ACTEGA

What ACTEGA does

ACTEGA is the packaging-focused specialty chemicals division of ALTANA AG, headquartered in Wesel, Germany, and operating globally through five regional hubs (EMEA, Asia/Oceania, Greater China, North America, South America) and nine wholly-owned subsidiaries including ACTEGA Schmid Rhyner (Switzerland), ACTEGA Foshan (China), ACTEGA Do Brasil, ACTEGA North America, ACTEGA Rhenacoat, ACTEGA Artistica, ACTEGA Metal Print, and ACTEGA India. The company develops and manufactures coatings, inks, adhesives, sealants, and compounds organized across four packaging verticals: Paper & Board, Flexible Packaging & Aluminum Foil, Labels, and Metal Packaging & Closures. Its proprietary technology stack includes ECOLEAF (sustainable metal decoration), DIVAR, ROTARflow, and Signite, with a differentiated recent launch — ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink — the first commercially available UV flexographic ink using carbon-negative algae-based pigment developed with Living Ink Technologies and validated by NextGen Label Group for Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages. ACTEGA also expanded into industrial additive manufacturing via a 2025 collaboration with ALTANA sibling Cubic Ink on UV-curing resins for 3D printing.

ACTEGA operates a B2B direct-sales model, selling formulated specialty chemicals to packaging converters and brand owners rather than to end consumers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and the company is privately held as part of ALTANA. The brand portfolio spans 13+ sub-brands addressing distinct functional and regulatory needs, including ACTGreen for sustainable barrier coatings, ACTDigi for digital printing primers (notably the LEP Primer now part of HP's expanded portfolio), FoodClass and FoodSafe for food-contact compliance, and PROVALIN for metal packaging. The company pursues regulatory-driven differentiation, explicitly aligning product lines with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the German Printing Ink Ordinance to convert tightening sustainability and food-safety rules into share gains.

Name

ACTEGA

Legal name

ACTEGA GmbH

Website

https://actega.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1880

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ACTEGA, a division of ALTANA AG, is a German specialty chemicals company that develops coatings, inks, adhesives, sealants and compounds for packaging converters and brand owners across paper, flexible, label, and metal packaging segments worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wesel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coatings: Coatings solutions for paper & board, flexible packaging, labels, and metal packaging applications
2. Inks: Printing inks including UV, flexographic, and specialty inks for packaging industry
3. Adhesives: Adhesive solutions for various packaging applications
4. Sealants and Compounds: Sealants and compounds for metal packaging closures and specialized applications

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ACTEGA manufactures and sells specialty coatings, printing inks, adhesives, sealants, and compounds for the global packaging industry. Its products are organized across four packaging categories—paper & board, flexible packaging and aluminum foil, labels, and metal packaging & closures—and are delivered through proprietary technology platforms such as ACTExact, ACTDigi, ACTGreen, ACTEcoat, ACTEbond, ACTESEAL, PROVALIN, FoodClass, FoodSafe, ECOLEAF, DIVAR, ROTARflow, and Signite.

Product overview

ACTEGA is a division of ALTANA providing specialized chemical solutions for the packaging industry, operating as a multi-brand portfolio company. The product offering spans four main categories: Paper & Board (coatings, inks, adhesives), Flexible Packaging & Aluminum Foil (coatings, inks, adhesives), Labels (coatings, inks, adhesives), and Metal Packaging & Closures (coatings, sealants, inks, compounds). Core technologies include ECOLEAF for metal decoration, DIVAR, ROTARflow, and Signite. Key brands include ACTExact (specialty inks, notably the groundbreaking UV Black Algae Ink), ACTDigi (digital printing solutions including LEP Primer), ACTGreen (sustainable barrier coatings), ACTEcoat (coatings), PROVALIN (metal packaging), FoodClass/FoodSafe (food-safe solutions), and ACTEbond/ACTESEAL (adhesives and sealants). The company also provides supporting services including calculators, troubleshooting, samples, and white papers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACTDigi: Digital printing solutions and LEP primer products for labels
• ACTEbond
• ACTEcoat
• ACTEseal
• ACTExact
• ACTGreen
• BlisterKote
• FoodClass
• FoodSafe
• MotionCoat
• PakSafe
• PROVALIN
• WESSCO

