The printing industry has been observing a substantial increase of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) prices for the last 18 months, mainly driven by reduced production capacities in Asia as well as recent mergers substantially reshaping the TiO2 market. On top of this, a fire incident – declared as force majeure – occurred in January 2017 and forced one of the largest TiO2 manufacturers to stop its production. The affected site in Pori, Finland, normally accounts for a considerable amount of the global TiO2 ink grade capacity which now is shut down creating an immense supply shortage. The supplier is committed to repairing the site as quickly as possible but the duration of the production stoppage is still unpredictable. Going forward, serious supply shortages throughout 2017 can be expected.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a white pigment that is irreplaceable for the formulation of white inks and coatings due to its high opacity. Especially in flexible packaging, the performance of a white ink is key for a high-quality print result. That’s why the current TiO2 supply shortage has substantial impact on the printing ink industry.
Siegwerk, an international supplier of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, will increase the prices for all of its inks containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) effective April 1st. This price increase is caused by steadily rising raw material costs due to a serious supply shortage of TiO2.
Hugo Noordhoek Hegt, President EMEA at Siegwerk, said, “We have been working intensively to maintain a continuous supply of titanium dioxide through our own global supply network. Thus, we have secured the supply for our current customers. We will work closely with them to determine the individual best solutions by evaluating the use of alternative titanium dioxide grades or products of different qualities. However, the persisting supply shortage has led to substantial cost increases and therefore also forces us to adjust the prices of all of our inks containing titanium dioxide.”
