Flint Group, a leading provider of inks and coating solutions for the printing and packaging sectors, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Salvi, Vadodara, in the Indian state of Gujarat. The state-of-the-art plant will focus on producing water-based inks and coatings for the paper and board market, as well as energy-curable inks for the label and narrow web sector.

The new 9,000-square-metre facility marks a significant expansion of Flint Group’s manufacturing capacity in India, tailored to meet the rising demand in the region’s paper and board packaging and narrow web label industries. Conveniently located within 10 km of Flint Group’s flexible packaging manufacturing site in Lamdapura, the new facility complements an existing plant that produces solvent-based inks and operates a separate unit dedicated to non-toluene inks.

This development further strengthens Flint Group’s robust presence in India, which includes an ISO 9001:2015-certified manufacturing plant in Hosur specializing in inks for narrow web labels, and a blending site in Noida. Additionally, the company operates warehouses in Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, ensuring comprehensive coverage and service across the country.

The Salvi, Vadodara plant will use standardized manufacturing process to supply paper and board converters with Flint Group’s optimized AQUACode range of water-based inks and coatings. These inks have been uniquely designed to support printers’ sustainability goals while maintaining high performance and consistency standards. The facility will take a phased approach to producing these products, with full operational capability including in-house base manufacturing expected by early Q2 2025.

The new site will also manufacture Flint Group’s award-winning EkoCure Dual Cure range to serve the growing Indian label and narrow web market. This series is designed to cure with traditional Hg UV lamps and low-energy UV LED lamps, simplifying ink inventory for printers transitioning to UV LED curing by enabling them to use one product across all presses.

Flint Group celebrated this milestone with a grand opening event on 26 November 2024. Key Flint Group leaders were present to address customer questions and officially inaugurate the new site.

Upal Roy, managing director of Flint Group India, South Africa, and Middle East, said, “Our new state-of-the-art facility demonstrates Flint Group’s commitment to the rapidly growing Indian corrugated packaging and label printing market. By significantly enhancing our local manufacturing capabilities, we are ensuring we can meet our customers’ evolving requirements and strategically position Flint Group to capitalize on future growth opportunities in this dynamic region.”