Editor’s Note: After serving as group finance director at DS Smith Plc, a leading corrugated and plastics packaging business, Steve Dryden joined Flint Group in 2013 as CFO, rising to CEO. As he prepares to leave Flint Group, Dryden took some time to offer his thoughts on his 11 years in the ink industry, the changes he has seen and what the future may hold for the ink and the packaging industry.


Ink World:  What led you to join Flint Group and the ink industry from DS Smith in 2013?

Steve Dryden: I’ve had success in public companies, and I was eager to test my abilities in a private entity. At that point, Flint Group was under the ownership of CVC. I came on board at an opportune moment to help redefine our strategy. Eventually, we sold the company to Koch and Goldman Sachs, who proved to be exceptional owners. It was an ideal synergy – Koch brought a familial approach to business, while Goldman Sachs recognised their expertise as operators. They wholeheartedly backed our endeavors to establish the market-leading water-based packaging business we have today.

Ink World: What have been some of the accomplishments at Flint Group that you are most proud of?

Steve Dryden: I finally got the strategy and the team into a really good place, and when you put those together, our business is now light years ahead of where we were. We now have a simple strategy and a really good team. The goal is to give our customers what they want and help them reduce their cost. The ink is only 4% of their cost, but helping them reduce their overall cost, including their paper usage and energy cost, is huge.

We also showed that we won’t let them down – we were good, reliable suppliers even during COVID, and that is due to our people. One thing we are proud of is our focus on safety – we get safety data/metrics for our industry in Europe and Flint is a far, far safer place to work. We had half the safety incidents in 2023 than in 2022, and we have put a lot of effort into making our locations safer.


Ink World: What are some of your favorite memories of your time at Flint Group?

Steve Dryden: I learned a huge amount from the people I have worked with. A great example would be someone like Bill Miller. Bill would sit me down and coach me through an upcoming meeting, and I always remember him telling me, ‘I have to close the deal.’


Ink World: During your 11 years at Flint Group, the ink industry has seen tremendous changes. How is Flint Group positioned for the coming years?

Steve Dryden: In terms of operation, we are the lowest-cost, leanest operator, and we are really well-positioned with that. I also think that in many applications, we have a better products than many of our competitors. In terms of innovation, the things we do really matter to the customer. We are well-set in terms of sustainability and on the cost side.

We have a position in digital with Xeikon, which we added in 2015, and what we do there is really good, but there will be a need for conventional printing and inks for a long time. Publication has declined dramatically, but we are growing in packaging. Our development of Dual Cure is an example of sustainability and cost, as the dual-curing UV LED inks eliminate the need for mercury lamps as well as cost of energy while simplifying inventory and reducing changeovers.


Ink World: You came out of the packaging industry with DS Smith. How about the packaging industry?

Steve Dryden: There is consolidation across the packaging segment – in both the paper and plastic segments. I think you are going to see a lot more consolidation in the packaging side, particularly with the mergers of WestRock and Smurfit as well as DS Smith and International Paper. If you want to drive your profitability and returns, you have to grow your business and drive down your costs.


Ink World: What would your advice be to Heiner Klokkers, who is coming in as CEO for Flint Group’s new Publication Division?

Steve Dryden: I’ve known Heiner for a long time – hubergroup is a long-time pigment supplier to Flint. I spoke with him after he left hubergroup, and I finally persuaded him to join us – he joins an already really strong team, and a strong team is what makes the job easier.


Ink World: What would your advice be to the present and future leaders in the ink industry?

Steve Dryden: I think the ink industry has to work out how it can be an enabler in sustainability; that is the big thing. If we don’t, we’re going to be seen as a problem. We have to make substrates easier to recycle. The more we can drive sustainability, the more we can drive growth in ink and packaging. Packaging is growing at GDP +1%; we have to get ink into an innovation world where it saves money and reduces the environmental footprint.


Ink World: What are your plans for the coming years?

Steve Dryden: I’m with Flint until the end of September, and my immediate plan is to snowboard three or four times a year, and maybe drive across the US with my wife. I’m also going to find some non-executive board roles.


Ink World: Is there anything that you would like to add?

Steve Dryden: The ink industry and packaging industry are such great industries. It’s an interesting mix of people who have been around a long time and new people coming in, and the people who’ve been around are always looking to do things better. We’re always looking to drive the business forward.