From its beginnings as Flint Ink, Flint Group has been closely associated with the publication and news ink markets. Over time, the company, the second-largest ink manufacturer globally with more than €1.4 billion in annual sales in 2025, has established a market-leading position in packaging and digital solutions. Today, the packaging segment has become far more dynamic, while the publication printing segment continues to decline.

With that in mind, Flint Group recently announced it is rebranding as Flint Group Packaging Solutions. Pepyn Dinandt, the company’s CEO, discusses the reasons behind this strategic move, the growing emphasis on digital printing, the consolidation of packaging printers, and how the publication printing market will always remain a part of the company’s DNA.

Ink World: What led to the decision to rebrand Flint Group?

Pepyn Dinandt: When I joined Flint Group in September 2024, I recognised that while our story began with publication inks, packaging has long been a core part of our business and continues to shape our future. Sales in publication inks have declined alongside the market. At the same time, our packaging solutions business has delivered sustained growth.

Flint Group, as it has been known since CVC brought together the BASF, Akzo Nobel and Flint Ink businesses, has steadily evolved into a diverse packaging solutions company with expertise across conventional and digital printing.  This evolution made it the right time to rebrand the company as Flint Group Packaging Solutions.

Ink World: How has the market for printing changed in the past decade or so, such as the decline in publication markets and the growth in packaging and digital printing?

Pepyn Dinandt: If you look at the path Flint Group has taken over the years, the publication market has shrunk, and we have responded to this trend. We have three publication ink factories left, and through prudent management of our exposure to a declining market, we remain cash-flow positive. This strong, pragmatic heritage in publication printing has laid the foundation for strategic investment in our very successful packaging solutions business.

Ink World: How has Flint Group Packaging Solutions evolved with these changes into a packaging-centric ink and solutions supplier?

Pepyn Dinandt: In the context of Flint Group’s history, I think it’s clear that a great deal of credit is due to the managers and owners who came before me and made the necessary acquisitions.

Since our restructuring in 2023, the business has prospered under the support of our current shareholders, delivering solid growth in revenue and profitability. This has been underpinned by a more integrated Flint Group Packaging Solutions, where capabilities across applications, technologies and geographies are aligned and scaled as one platform. This joined-up approach is a key strength of the business.

A future owner will acquire a robust and scalable platform with strong organic growth prospects. Under new ownership, we would expect to explore adjacency acquisitions to further enhance our value proposition to the packaging industry. This creates clear opportunities to drive additional value through targeted buy-and-build. The combination supports long-term value realisation and maintains flexibility for future exit options, including a potential IPO.

Importantly, we have a strong focus on what our customers – packaging printers and converters – need as they become bigger and more sophisticated, requiring larger, broader suppliers of inks and coatings.

Ink World: There has been significant consolidation among leading packaging printers, such as Smurfit-WestRock; International Paper and D.S. Smith; Amcor and Berry. How is that impacting the industry?

Pepyn Dinandt: One result of this consolidation is that these companies are now using more printing platforms. For example, they might be expanding into digital printing or new packaging markets. We have the scale, product portfolio and technical expertise to support their activities, and we have an advantage in this type of scenario. Our customers need international suppliers with the scale, breadth of solutions, service infrastructure and regulatory knowledge to support their requirements.

Ink World: Speaking of digital printing, how does Xeikon play a role in this process?

Pepyn Dinandt: Xeikon was acquired in November 2015. When you look at growth rates between conventional and digital inks, digital inks have grown at a higher rate, albeit from a smaller base. There is definitely more growth to come from the digital business.

What makes us unique is that we can offer conventional and digital solutions, including digital hardware and consumables. We see advantages in that Xeikon has both toner and inkjet platforms. Toners are very good for labels because they contain no photoinitiators. We also have UV-digital solutions, such as the Panther digital press, in that space, as well as the IDERA water-based digital platform for corrugated printing.

We have a broad range of products with different platforms that allow us the breadth to cover a wide range of customer segments. Flint Group Digital Xeikon offers a complete integrated solution, from hardware and software to consumables.

Ink World: What differentiates Flint Group Packaging Solutions from others in the packaging ink segment?

Pepyn Dinandt: What differentiates us is that we not only offer great inks and coatings but also provide customer-centric services. Our 360°ServiceCode platform brings together a comprehensive suite of tailored services and solutions designed to optimise performance across the print process, from colour management to on-site technical support. Within this framework, our VIVO Colour Solutions digital colour software platform helps standardise colours across converter sites, ensuring converters can meet challenging Brand Owner colour standards across multiple sites, substrates and printing processes.

Furthermore, we take pride in our graphic technicians, who help customers become more efficient in managing the total cost of print. We constantly use these capabilities to accumulate knowledge, digest it and feed it back to benefit our customers. We have many industry veterans in Flint Group Packaging Solutions, and we have recently added some very strong people. I would certainly claim that we have a top team in our industry.

Ink World: Flint Group Packaging Solutions still has a sizable position in the web offset segment. How will Flint Group Packaging Solutions continue to support that market?

Pepyn Dinandt: We don’t believe there will ever be a time when there are no newspapers, magazines, or colourful paper supplements. We believe very strongly that there will always be demand for publication ink, but the question is what size the market will be and how many players will be left. Right now, we make money with it, and I think the remaining players will see a further need for consolidation. My belief is that the market may decline further, but at some point whoever is still supplying the publication segment will have a solid business.

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

Pepyn Dinandt: Our focus is clearly to strengthen our position in the highly competitive packaging ink and coating market. Packaging is a fascinating space. Brand Owner colour consistency must be the same across the globe on multiple substrates, from bottles and cartons to metal cans and fabrics. People love colour. The colours you see in the supermarket differentiate products – that’s what we do.

In bringing colour to the world, it’s worth noting that Flint Group Packaging Solutions’ conventional ink and coating portfolio remains the foundation of the business, generating more than €1 billion in annual revenue across Flexible Packaging, Paper & Board, Narrow Web, and Sheetfed Offset. These core segments anchor the company’s long-standing expertise in flexographic, gravure, and offset technologies, where it continues to innovate alongside customers. Within this space, Flint Group is prioritising selected high-growth packaging markets, aligning its investments to areas with strong demand driven by sustainability, regulatory requirements, and evolving packaging formats.

As it pertains to coatings, Flint Group is strengthening its strategic focus on coatings as a core enabler of performance in the packaging and label markets. As materials, print technologies, and regulatory demands evolve, coatings play a critical role in ensuring printability, durability, and compliance across a wide range of substrates. By advancing its portfolio of performance, decorative, and functional coatings, Flint Group supports converters in delivering packaging that meets sustainability targets while maintaining visual impact and operational efficiency.

However, packaging is more than colours. The package is the vehicle through which brands compete and the product is protected. There is also the regulatory element, as well as questions about sustainability and recyclability. The packaging market is a GDP-plus growth industry, with significant opportunities across the full value chain, particularly in regions benefiting from economic growth and rising consumption. Multiple variables shape the market. Inks, coatings and packaging truly form an interesting, sophisticated, and complex industry.

We have the scale, portfolio, and unique technical expertise to navigate the dynamic landscape of packaging and grow alongside our customers.