It was hard to miss at INFOFLEX 2018—first booth inside the door—the second you stopped, you quickly learned it had a story to tell. Sun Chemical announced it was celebrating its 200th anniversary throughout the rest of 2018, impactful graphics and carefully construed messaging jumped out from the white-walled backdrop of the display. It garnered attention, piqued interest and launched many attendees’ networking experience.
For nearly all, it wasn’t the first time they encountered the company, a charter member of Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), with what is now a 60-year history of interacting with, supporting and servicing its members.
As legacies go, taking a moment to look at Sun Chemical’s proves quite impressive. Examine the list of some of its ancestors: Lorilleux, Geo. H. Morrill, Coates Brothers, Ault & Wiborg, Eagle Printing Ink, G Siegle, AB Ansbacher, Sigmund Ullman, Fuchs & Lang, General Printing Inks (GPI)… Anyone the least bit familiar with packaging inks knows and easily recognizes these names. More recent additions to the family—like Joules Angstrom UV Printing Inks, Kingfisher Colours, Bayer Pigments, BASF, Kohl & Madden and Zeneca Inks—strike familiar memory cords. All have contributed to Sun Chemical’s diverse historical portrait.
Also forging the long, impactful legacy are today’s 20,000 employees, 176 subsidiaries, 63 countries, 17 research & development centers and $7.5 billion in annual worldwide sales. Sun Chemical assures its customers it can, “call on 200 years of innovation to inspire transformation.”
Perspective from Sun Chemical’s CEO
“Beginning with the inspiring legacy of Lorilleux and Samuel Morris in the early 1800s (see sidebar), Sun Chemical has delivered 200 years of color expertise, innovative technology and an ongoing commitment to quality and service for our customers,” said Rudi Lenz, president and CEO, Sun Chemical. “Having held close to 10,000 worldwide trademarks and more than 3,000 granted patents in various global jurisdictions in its history, Sun Chemical takes pride in producing solutions tailor-made to meet the individual needs of our customers.”
The company maintains that it has helped transform the printing industry by leading the way as the first to develop UV inks, water-based inks, pigmented flexo inks and flexo inks for polyethylene films. Sun Chemical was also the first to create the 4-color wet process inks system in 1906, now commonly known as CMYK printing.
It stands out as a pioneer in the development of migration-compliance inks and in producing solutions for the newest presses of any time—be they flexo, rotary tinplate lithography, web offset lithography, letterpress or rotogravure.
Memorable Milestones
1818: Lorilleux & Cie, one of the first commercial producers of ink, is established at a time when most printers make their own inks
1830: Samuel Morrill begins manufacturing printing inks in the kitchen of his Andover, MA home, founding Geo. H. Morrill Co
1864: Carbon black introduced by Morrill
1870: Coates Brothers & Co founded
1906: 4-color process debuts
1929: General Printing Ink (GPI) formed
1936: GPI Corp’s Sun Chemical Division develops first pigmented flexo inks
1945: GPI changes its name and Sun Chemical is born
1957: Sun Chemical acquires Ansbacher-Siegle and begins to create Performance Pigments Division
1958: Solvent-based flexo inks are introduced, created for use on polyethylene films
1969: Sun Chemical patents its first ultraviolet (UV) inks
1970: Water-based inks created
1980: Sun Chemical commercializes electron beam (EB) inks
1987: Sun Chemical is acquired by DIC (Dainippon Ink and Chemical), merges with Hartman and Kohl & Madden to form one global company
1991: BASF acquired
1992: UV flexo inks are commercialized
1996: Sun Chemical strengthens packaging inks department with acquisition of Zeneca Specialty Inks
1999: Company acquires Coates Lorilleux in France, SWALE Process in U.K., GP Products International Flexo Plate Division and partners with Tintas in Latin America
2011: Opens state-of-the-art packaging plant in Kankakee, IL
- Sun Chemical has been manufacturing pigments since 1907. Today, the Performance Pigments Division is a global leader in the pigments industry where, “Continuous innovation in new color space and providing unique colors and effects into a variety of existing and new markets, has enabled tremendous growth globally”
- With DIC Corp’s acquisition of the company in 1987, Sun Chemical became the truly global organization it is today with growth within the Latin American and Middle Eastern markets, and the formation of the Advanced Materials division, which today offers a vast array of solutions to fulfill customers’ advanced printing requests for custom materials, including high-performance silver inks for 3D printing systems, nanosilver inks for inkjet systems, soldermasks, and pressure sensitive adhesives for electronics and displays
“Sun Chemical’s vision has been and will always be to help customers take on the global challenges of the future by providing quality, service and innovation in every solution we deliver,” Lenz said. “For the future, we are committed to pursuing research and development that will bring our customers new innovative and sustainable solutions. We look forward to celebrating this ongoing commitment to excellence as a company and with our customers this year.
“We are prepared to help customers take on the global challenges of tomorrow. As we move forward, we will continue our commitment to delivering quality, service and innovation, as we relentlessly seek the most inventive ways to satisfy our customers’ needs. We will strive to provide outstanding service and breakthrough, tailored solutions.”
Flexo Focus
At INFOFLEX, Heather Buchholz, manager for global marketing inks and global communications, reinforced and added to that message. “Sun Chemical is continuing to innovate and listen to needs of the market. The focus is on providing solutions to common problems printers are experiencing. Some examples include ink smearing for flexible packaging and solutions for high-speed corrugated presses. Other areas of innovation include: renewable inks derived from bio-renewable resources, and coatings and adhesives solutions at similar cost and similar performance metrics to more traditional options.”
Commenting on Sun Chemical’s association with FTA, she explained, “Together we have a long storied history in what for us is a key market. INFOFLEX offers us a critical opportunity to interact with current and prospective customers. Forum allows us to at times provide insight and observations, share experience, support educational initiatives and learn from our industry counterparts. The atmosphere is conducive to sharing and the experience is refreshing and rewarding.”
Tony Renzi, vice president product management for North America, indicated that Sun Chemical has developed new technologies along the way that attest to its longevity. He too spoke directly to flexo and its positioning for the future.
“Flexo is going from super wide web—60-in. or larger—to more mid web and narrow web print. That’s evident in the mix of attendees at INFOFLEX. Print is becoming more specific. Traditional flexo with digital as a complement is in demand. Short runs and customization drive business and feed that trend. Multiple SKUs are responsible for the transition from carton to flexible.”
In the current operating environment, Renzi expressed confidence that flexography will continue to thrive. “Consumer product goods companies that lead the way in decreasing capacity for bulk in packaging are increasing demand for flexo-printed flexibles and spearheading growth in downsizing and lightweight film, similar to two-ply lamination. Flexo is continuing to grow and we are seeing more reverse printing and increased reliance on single webs. The short-term forecast is for prosperity. As flexo and digital integrate, inks and coatings will too.”