Sun Chemical is a member of the DIC Group and one of the world's leading producers of printing inks. Over 21,500 employees serve customers through 176 subsidiaries and affiliated companies in 63 countries.
KBA-MetalPrint, with headquarters in Stuttgart, is a member of the Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA) and the market and technology leader in metal decorating. As a global systems provider to the metal packaging industry, KBA-MetalPrint offers versatile solutions for the decoration of two- and three-piece cans. The portfolio for the three-piece market includes printing presses and coating machines, as well as drying ovens and exhaust air purification systems.
The common objective of the partnership between Sun Chemical and KBA-MetalPrint on the three-piece market is close cooperation in all matters relating to printing inks. The refers not only to the future inclusion of inks from Sun Chemical into the starter kits supplied with MetalStar 3 and Mailänder 280 metal decorating presses, but also professional support in respect of all technical questions arising in the field.
The starter kits for MetalStar 3 and Mailänder presses include either the high-performance UV ink series DAICURE 5LM, the conventional ink series SunTrio DAIMETAL or the highly flexible SunTrio TOBA series, depending on the particular needs.
Sun Chemical and KBA-MetalPrint have recognised that there is significant demand for close and long-term process technology support among users who have purchased a new, high-tech printing press and are now setting out to utilise their expanded production capacities. Together, they will be working on further optimisation of the customer's installations from both the technical and application-related perspectives. The combination of a press from KBA-MetalPrint and inks from Sun Chemical is in this way to guarantee the customer the maximum attainable metal decorating performance.
A further objective of the new cooperation is to drive specific developments in printing inks tailored to the special needs of the metal decorating market. The strategic global partnership covers also joint marketing activities in connection with trade fairs and customer events, such as the KBA-MetalPrint Symposiums with subsequent presentation of a new 6-colour UV MetalStar 3, which were held at metal packaging specialist Pirlo in Kufstein/Austria between 5th and 10th May 2017.
Both sides expect to draw great benefit from the partnership and are convinced that it will also generate professional added value for the customer. The declared goal is to be able to offer the customer even better service on the market.