Siegwerk opens production facility for inkjet inks in Europe

The investment follows the construction of a dedicated inkjet laboratory last year that was built to already extend the company’s R&D capabilities in this area. Siegwerk stated that it is committed to further driving the development of inkjet inks that meet all printing process functionality and efficiency requirements, and address the specific challenges of the labels and packaging segments.

The site in Annemasse is Siegwerk’s European leading plant for water-based printing inks and varnishes. The Center of Excellence produces more than 25,000 tons of printing ink a year. Over the last three years, the company has invested three million EUR (3.6 million USD) to specifically build up its development, production and testing capacities in inkjet technology.

Siegwerk CEO Herbert Forker said: ‘After opening our designated inkjet laboratory last year, we now opened our first designated inkjet production facility in Annemasse – all in line with our vision to become the leading packaging ink provider worldwide.

‘Going forward we will invest an additional two million EUR (2.4 million USD) in new equipment for the inkjet ink technology over the next five years. Annemasse will be our driving force for future inkjet ink solutions.’

Siegwerk has already invested nearly 11 million EUR (13 million USD) over the last 12 years to build up the technical center in France with high competitiveness in Europe. Next to the investment in the inkjet laboratory, Siegwerk has also opened a brand new blending center for the production of water-based inks in 2016 to further strengthen its portfolio as a full-range provider for packaging printers.

‘Annemasse always was our innovation hub,’ added Forker. ‘It’s the cradle of our “Global Innovation Network”, a global in-house research network that works on the development of eco-friendly inks with consistent performance, as well as new ink technologies and product packaging innovations for the future.’