Penn Color
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1965
- HeadquartersDoylestown, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
Penn Color firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Penn Color
- Legal name
- Penn Color, Inc.
- Website
- https://penncolor.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1965
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Penn Color industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Chemical Manufacturing (Colorants and Functional Additives)
- NAICS
- Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513), Printing Ink Manufacturing (325910)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Color Masterbatches & Dispersions (IMAEAHAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Masterbatch Manufacturing (Color, Additive, White/Black) (IMANABAD)
Keywords
Where Penn Color is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Doylestown
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Penn Color business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Thermoplastic Masterbatches: Sale of color concentrates and functional additive concentrates in pellet form for plastic manufacturing processes including injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, and more. Revenue generated from both standard formulations and custom developments.
- Liquid Dispersions: Sale of pigment dispersions for inks and coatings applications, including water-based, solvent-based, and UV-curable formulations. Revenue from standard product catalog and custom dispersion development.
- Thermoplastic Compounds: Sale of pre-compounded materials used directly in plastic parts as end-products, incorporating color and functional additives at high loading levels.
- Finished Inks: Custom-formulated ink systems for specialty applications including LVT flooring and wall coverings, combining dispersions with resin systems for specific performance properties.
- Tolling Services: Contract manufacturing services where customers bring formulas or receive full-service manufacturing support from Penn Color. Flexible models range from customer formulas with Penn Color handling manufacturing, to Penn Color managing entire supply chain including raw materials.
- Custom Product Development: Revenue generated from collaborative product development partnerships, design sprint sessions, and prototyping services that lead to custom formulation contracts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | B2B custom formulation pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Penn Color product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Penn Color designs and manufactures color concentrates and functional additives for industrial customers. Its products are delivered as thermoplastic masterbatches (pellet-form color concentrates for injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, and other plastic processes) and liquid pigment dispersions (water-based, solvent-based, and UV-curable) for inks and coatings. The portfolio is complemented by thermoplastic compounds and finished inks, plus toll manufacturing services and design center support through customer innovation centers.
Product overview
Penn Color designs and manufactures color concentrates and functional additives as a unified product portfolio. The core offerings include thermoplastic masterbatches (dry technologies) and liquid dispersions (wet technologies), complemented by thermoplastic compounds and finished inks. Key product sub-brands include ASTRAD (with variants ASTRAD-AUTO, ASTRAD-WB, ASTRAD-IS, ASTRAD-UV, and ASTRAD-SF for various coating applications), Altria (Consumer & Industrial Durable Goods), and TENEO (Consumer Packaging, upcoming). Supporting services include LUMIO Design Centers, SPARK solution finder tool, and Tolling Services. The company serves Transportation & Infrastructure, Building & Construction, Consumer Packaging, and Consumer & Industrial Durable Goods markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ASTRAD: ASTRAD is a portfolio of water-based, solvent-based, and UV dispersions for architectural, automotive, and industrial coatings applications. It includes sub-products ASTRAD-AUTO (automotive), ASTRAD-WB (water-based coatings), ASTRAD-IS (solvent-based industrial coatings), ASTRAD-UV (UV curable coatings), and ASTRAD-SF (super fine coatings for wood coatings and writing instruments).
- Altria
- TENEO
- LUMIO
- SPARK
Products and services
- Thermoplastic Masterbatches Color concentrates in pellet form formulated for injection molding, blow molding, compression, extrusion, casting, calendering, and spinning processes for commodity, engineered, and high-temperature resins. Sold to plastics manufacturers across industrial and consumer end markets.
- Liquid Dispersions Water-based, solvent-based, and energy-curable pigment dispersions used for rolling, spray painting, flexo, gravure, screen, and digital printing applications. Sold to inks and coatings manufacturers.
- Thermoplastic Compounds Pre-compounded materials incorporating color and functional additives at high loading levels, used directly into plastic parts as end-products for injection molding and sheet/profile extrusion to enhance aesthetic, physical, thermal, and electrical properties of base polymers.
- Finished Inks Custom-formulated ink systems for specialty applications including luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) and wall coverings, combining dispersion expertise with system-level formulation for color fastness, abrasion resistance, stain resistance, chemical resistance, and print process optimization.
