Dave Savastano, Editor07.29.16
The Asia-Pacific region is the largest producer of ink worldwide; Ink World estimates the Asia-Pacific ink market at $6.5 billion of the $20 billion global ink business. DIC Corporation, Toyo Ink Group, Sakata INX, T&K Toka and Tokyo Printing Ink – five of the eight largest international ink companies – are headquartered in Japan. hubergroup, the sixth-largest ink manufacturer, is the largest ink producer in India.
The Asia-Pacific region is driven by the economies of China, India, Japan and other growing nations. China has the largest economy in Asia-Pacific, and will be the focus of a separate report in Ink World’s September-October 2016 issue.
For ink manufacturers, the Asia-Pacific region continues to expand. In particular, ink executives noted that India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand have shown excellent growth.
“The Asia-Pacific region showed moderate growth despite growing uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy, as the speed of growth in China and other emerging countries slowed sharply,” said Tadashi Nakano, manager, Global Business Division, Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. “As such, offset ink sales were weak in China and Southeast Asia. The packaging sector also showed moderate growth. Key growth drivers are booming populations, increased consumer spending as well as demand for more appealing packaging and sustainable printing from developing nations in the region.
“Indonesia and Vietnam have the strongest growth prospects with the packaging sectors in these nations growing at double-digit rates,” Nakano added. “For Toyo, we are seeing the most growth in Thailand, thanks in part to the country’s strong industrial base and a growing packaging market. The printing market in Malaysia continues to be a key industry fueling the nation’s economic development.”
Yuich Kataura, GM, International Operations Division, Sakata INX, reported that growth in the ink market was sluggish in the Asian region because China’s economic slowdown affected surrounding Asian countries. Kataura pointed to India and Vietnam as good areas for growth.
“The offset and packaging markets are both growing in India because their GDP rate is increasing compared with other Asian countries, and their population also is increasing,” Kataura noted.
“In Asia, the offset commercial printing market was tough and its demand was weak while the packaging market was stable,” said Hideyuki Hinataya, president of Toka Hong Kong. “In the Pacific, printing of publications has been decreasing. We have seen growth in demand for UV ink, due to the increase in power-saving UV printing, and also package printing has been switching from conventional to UV ink. The strongest growth in Asia is in India and Vietnam.”
“Within Asia-Pacific, different sub-regions have a different story to tell,” said Robert Doerffel, corporate communications, Europe for hubergroup. “Commercial printing, including newspaper and magazines, have shown a declining trend while packaging continues to grow at a healthy rate. ANZ remains stable, China has shown some decline while the rest of Asia is on a growth trajectory. South Asian countries, particularly India, are among the fastest growing.”
“Just like the global trend, there is less commercial printing and more packaging printing, even in the Asia-Pacific area,” said Charlie Lee of Daihan Ink. “And due to the strong US dollar, Asia’s rising nations’ buying power became weaker.”
DIC reported that India, Indonesia and Vietnam enjoy strong growth in almost all ink categories.
“The developing nations of South East Asia and South Asia enjoyed strong growth in most product categories,” a DIC Printing Ink Division spokesperson said. “Packaging was an area of growth, while the publication and commercial sector suffered due to a continuous transition of paper media to digital devices.”
Printing ink manufacturers are expanding their operations in the Asia-Pacific region, with Toyo Ink among the most active companies.
“In 2015, Toyochem Specialty Chemical in Malaysia began construction work to expand its offset ink plant with a new line,” Nakano reported. “The new factory began operation earlier this year and is running stably in keeping up with growing demand. In fall of 2015, to keep up with rising demand, Toyo Ink India installed a new line at its liquid inks factory in Delhi, doubling its production capacity at the location. To keep up with increasing global demand, the Group is working to boost its UV ink production capacity at the Fuji factory in Japan with the construction of an additional plant. The new site is expected to come online in the fall of this year.”
“We are now building a new factory in Vietnam, near Hanoi,” Lee said. “Vietnam is an emerging market. Many Korean manufacturers are there, including Samsung. So, Korean packaging companies are there as well to supply packages and manuals.”
“In order to grow our business more, we set up a factory in Thailand,” Hinataya added.