Products and services

• ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink Carbon-negative UV flexographic ink for label and packaging printing, formulated with algae-based pigment. Targeted at label printers and beverage/packaging brand owners seeking to replace petroleum-derived carbon black pigments.
• ACTDigi LEP Primer Digital printing primer for labels that delivers excellent print results across a wide range of materials. For label converters using HP digital press technology.
• ACTGreen Barrier Coatings

Quantifiable outcome

• Replacing global supply of carbon black pigment with ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink could prevent or remove 100+ million metric tons of CO2e annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Living Ink TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026Partnership to develop and commercialize ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink, the first commercially available UV flexographic ink using carbon-negative algae pigment. The partnership combines Living Ink Technologies' algae-based pigment technology with ACTEGA's ink formulation expertise.
• NextGen Label GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Commercial validation partner for ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink. NextGen Label Group successfully validated and adopted the algae-based ink in production for Waiākea's beverage labels.
• NilpeterminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 January 2026ACTEGA presented at Nilpeter's Open House event at the Cincinnati Technology Center focused on flexible packaging and food safety applications.
• ALTANAcoreOthersACTEGA is a division of ALTANA AG, a global specialty chemicals company. ALTANA consists of four divisions: BYK, ECKART, ELANTAS, and ACTEGA.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sun Chemical: Sun Chemical is the world's largest producer of printing inks and pigments for packaging, publishing and industrial applications. It directly competes with ACTEGA in packaging inks, coatings and adhesives across flexographic, gravure and digital print technologies.
• Siegwerk: Siegwerk is a leading global supplier of printing inks and coatings for packaging and labels. Like ACTEGA, it serves converters and brand owners with specialty inks, coatings and adhesives for flexible packaging, labels and paper/board applications.
• Flint Group: Flint Group is a major supplier of inks, coatings and press consumables to the packaging and print industries. It competes with ACTEGA across packaging inks, coatings and adhesives, especially in flexible packaging and label segments.
• DIC Corporation: DIC Corporation, parent of Sun Chemical, is a Japanese specialty chemicals and pigments company with deep overlap in printing inks, coatings and pigment technologies. Comparable to ACTEGA in pigment chemistry and packaging ink portfolio scope.

Broad incumbents

• PPG Industries: PPG is a large global coatings and specialty materials supplier serving industrial, automotive and packaging end markets. While broader than ACTEGA, PPG competes in packaging coatings, can coatings and sealants at scale.
• AkzoNobel: AkzoNobel is a global paints and coatings major with packaging coatings and specialty finishes as part of its portfolio. It competes indirectly with ACTEGA in metal packaging coatings and industrial coatings.
• BASF Coatings: BASF is one of the world's largest chemical companies and supplies specialty raw materials, resins and coatings used in packaging. It overlaps with ACTEGA in raw materials (resins, additives) and packaging coatings.
• Henkel (Adhesive Technologies): Henkel's Adhesive Technologies division is a global leader in industrial adhesives, including packaging and consumer goods applications. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with ACTEGA's adhesive offerings for packaging.

Emerging players

• Living Ink Technologies: Living Ink Technologies developed the carbon-negative algae-based pigment used in ACTEGA's ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink. As a partner and emerging biotechnology firm, it is comparable as the upstream technology supplier for ACTEGA's flagship sustainability product.

Others

• ALTANA (Parent Group Sibling: BYK): BYK, ECKART and ELANTAS are ALTANA's sister divisions to ACTEGA. BYK supplies coating additives, ECKART supplies metallic pigments, and ELANTAS supplies electrical insulation materials; all share ALTANA's R&D and capital allocation context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/actega-kelstar-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about ACTEGA