Toyo Ink Expanding the Organic Pigment Business Globally

The Toyo Ink Group is reinforcing its operating base by collaborating with prominent local corporations in China and India in the organic pigment business. With Toyocolor Co., Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Shuji Miyazaki; Chuo-ku, Tokyo), inaugurated on April 1 this year, as the main player in the global deployment, we aim to expand the business with a focus on the emerging nations where rapid growth is expected.
Concurrent with the recent rise in demand for published matter, packaging containers, automobiles, consumer electronics and daily necessities in China, India and the emerging nations in Southeast Asia, we also expect demand for organic pigments for inks, paints and plastic colorants to increase.
At the Toyo Ink Group, we are currently producing organic pigment in Japan, China, and France, but by establishing a close-knit partnership through the present business collaboration, we aim to utilize mutual management resources to swiftly build a global supply chain and sales network for organic pigment, and to expand sales in growth markets. We will also establish a structure to supply organic pigment on a local production for local consumption model targeted at the products of other Group companies that are also promoting global development.
In China, we have set up a joint venture with Yabang Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd., a top chemical company located in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, to introduce organic pigment production technologies and to develop joint sales activities aimed mainly at the domestic market in China. The Yabang Group is in possession of sales channels covering all of China, a highly cost-competitive production infrastructure, and a particular forte in blue and green phthalocyanine among organic pigments. Through this venture company, we will join the production infrastructure and sales network of the Yabang Group with the manufacturing technology, environmental technologies and international brand strength of the Toyo Ink Group to accelerate the business expansion. The details will be announced in a joint press release at the 12th China International Dye Industry, Pigments and Textile Chemicals Exhibition (China Interdye 2012) held in Shanghai from April 10th.
Meanwhile, in India, we are currently pursuing consultations aimed at the commercial production of ink pigments with a local manufacturer of organic pigments. By joining our technological strength and knowhow in ink pigments with the production infrastructure and business expertise of a local corporation, we will build a production base for ink pigments that excels in cost and quality. In addition to sales to local manufacturers and Japanese manufacturers entering the markets in India and Southeast Asia, we plan to produce and supply high-quality pigments for use at local Toyo Ink Group production bases for printing ink.
In addition to expanding sales to domestic and overseas ink manufacturers based on our technical strengths including process management, the Toyo Ink Group organic pigment business is also developing operations in the field of color filter materials for liquid crystal displays in Japan and the East Asia region. We have also positioned organic pigments as the core material for the Group, and we are carrying out production at our locations in China and France in addition to the Fuji Factory of Toyocolor Co., Ltd. (Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture), for use in the products of other Group businesses.
The Toyo Ink Group aims to raise the overseas sales ratio to 50% by the period ending March 2017. As well as increasing the speed of the global development of the organic pigment business, the present business collaboration will also accelerate the expansion of printing inks, plastic colorants and other products that use organic pigments as raw material. In the past, the organic pigment business at the Toyo Ink Group focused on growing high-end products for the domestic market based on product groups built around a core of high-grade products, and there was limited expansion on the emerging markets that demanded flexibility in balancing production costs and quality. At this time, we are expanding the supply chain and selling power by joining the local cost competitiveness and sales network of our partner corporations with the technical capabilities and quality strength of Toyo Ink. We will supply pigments optimized for quality and cost as raw material for printing inks and colorants manufactured by Group businesses aiming to expand operations in China and India to improve the competitive strengths of these businesses.
About the Toyo Ink Group
Founded in 1907, the Toyo Ink Group is a global manufacturer of printing inks and chemical products. In April 2011, the Group brought in a holding company structure focused on Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. which is developing a worldwide business network around three core operating businesses, Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., Toyochem Co., Ltd. and Toyocolor Co., Ltd., with more than 7,000 employees in approximately 70 companies in 19 countries worldwide.
The Toyo Ink Group’s operations are split into four segments: Printing and Information, Packaging Materials, Polymers and Coatings, and Colorants and Functional Materials with the organic pigment business included in the Colorants and Functional Materials related business segment. Starting with the manufacturing and sales of printing inks, the operating activities at the Toyo Ink Group have expanded to the development and production of organic pigments and resins, which are the raw materials for ink, and are now expanding again from value-added inks for a range of printing applications to functional materials, natural materials and electronic materials. As of FY2008, the Company has set its sights on the SCC2017 vision of evolving into a globally useful specialty chemical manufacturer, which serves as the yardstick for the Group management.
In FY 2010, total sales at the Group Company were 245.7 billion yen with an operating income of 19.2 billion yen. For details about the Toyo Ink Group, please refer to the website (schd.toyoinkgroup.com available in Japanese and English).
About Toyocolor Co., Ltd.
Toyocolor Co., Ltd. was inaugurated as the third core operating company in the holding structure for the Toyo Ink Group in April 2012. With a central role in the Colorants and Functional Materials related business, one of the core segments of the Group business, Toyocolor drives the Colorants and Functional Materials related business in Japan and overseas. With the head office located in Tokyo, Toyocolor owns production facilities in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, in Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture, and in Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture.
Based on high-quality, high-purity organic pigments, Toyocolor products have moved beyond the purpose of applying color to objects, they have evolved into specialty materials with a range of physical characteristics and functions. We supply materials matched to user specifications including functional materials such as fireproof, conductive and electromagnetic wave shields, color filter materials for liquid crystal displays, and electrode materials for batteries. For details about Toyocolor, please refer to the website (www.toyo-color.com).
[Inquiries]
Yasuyuki Ayukawa
Colors & Performance Chemicals Sales Division
Toyocolor Co., Ltd.
TEL +81-3-3272-6441
[For press and publishing inquiries & general inquiries]
Mayumi Mizutani
Corporate Communication Department
Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd.
TEL +81-3-3272-5720