Flint Group increases production of water-based coatings
Flint Group has completed a major investment in additional capacity, in its "Sheetfed" water-based coatings site in Willstaett, Germany.
The increase in output enables the company to expand its range of speciality coatings with several new formulations which are launched to the global market today.
Stable batch-to-batch consistency
Commenting on the expansion of production and the launch of the new products, Romain Boulot, VP Sales and Global Strategy Sheetfed at Flint Group, was eager to explain, “Before the new capacity was finalised, we were working at full productivity to service our packaging converter and commercial print customers. Our reputation for high quality, reliable and stable batch-to-batch consistency has been key to our success. We now want to offer a complete range of speciality coatings in order to fulfil the most challenging application needs of our customers.”
Extended range of speciality coatings
The new “Novaset” speciality coatings range includes soft touch, high gloss direct food contact, blister, in-mould, barrier, anti-slip, anti-curl and temperature resistant versions, as well as coatings that do not require hazardous labels, which when added to the standard range creates a complete portfolio. “What makes this more exciting,” continued Mr. Boulot, “is that we can work closely with our customers to formulate coatings to exactly meet their specific needs and produce test batches in a real production environment, without interrupting existing supply lines to our customers.”
Fulfilling the need for more special effects
The production expansion in Willstätt comes on the back of extensive research into the market for coatings, which highlighted the need for more complex product technologies and special effects. Mr. Boulot concludes, “The added value we bring to our customers includes this complete product range coupled with local, dedicated applications specialists. We consider the coatings portfolio to be an essential part of our proposal to packaging and commercial printers alike.
Suitable for digital print applications
“We have also been working closely with our colleagues in Xeikon to formulate coatings with characteristics suited to digital print applications. 'Novaset 4301' High Gloss is one of the resulting products. It’s a low odour, low migration coating suitable for commercial print and packaging print applications with a direct food contact version available too.”
