The acquisition was confirmed and finalised on 8 July, just a week after Flint finalised a deal to acquire Siegwerk Druckfarben’s Heatset and Newsink production arm and American Inks and Coatings (AIC).
In a statement, Flint Group said it wanted to strengthen its coatings portfolio and service offering in the UK and demonstrate its commitment to the sheetfed printing sector.
Druckfarben managing director Grant Penfield said he was excited to be working with the group and is aiming to double Druckfarben’s sheetfed sales to around £20m in the next 12 months.
Penfield said: “We are delighted at the exciting developments as Druckfarben is acquired by Flint. As part of the Flint Group we will continue to offer our existing product ranges as well as having access to an additional range of Flint products, giving our customers a much wider choice.
“We are assuring our customers that there will be no change in the customer service team, the technical team or the accounts, so it is business as usual."
All of Druckfarben’s 30 staff will stay on and it will remain at its 10,000sqm site in Corby, Northamptonshire, which it relocated to in August 2015.
Penfield said Druckfarben began a relationship with Flint around two years ago, when it started “representing them” in the commercial heatset market and, more recently, it started distributing Flint’s dayGraphica range of offset blankets. He couldn’t reveal when formal talks started taking place regarding the acquisition.
“The benefits of us joining with Flint Group helps us in this rapidly changing market where the manufacturers need to stay ahead,” added Penfield.
“Flint Group has big investments in LED technology and has access to its own raw materials and as the market consolidates you need to work with a market-leading company. So it’s a positive decision on both sides. If we are going to focus on the LED market in the commercial print sector, Flint are very much at the forefront of this.”
Druckfarben supplies and manufactures a range of inks, varnishes, coatings, blankets and chemicals primarily for the sheetfed market. Total turnover, including sales from its heatset and packaging operations, is around £15m, with projected year-on-year growth of 15% before the acquisition took place.
Flint Group employs around 7,900 people globally and posted sales of €2.2bn (£1.87) in 2015. It launched a number of new products at Drupa.
