History

200+ Years of Innovation at Sun Chemical

Beginning with the inspiring legacy of Lorilleux and Samuel Morrill in the early 1800’s, Sun Chemical has delivered 200 years of color expertise, innovative technology and an ongoing commitment to quality and service for our customers. With close to 10,000 worldwide trademarks and over 3,000 granted patents in various global jurisdictions in its history, Sun Chemical takes pride in producing solutions tailor-made to meet the individual needs of customers.

Below is an interactive timeline that celebrates our long history of achievements and leadership in the industries and markets we serve. As you scroll down and learn more about our unique history, you will discover our fierce commitment to working for you through research and development that will bring customers new innovative and sustainable solutions.

Lorilleux is founded

avril 20, 1818
Lorilleux is founded

One of the first commercial producers of inks is founded as Lorilleux & Cie. Lorilleux & Cie is the first specialty ink company of its kind, in a time when most printers make their own inks.

1830

The Geo. H. Morrill Company

avril 20, 1830

Samuel Morrill begins manufacturing printing inks in the kitchen of his Andover, Massachusetts, home.

1853

Morrill Company obtains patent

avril 20, 1853

The Morrill Company obtains the first patent on their ink-making process.

1864

The introduction of carbon black

avril 20, 1864
The introduction of carbon black

The Morrill Company begins producing carbon black from natural gas.

1877

Coates Brothers & Company is founded

avril 20, 1877
Coates Brothers & Company is founded

Located in London, the business is capitalized at 2600 £.

1878

Ault & Wiborg is founded

janvier 1, 1878
Ault & Wiborg is founded

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ault & Wiborg is a fast-growing printing inks manufacturer that quickly expands its business abroad, focusing on the UK market.

1906

Four-color process debuts

avril 20, 1906
Four-color process debuts

The Eagle Printing Ink Company develops four-color wet process inks.

1907

The first litho press is invented

avril 20, 1907
The first litho press is invented

Fuchs & Lang build the first rotary tinplate lithography press. G. Siegle begins manufacturing pigments in Staten Island, NY.

1910

Rotogravure is introduced

avril 20, 1910
Rotogravure is introduced

Rotogravure, a printing process in which letters and pictures are transferred from an etched copper cylinder to a web of paper, plastic or similar material in a rotary press, is invented.

Historic mergers

avril 20, 1929
Historic mergers

A.B. Ansbacher merges with G. Siegle and the Ansbacher-Siegle Company is formed. During the same year, The Morrill Company merges with Eagle, Sigmund Ullman, Fuchs & Lang and American to form General Printing Ink (GPI). GPI becomes the first ink manufacturer with coast-to-coast operations.

Pigmented flexo Inks

avril 20, 1936

GPI Corp’s Sun Chemical division develops the first pigmented flexo inks.

GPI becomes Sun Chemical

avril 20, 1945
GPI becomes Sun Chemical

GPI changes its name and Sun Chemical is born. Printing inks remain its principal business.

1947

Web offset lithography is born

avril 20, 1947

Web offset lithography, which works by first transferring an image photographically to ink printing plates, is pioneered

Performance Pigments division is formed

avril 20, 1957
Performance Pigments division is formed

Sun Chemical acquires Ansbacher-Siegle and begins to create a new division, known today as Performance Pigments.

Lire la suite

Solvent-based flexo inks are introduced

avril 20, 1958
Solvent-based flexo inks are introduced

Solvent-based flexo inks are created for use on polyethylene films.

1966

Quinacridone is manufactured

avril 20, 1966

Sun Chemical begins to manufacture quinacridone out of its Newark, New Jersey, facility, marking the company’s entry into the high-performance pigments market.

1968

Federal Colors Laboratories is acquired

avril 20, 1968
Federal Colors Laboratories is acquired

Sun Chemical buys Federal Color Labs in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The first UV inks

avril 20, 1969

Sun Chemical patents the first UV inks.

1970

Water-based inks are created

avril 23, 1970

The first water-based inks are introduced for use on paper and film.

1978

Pigment manufacturing begins

avril 23, 1978

Sun Chemical begins to manufacture pigments in Muskegon, Michigan.

1980

EB inks go commercial

avril 23, 1980

Sun Chemical commercializes EB inks. In the same year, they acquire the phthalo pigment business from American Cyanamid.

Sun Chemical grows

avril 23, 1987
Sun Chemical grows

Sun Chemical is acquired by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (DIC). Sun Chemical also merges with Hartmann and Kohl & Madden to form one global company.

1991

BASF is acquired

avril 23, 1991

Sun Chemical buys the BASF packaging and commercial inks business.

1992

UV flexo inks go commercial

avril 23, 1992

The first UV flexo inks are commercialized by Sun Chemical. In the same year, Sun Chemical acquires KVK in Koge, Denmark, marking the company’s first step into European pigment manufacturing.

