Fujifilm Imaging Colorants, Inc. will invest $28 million to add a new facility in New Castle for the production of aqueous inkjet dispersions.
The investment will double Fujifilm’s production capacity of pigment dispersions in the U.S. to meet the demand for inkjet printing.
Construction of the new facility, which adds 11,000 square feet to the Delaware site, began this month and is expected to be operational by summer 2023.
Last year, Fujifilm announced the construction of its first dispersion manufacturing facility in the U.S. at the New Castle site. The project is on schedule to be commissioned by spring 2022.
It will expand the company’s existing Europe-based production to the U.S. Today’s announcement brings Fujifilm’s total investment to over $47 million in new production capacity of pigment dispersions at the Delaware site. Fujifilm Imaging Colorants, Inc. is adding 30 positions in quality, engineering, production, and administrative roles by the end of 2023 to support operations across both facilities.
According to a release, Fujifilm’s pigment dispersion products are important to the development of aqueous inkjet inks for a variety of fast-growing inkjet markets, including packaging, textile, and commercial printing. They use a proprietary cross-linking technology to lock each pigment particle in a secure polymer cage, resulting in a stable dispersion that enables the design of ink formulations that can meet demanding performance requirements. Fujifilm supplies aqueous inks to digital printer original equipment manufacturers and RxD pigment dispersions to ink formulators.
“We believe that developments in aqueous ink technology will contribute to the transformation of new markets for inkjet,” said Ian Wilkinson, president, of Fujifilm Imaging Colorants, Inc. “With this investment, we are further strengthening our position as a major manufacturer of both aqueous ink and core pigment dispersion technologies. Our mission is to ensure that we can support our growing North America and global customer base, to accelerate their success in inkjet.”
“Further expanding our manufacturing capacity for pigment dispersions at our Delaware site will enable us to supply aqueous dispersions and inks to our Americas customers more efficiently,” said Melissa Toledo, general manager, Delaware, Fujifilm Imaging Colorants, Inc. “In addition to expanding operations, we look forward to growing our team here with 30 new positions to support our RxD manufacturing with roles in production, engineering, and administrative support.”
Fujifilm, which has global sales of about $21 billion, is building a $2 billion pharmaceuticals plant in North Carolina as part of its U.S. expansion.
