Manders is “world's fastest growing ink company”

The transformation of Manders plc from a paints, property and printing inks company to a leading world player in printing inks began in January 1994 when it sold its decorative paints business to Johnstone's Paints plc (part of the Total group) for £52 million. It then acquired the inks and coatings business from Croda for £27 million and sold Croda its industrial coatings business. This deal included the new state‐of‐the‐art water‐based liquid ink plant in Winschoten, The Netherlands. In June 1994 this was followed by the £38 million purchase of Premier Inks in 's‐Gravenzande and Deurne, The Netherlands. The result has been to make Manders plc the fastest growing ‘ink company in the world, according to chief executive Roger Akers, and Manders Premier the European market leader in the technology, of heatset inks. Pigment & Resin Technology's technical editor, John Bean, recently visited the 's‐Gravenzande factory and R&D centre to bring back this report.