1993

US Ink is acquired

avril 23, 1993
US Ink is acquired

Sun Chemical acquires a top producer of cold-set publication inks, United States Printing Inks.

1994

Moscow Inks is bought out

avril 23, 1994

Sun Chemical acquires Moscow Printing Inks.

1996

Zeneca Inks is acquired

avril 23, 1996

Sun Chemical strengthens their packaging inks department in North America with the acquisition of Zeneca Specialty Inks.

1997

Sun Chemical enters joint venture

avril 23, 1997

Sun Chemical and Eastman Kodak enter a $1 billion, 50/50 joint venture to form Kodak Polychrome Graphics.

Sun Chemical grows globally

avril 23, 1999

The company acquires Coates Lorilleux in France, SWALE Process in the UK and GB Products International Flexo Plate Division, and partners with Tintas in Latin America.

2003

Bayer Pigments is acquired

avril 23, 2003

Sun Chemical buys Bayer’s high-performance organic pigment business.

2004

More acquisitions and growth

avril 23, 2004

Sun Chemical acquires Rycoline Products, Inc. and buys the assets of CBS Printas, the printing ink business of CBS Holding, a publicly traded company in Turkey.

Sun Branding Solutions is formed

avril 23, 2006

Sun Chemical acquires Watt Gilchrist and forms Sun Branding Solutions.

Frankfurt and Dahej packaging plant

avril 23, 2010

Sun Chemical opens state-of-the-art food packaging plant in Frankfurt and sheet-fed ink hub in Dahej, India.

Kankakee packaging plant

avril 23, 2011

Sun Chemical opens state-of-the-art packaging plant in Kankakee, IL, and expands into high definition plate technology in Concord, CA.

PantoneLIVE ™ and Benda-Lutz

avril 23, 2012

Partnership with X-Rite/Pantone and Esko on PantoneLIVETM Sun Chemical acquires Benda-Lutz.

2015

Kingfisher Colours Limited Acquired

avril 27, 2015

Sun Chemical Acquires Kingfisher Colours Limited

2016

Gwent Electronic Materials Purchased

avril 27, 2016

Sun Chemical and the DIC Corporation Acquire Gwent Electronic Materials Ltd.

2017

Sun Chemical Grows

avril 27, 2017

Sun Chemical Acquires Transitions Digital Graphics, LLC

Sun Chemical Acquires Joules Angstrom U.V. Printing Inks Corp.

Sun Chemical Acquires RJA Dispersions Business

2018

Sun Chemical Acquires C.T.LAY to Expand Portfolio for Plastic and Security Cards

janvier 22, 2018

Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have acquired C.T.LAY S.R.L.

2018

Sun Chemical and DIC Corporation Acquire Luminescence Holdings Ltd.

février 6, 2018


Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have acquired Luminescence Holdings Ltd., a manufacturer of currency, tax stamp, passports, ID cards, secure documents and brand protection inks for the security market.

2018

Sun Chemical Acquires PPG’s Metal Deco Ink Business

mars 8, 2018

Sun Chemical has acquired the Metal Deco ink business of PPG, a US-based global supplier of paints, coatings and specialty materials. PPG, with a well consolidated portfolio, and Sun Chemical are both long standing players in the metal packaging industry.

2018

Sun Chemical Acquires High-Purity Oxides Business of Cathay Industries

juillet 2, 2018

Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have acquired the high-purity iron oxides business of Cathay Industries, located in Valparaiso, Indiana, U.S.A.

2019

Sun Chemical Names Myron Petruch President and Chief Executive Officer

janvier 1, 2019


Sun Chemical has appointed Myron Petruch as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2019.

2020

Sun Chemical signs distributor agreement with Icaro International.

juin 11, 2020

Agreement expands reach for electronic materials across Mexico.

2020

Sun Chemical and DIC acquire digital inks business from Sensient Technologies Corporation

décembre 11, 2020

Acquisition strengthens the company’s digital inkjet ink capabilities.

2020

Sun Chemical and DIC acquire Seller Ink Industria e Comércio de Tintas e Vernizes Ltda.

décembre 11, 2020

Acquisition expands Sun Chemical’s Latin American presence in both security ink and metal decorating markets.

2021


Sun Chemical and DIC Corporation Finalizes Acquisition means significant expansion of global pigments expertise & innovation capabilities.

2022

Sun Chemical Acquires SAPICI

janvier 10, 2022

SAPICI-acquistion-graphic
Acquisition enables innovation in lamination adhesives, reinforcing its commitment to responsible care and addressing important trends.

The Future

As Sun Chemical moves forward, we will continue our commitment to delivering quality, service and innovation to our customers. As we relentlessly seek the most inventive ways to satisfy our customers’ needs, we will strive to provide outstanding service and breakthrough, tailored solutions. With more than 176 subsidiaries worldwide and a broad breadth and depth of resources from which to draw, Sun Chemical is prepared to help our customers take on the global challenges of tomorrow.

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