expenses in an attempt to offset increases in raw material costs.

“While Wikoff felt signs of the economy improving, and many of our customers, especially in food packaging, reported healthy results, there were still challenges,” Mr. Peters added. “Commercial printing, especially anything advertising-related, continued to lag the rest of the printing industry in its return to past production levels.”

Wikoff Color has seen opportunities emerge in UV and EB curing, label and narrow web, flexible packaging and inkjet, and Mr. Peters expects the company will continue to expand in those markets.

“We expect the major growth areas for Wikoff Color to continue to be energy curable inks, narrow web label and flexible packaging,” Mr. Peters said. “Additionally, we have been expanding our inkjet business and expect that trend to continue.”

To become more efficient, Wikoff deployed a new enterprise resource planning application (ERP) designed to improve information flow, connectivity and efficiency across all of its facilities.

“In 2010, the company implemented the corporate financial applications and rolled the manufacturing applications out to the Fort Mill plant (our largest manufacturing facility) and to four of our branch plants,” Mr. Peters said. “We plan to complete the implementation across the remaining 24 branch plant locations in 2011.”

Flooding heavily damaged Wikoff Color’s Nashville, TN facility in 2010, but the company was able to overcome the loss without impacting customers.

We had a tough challenge when our Nashville branch plant was ruined during the record floods of 2010,” Mr. Peters said. “Despite the challenge, the company missed only one customer order as other Wikoff plants stepped up in true Wikoff fashion to meet the needs of our printing customers. The facility has been rebuilt and is fully operational again.“

Wikoff continued to invest in capital improvements to drive efficiency gains in its major manufacturing facilities. Additionally, Joe Kubasiak, former branch manager of the Grand Rapids plant, was transferred to Fort Mill, SC as plant manager.

Wikoff is also expanding its international operations, as it was approved by the Chinese government for full manufacturing in its Beijing, China operation.

As for raw materials, Mr. Peters noted that 2010 began with relative stability in raw material prices, but starting around March, raw material price increase pressure became widespread, and shortages of some key ingredients became a serious issue.

“While price increases were a problem, we were also concerned about shortages of raw materials,” he said. “Lead times on key pigments, like TiO2 and carbazole violet, stretched to two months, and most suppliers had supply restrictions in place. The rosin resin market also had supply pressures, impacted by drastically increased gum rosin prices.

“As for the coming year, nitrocellulose supply is expected to be tight throughout 2011 and energy cure raw materials continue to face upward pricing pressure,” Mr. Peters added. “Wikoff worked with our suppliers throughout the year to maintain ready sources of supply and keep price increases in check as much as possible. In summary, raw material pricing and supply were significant problems for the ink industry in 2010 and are expected to remain problems in 2011.”

Consolidation is a fact of life throughout the supply chain, particularly as key vendors are merged together.

“Wikoff continued to see consolidation among both our customers and suppliers,” Mr. Peters said. “While customer consolidation has not had an impact on our business, supplier consolidation had a more significant effect. There have been a few notable supplier consolidations over the past two years, like the BASF acquisition of Ciba, the IGM acquisition of the Cognis UV acrylates business and the Momentive merger with Hexion (and subsequent sale of the Ink and Adhesives Resins business to Harima). These acquisitions didn’t come without challenges, especially maintaining effective levels of customer service to the ink industry during the process.”

Mr. Peters said that Wikoff expects to see continued economic improvement in 2011, which should help printing volumes continue to grow, and anticipates further expansion in terms of geography and product portfolio.

“We expect to expand our geographic footprint in 2011 and add to our current product base,” Mr. Peters said. “We expect to expand our line of products, adding many inks and coatings that offer environmentally friendly options and performance improvements. We also believe that the cost adjustments and manufacturing efficiency programs that we have implemented will continue to pay strong dividends this year. The risk for our business will continue to be with material costs and our ability to manage those costs in conjunction with customer pricing.”