United Chemical

What United Chemical does

Longkou Union Chemical Co., Ltd. (United Chemical) is a Chinese specialty chemicals manufacturer of organic pigments and squeeze base ink, headquartered in Zhuyouguan Town, Longkou City, Shandong Province. The company is publicly listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (szse:301209) and operates 251–500 employees, with a stated manufacturing capacity of 20,000 tons/year of organic pigments and 3,000 tons/year of squeeze base ink. Its organic pigment portfolio spans Disazo Yellow, Permanent Yellow, Permanent Orange, Permanent Red, Phthalocyanine Blue, and related variants, while its squeeze base ink (WFB/SFB series) line offers presscake and flushed pigments at 18–50% pigment concentration for heatset, coldset, and sheetfed offset printing.

The company's underlying technology is rooted in custom formulation rather than novel chemistry: it develops hundreds of product variants tuned to functional specifications such as heat resistance (150°C–300°C), dispersibility, transparency, migration resistance, and halogen-free or clean-label properties. It sells on a B2B, quote-based model directly to printing ink manufacturers, plastic converters, coating producers, and cultural/educational supply makers across four horizontal segments (printing inks and plastics being the primary segments). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company differentiates through standards participation (national pigment industry standards), government designations (High-Tech Enterprise, Manufacturing Single Champion Enterprise, Shandong Recognized Enterprise Technology Center, Post-Doctoral Research Center), and an integrated set of ISO 9001/14001/45001/50001/27001 certifications, plus emerging digital transformation and energy management certifications.

The go-to-market is primarily direct sales to manufacturers, supported by a bilingual website, industry exhibition participation, and relationship-based marketing through industry partnerships. The company positions itself as an influential domestic and international supplier and has built distribution primarily through direct enterprise engagement rather than third-party channels. The revenue model is straightforward industrial product sales (one-time transactional purchases) of pigments and pre-dispersed ink bases, with no recurring software, licensing, or service revenue disclosed.

Name

United Chemical

Legal name

PT United Chemicals Inter Aneka

Website

https://lkunion.com.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Longkou Union Chemical Co., Ltd. (United Chemical) is a publicly listed Chinese manufacturer of organic pigments and squeeze base ink, producing 20,000 tons/year of pigments and 3,000 tons/year of ink bases for printing ink, plastics, coatings, and cultural/educational supply manufacturers in China and abroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Pigments

NAICS

Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513), Printing Ink Manufacturing (32591)

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Pigments & Dyes (IMAEAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Printing Inks (IMAEAHAG), Color Masterbatches & Dispersions (IMAEAHAK)

Keywords

• Organic pigments
• Squeeze base ink
• Printing ink colorants
• Plastic colorants
• Pigment manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Shandong

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Organic Pigments Sales: Sale of high-performance organic pigments for various applications including printing inks, plastics, coatings, and cultural/educational supplies
2. Squeeze Base Ink Sales: Sale of squeeze base ink products (presscake and flushed pigments) for offset printing applications

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

United Chemical manufactures and sells high-performance organic pigments (Disazo Yellow, Permanent Yellow, Permanent Orange, Permanent Red, Phthalocyanine Blue, and related variants) and squeeze base ink (presscake/flushed pigment bases) for coloring applications. The company's products serve industrial customers in printing inks, plastics, coatings, and cultural/educational supplies markets with customized formulations tailored to specific application requirements.