“We will be moving into a new plant with larger space in Guangzhou, China,” said Kataura. “We completed the first phase of construction for our newspaper ink plant in Panoil, India last year, and the second phase will be completed this year. We also have plans to build a new offset ink plant in Maoming, China.”
The Asia-Pacific region is driven by the economies of China, India, Japan and other growing nations. China has the largest economy in Asia-Pacific, and will be the focus of a separate report in Ink World’s September-October 2016 issue.
For ink manufacturers, the Asia-Pacific region continues to expand. In particular, ink executives noted that India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand have shown excellent growth.
“The Asia-Pacific region showed moderate growth despite growing uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy, as the speed of growth in China and other emerging countries slowed sharply,” said Tadashi Nakano, manager, Global Business Division, Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. “As such, offset ink sales were weak in China and Southeast Asia. The packaging sector also showed moderate growth. Key growth drivers are booming populations, increased consumer spending as well as demand for more appealing packaging and sustainable printing from developing nations in the region.
“Indonesia and Vietnam have the strongest growth prospects with the packaging sectors in these nations growing at double-digit rates,” Nakano added. “For Toyo, we are seeing the most growth in Thailand, thanks in part to the country’s strong industrial base and a growing packaging market. The printing market in Malaysia continues to be a key industry fueling the nation’s economic development.”
Yuich Kataura, GM, International Operations Division, Sakata INX, reported that growth in the ink market was sluggish in the Asian region because China’s economic slowdown affected surrounding Asian countries. Kataura pointed to India and Vietnam as good areas for growth.
“The offset and packaging markets are both growing in India because their GDP rate is increasing compared with other Asian countries, and their population also is increasing,” Kataura noted.
“In Asia, the offset commercial printing market was tough and its demand was weak while the packaging market was stable,” said Hideyuki Hinataya, president of Toka Hong Kong. “In the Pacific, printing of publications has been decreasing. We have seen growth in demand for UV ink, due to the increase in power-saving UV printing, and also package printing has been switching from conventional to UV ink. The strongest growth in Asia is in India and Vietnam.”
“Within Asia-Pacific, different sub-regions have a different story to tell,” said Robert Doerffel, corporate communications, Europe for hubergroup. “Commercial printing, including newspaper and magazines, have shown a declining trend while packaging continues to grow at a healthy rate. ANZ remains stable, China has shown some decline while the rest of Asia is on a growth trajectory. South Asian countries, particularly India, are among the fastest growing.”
“Just like the global trend, there is less commercial printing and more packaging printing, even in the Asia-Pacific area,” said Charlie Lee of Daihan Ink. “And due to the strong US dollar, Asia’s rising nations’ buying power became weaker.”
DIC reported that India, Indonesia and Vietnam enjoy strong growth in almost all ink categories.
“The developing nations of South East Asia and South Asia enjoyed strong growth in most product categories,” a DIC Printing Ink Division spokesperson said. “Packaging was an area of growth, while the publication and commercial sector suffered due to a continuous transition of paper media to digital devices.”
Printing ink manufacturers are expanding their operations in the Asia-Pacific region, with Toyo Ink among the most active companies.
“In 2015, Toyochem Specialty Chemical in Malaysia began construction work to expand its offset ink plant with a new line,” Nakano reported. “The new factory began operation earlier this year and is running stably in keeping up with growing demand. In fall of 2015, to keep up with rising demand, Toyo Ink India installed a new line at its liquid inks factory in Delhi, doubling its production capacity at the location. To keep up with increasing global demand, the Group is working to boost its UV ink production capacity at the Fuji factory in Japan with the construction of an additional plant. The new site is expected to come online in the fall of this year.”
“We are now building a new factory in Vietnam, near Hanoi,” Lee said. “Vietnam is an emerging market. Many Korean manufacturers are there, including Samsung. So, Korean packaging companies are there as well to supply packages and manuals.”
“In order to grow our business more, we set up a factory in Thailand,” Hinataya added.
“We will be moving into a new plant with larger space in Guangzhou, China,” said Kataura. “We completed the first phase of construction for our newspaper ink plant in Panoil, India last year, and the second phase will be completed this year. We also have plans to build a new offset ink plant in Maoming, China.”