Fujifilm is set to invest US $28 million in a new facility in New Castle, Delaware, USA. The 11,000sqft facility, which will be dedicated to the production of aqueous inkjet dispersions, is expected to be up and running by the summer of 2023.
The company expects its investment to double its capacity to produce pigment dispersions in the US, something which has been made necessary by the fast-growing demand for inkjet printing across the globe. In order to cope with this increase in capacity, Fujifilm plans to hire 30 new members of staff in quality, engineering, production and administration roles before the end of 2023.
Fujifilm’s pigment dispersion products use a proprietary cross-linking technology to lock each pigment particle in a secure polymer cage, resulting in a highly stable dispersion that enables the design of ink formulations that can meet demanding performance requirements. The company says that the products are ‘high purity’ and ‘important to the development of aqueous inkjet inks for a variety of fast-growing inkjet markets, including packaging, textile and commercial printing.’
Ian Wilkinson, Fujifilm’s president and chief operating officer, commented, ‘We believe that developments in aqueous ink technology will contribute to the transformation of new markets for inkjet.
‘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 contribute to their success in inkjet.’
This latest announcement comes a year after Fujifilm announced the construction of its first dispersion manufacturing facility in the US, which is on schedule to be commissioned by spring 2022 and will supplement its existing Europe-based production.