Product overview

Longkou Union Chemical Co., Ltd. operates as an organic pigment manufacturer offering two core product lines: Organic Pigments and Squeeze Base Ink (挤水基墨). The organic pigments portfolio includes various yellows (Disazo Yellow G-178 series, Permanent Yellow GR/G series, Pigment Yellow 174/176), oranges (Permanent Orange G/R series), reds (Permanent Red F series, Light Fast Scarlet, Bronze Red, Carmine/宝红, Scarlet, Permanent Magenta), and blues (Phthalocyanine Blue). The Squeeze Base Ink product line provides pre-dispersed pigment bases for heatset, coldset, and sheetfed offset printing. Both product lines serve the same application markets: printing inks, plastics, coatings, and cultural/educational supplies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organic Pigments High-performance organic pigments including Disazo Yellow, Permanent Yellow, Permanent Orange, Permanent Red, Phthalocyanine Blue, and related variants used for coloring in printing inks, coatings, plastics, and cultural/educational supplies applications. Formulated for high color strength, transparency, dispersibility, heat resistance (150°C to 300°C), migration resistance, and clean-label/halogen-free compliance.
• Squeeze Base Ink (挤水基墨) Pre-dispersed pigment bases (presscakes and flushed pigments) in Yellow, Red, and Blue variants formulated for offset printing applications including heatset, coldset, sheetfed, and other printing processes. Pigment concentrations range from 18-50%.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manufacturing capacity of 20,000 tons/year organic pigments and 3,000 tons/year squeeze base ink
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PT United Chemicals Inter AnekacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 28 January 2026PT United Chemicals Inter Aneka, a member of Swiss-based OMYA Group, partnered with GNT Group to distribute EXBERRY® plant-based colourings to food and beverage manufacturers across Indonesia. The collaboration leverages PT United Chemicals' technical application lab to support clean-label product development in beverages, confectionery, snacks, dairy, and bakery sectors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Flint Group: Global ink and coatings supplier producing offset inks, flexo inks, and pigment dispersions. Most comparable as a buyer-adjacent peer in printing inks that sources similar organic pigments to those Union Chemical produces.
• Sun Chemical (DIC Group): World's largest producer of printing inks and a major organic pigment manufacturer with the broadest portfolio of pigments for inks, coatings, and plastics. Comparable to Union Chemical across core pigments and base ink products, with globally scaled capacity in the same chemistries.
• BASF Colors & Effects (formerly part of BASF): Major global pigments and dyes producer (now divested to DIC) with broad organic and inorganic pigment portfolio serving printing inks, coatings, plastics. Comparable as an upstream supplier of high-performance organic pigments to the same downstream segments as Union Chemical.
• DIC Corporation: Japan-headquartered global leader in printing inks and organic pigments (formerly Dainippon Ink). Direct product overlap with Union Chemical's organic pigment portfolio (yellows, reds, phthalocyanine blues) and squeeze base ink product line, serving the same printing ink and plastics end-customers.
• Toyo Ink (Artience Co., Ltd.): Japanese manufacturer of printing inks, organic pigments (Toyo Color), and polymer materials. Direct overlap with Union Chemical in organic pigments for offset inks, liquid inks (gravure, flexo), and plastic coloration, with similar formulation and customization capabilities.
• Clariant AG (Pigments): Swiss specialty chemical company with a significant pigments portfolio supplying organic and inorganic pigments for inks, plastics, and coatings. Comparable as a global specialty pigment supplier targeting the same high-performance, regulatory-compliant market positioning.

Regional players

• Hangzhou Tiankai Pigment Co., Ltd. China-based organic pigment manufacturer producing azo and phthalocyanine pigments for inks and plastics. Similar product portfolio and customer overlap, competing directly with Union Chemical domestically and on export markets.
• Shandong Yameng Chemical Technology / Shandong-based Chinese pigment peers: Regional Chinese organic pigment manufacturers operating in Shandong or neighboring provinces, competing on price and capacity for printing inks, plastic colorants, and coatings applications in the same domestic end-markets as Union Chemical.
• Suzhou Lihua Pigment Technology: Chinese organic pigment manufacturer specializing in azo and high-performance pigments for printing inks and coatings. Competes with Union Chemical in the same domestic China customer base, particularly for printing ink manufacturers.

Direct peers

• Heubach Group: Specialty organic and inorganic pigment manufacturer with strong presence in azo, phthalocyanine, and high-performance pigments for inks, coatings, and plastics. Closely aligned to Union Chemical's product line, including disazo yellows, permanent reds, and phthalocyanine blues for similar end-uses.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance22 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about United Chemical