Wesel (Germany) / Rehovot (Israel), February 21, 2017 – The Landa Group and ALTANA AG today announced that ALTANA has acquired Landa's Metallography technology. First unveiled by Landa at the Drupa printing exhibition in June, 2016, this novel technology for producing metallized graphics is a sustainable alternative to foil-transfer processes, enabling metallization graphics at up to half the cost of conventional foil stamping. Landa will progressively transfer the remaining development and engineering work to ALTANA’s ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants division, who will be bringing the Metallography technology to market in the coming years.
"We are excited about this acquisition, which opens up new growth opportunities for ALTANA and strengthens our position as a leading solution provider for the printing industry,” stated Martin Babilas, CEO, ALTANA. “We are looking forward to our continued close and trustful cooperation with Landa as we prepare to bring this promising technology to market”.
Dr. Roland Peter, President of the ALTANA division ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants, added: "Landa’s Metallography technology has the potential to become a sustainable mainstream technology for metallization graphics, supplanting foil-transfer in applications such as labels and folding cartons.” The novel Metallography technology is both economically attractive and environmentally sustainable, saving a significant amount of material, cost and production time compared to the conventional cold foil and hot foil stamping technology.
Benny Landa, Chairman of the Landa Group said: “We are delighted that ALTANA has embraced our zero-waste Nano-Metallography® technology, for there can be no better owner for this business than ALTANA. As an innovative partner of its customers ALTANA has a wealth of experience and know-how in graphic arts.”
Mr. Landa added: "This transaction is also a testament to the outstanding collaboration between Landa and ALTANA, which is also our partner in Landa Digital Printing. It will enable Landa to focus on Nanography®, our breakthrough digital printing technology, while ALTANA takes over the final development work and commercialization of our Metallography technology."
The further development work, as well as sales and distribution, will be steered by ACTEGA Metal Print GmbH based in Lehrte near Hanover, Germany. Jan Franz Allerkamp, who has been with ALTANA since 2010, was named Managing Director of this newly founded ALTANA company.
Find more information in a video animation of the novel metallography technology.
About ALTANA:
ALTANA is a global leader in true specialty chemicals. The Group offers innovative, environmentally compatible solutions for coating manufacturers, paint and plastics processors, the printing and packaging industries, the cosmetics sector and the electrical and electronics industry. The product range includes additives, special coatings and adhesives, effect pigments, sealants and compounds, impregnating resins and varnishes, and testing and measuring instruments. ALTANA's four divisions, BYK Additives & Instruments, ECKART Effect Pigments, ELANTAS Electrical Insulation, and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants, all occupy a leading position in their target markets with respect to quality, product solution expertise, innovation and service.
Headquartered in Wesel, Germany, the ALTANA Group has 47 production facilities and more than 50 service and research laboratories worldwide. Throughout the Group about 6,000 people work to ensure the worldwide success of ALTANA. In 2015, ALTANA achieved sales of more than 2 billion euros. About 6 percent of sales are invested in research and development every year. Its high earning power and high growth rate make ALTANA one of the most innovative, fastest growing, and profitable chemical companies in the world.
About ACTEGA:
ACTEGA develops and produces coatings and sealants, printing inks and adhesives for flexible and rigid packaging and for the graphic arts industry. These products do not only lend an attractive appearance to materials such as paper, paper board, plastic and metal, but also provide clearly defined technical properties, e.g. chemical and physical resistance to the materials' surface.
The main customers for the products ACTEGA develops, manufactures and markets are in the packaging industry. ACTEGA is one of the market leaders in overprint varnishes and is the technological leader in the rapidly expanding sector of water-based sealants for flexible packaging. ACTEGA products do not only ensure that the packaging will look appealing, but also help that the contents will remain fresh for a longer time.
ACTEGA is already one of the world’s leading vendors of sealants for closures and glass containers; ACTEGA is also the technological leader when it comes to water-based sealants for cans. These products are used to make seals between the contact surfaces, such as glass on metal (bottle closures) or metal on metal (can lids). They ensure that the contents and other substances such as CO2 remain inside the packaging while “locking out” all contaminants.
About Landa
Headed by Indigo founder, Benny Landa, the Landa Group is comprised of four units: Landa Digital Printing, whose Nanographic Printing® presses bridge the industry's “Profitability Gap”, cost-effectively combining the versatility of digital with the qualities and speed of offset to produce short-to-medium runs with the lowest cost per digitally-printed page in the industry; Landa Labs, the group’s innovation arm, which explores nanotechnology for use in alternative energy, industrial coatings, cosmetics, packaging, drug delivery and other fields; Landa Ventures, which invests in early stage companies with complementary disruptive technology; and the Landa Fund, which helps underprivileged youth pursue higher education. Benny Landa continues to add to his portfolio of over 800 patents worldwide that provide the companies he founded with a solid intellectual property base.