Siegwerk Acquires Environmental Inks

SIEGBURG, Germany and MORGANTON, N.C.—Siegwerk, one of the leading ink manufacturers worldwide, has finalized the acquisition of U.S.-based Environmental Inks and Coatings Corporation (EIC) on November 30. EIC is one of the largest ink suppliers to the narrow-web label market in the U.S. and Canada.

“EIC’s strengths complement our product portfolio and our strategy to provide sustainable solutions,” says Siegwerk CEO Herbert Forker. “Over the past decades, EIC has built a strong reputation for environmentally friendly water-based inks for the growing and demanding narrow-web segment.”

Paul Schroeder, EIC President and CEO adds: “Being family-owned companies with strong business ethics and values, we are both convinced that EIC and Siegwerk are a perfect fit.” The newly formed organization will operate as Environmental Inks – a member of the Siegwerk group.

The acquisition of EIC is in line with a clear strategy Siegwerk has defined for its North American business portfolio. “Like Siegwerk, EIC is known for consistently high-quality, reliable technical sales representatives, and exceptional individual service, especially in water-based technology,” explains Ansgar Nonn, President Siegwerk NAFTA. “EIC is well positioned to capitalize on excellent growth prospects, particularly in the segment of self-adhesive labels. EIC is the ideal match between Siegwerk’s strategic needs and the existing competencies in the group.”

Today, a large portion of Siegwerk USA’s market share involves flexible packaging customers operating wide-web printing presses. Almost 80 percent of 2009 revenues were realized in this customer segment, which is dominated by solvent-based ink technology. Together with Siegwerk’s recognized competencies in UV-based inks, the combined businesses will be the market leader in narrow-web labels, offering state-of-the-art solutions across the whole technology spectrum.

EIC had sales of approximately $40 million in 2009. It operates entities in the U.S. and Canada and employs 170 people. EIC is a market leader in the narrow-web segment in the U.S., serving the packaging and label manufacturing industries with water-based and energy curable inks and coatings.

Siegwerk is a leading worldwide manufacturer of printing inks for packaging and publication. It employs more than 4,200 people worldwide and reported 2009 sales of approximately $1.1 billion. Siegwerk NAFTA has sales of $250 million with approximately 900 employees.