- ASTRAD Portfolio of water-based, solvent-based, and UV dispersions for architectural, automotive, and industrial coatings, available as standard colorants or as proprietary custom dispersions on demand. Sold to coatings manufacturers across architectural, automotive, and industrial end uses.
- Altria Product line focused on Consumer & Industrial Durable Goods applications, providing color and functional masterbatch/compound solutions to consumer goods, engineered polymer, and industrial durable goods manufacturers.
- LUMIO Design Centers Design center offering design capabilities and color exploration services, including design sprint sessions hosted at customer innovation centers such as Hatfield, PA. Sold to brand owners and manufacturers seeking rapid prototyping and color development.
- Tolling Services Flexible contract manufacturing model offering tolling services ranging from customer-supplied formulas with Penn Color handling manufacturing to Penn Color managing the entire supply chain including raw materials. Batch sizes range from 50 lbs specialty products to 50,000 lbs large volume products. Offered to chemical and brand-owner customers seeking contract dispersion and masterbatch manufacturing capacity.
Quantifiable outcome
- 50%+ of annual revenue from products commercialized within 3 years
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Penn Color
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Penn Color technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Penn Color partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)minorAPR is a US-based organization that provides certification for recyclable plastic packaging. Penn Color's NIR Sortable PE Black product received APR certification, enabling customers to use the product in recycling streams.
- RecyclassminorEuropean certification organization for plastic recycling. Penn Color's NIR Sortable PE Black received Recyclass certification for use in European recycling streams.
- Asha Penn Color, PVT LTDcoreJoint venture in Mumbai, India between Penn Color and Asha group, expanding Penn Color's presence in the Indian market for color concentrates and functional additives.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Penn Color competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ampacet Corporation: Ampacet is one of the largest global manufacturers of color and additive masterbatches for plastics, serving packaging, consumer goods, and industrial applications. Direct overlap with Penn Color's thermoplastic masterbatch business and similar global manufacturing footprint.
- Avient Corporation: Avient (formerly PolyOne) is a major specialty polymer materials provider with significant color masterbatch and dispersion offerings. Competes directly with Penn Color in color concentrates for thermoplastics and engineered polymers across consumer and industrial markets.
- Chromaflo Technologies: Chromaflo specializes in pigment dispersions and colorants for coatings, plastics, and inks, with strong overlap in liquid dispersion technology. Directly comparable to Penn Color's wet-side ASTRAD dispersion portfolio.
- Hubron International: Hubron is a specialty manufacturer of black masterbatches and carbon black dispersions for plastics, inks, and coatings. Closely comparable to Penn Color's masterbatch and dispersion offerings, particularly in carbon black-heavy formulations.
- Sun Chemical: Sun Chemical is a global leader in printing inks and pigments, serving packaging, publication, and industrial printing markets. Competes with Penn Color on pigment dispersions and finished inks, particularly in LVT flooring and wall covering applications.
- DIC Corporation: DIC is a Japanese multinational producing pigments, printing inks, and performance materials globally. Directly comparable to Penn Color's pigment dispersion and finished ink offerings across multiple end markets.
- Lifocolor Farben GmbH: Lifocolor is a European specialty manufacturer of color masterbatches and additive masterbatches for plastics, with strong focus on custom formulations. Direct competitor to Penn Color's European masterbatch business, particularly in cosmetics, food packaging, and technical plastics.
- Toyocolor Co., Ltd. Toyocolor is a Japanese specialty manufacturer of color masterbatches and pigment dispersions for plastics, fibers, and coatings. Comparable to Penn Color in custom-formulated masterbatch and dispersion offerings with similar cross-technology positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Clariant AG: Clariant is a Swiss specialty chemicals major historically producing pigments, masterbatches, and colorants (pigments business divested to Heubach in 2022). Operates broadly across specialty chemicals with overlapping capabilities in colorants and additives.
- BASF SE: BASF is the world's largest chemical company with a significant pigments and effect materials portfolio. Competes with Penn Color indirectly through pigment supply and finished coatings additives across automotive, construction, and packaging.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Penn Color social profiles
Digital presencePenn Color compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance11 records
Penn Color financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Penn Color leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Penn Color subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Penn Color funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Penn Color M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Penn Color
What does Penn Color do?
Penn Color designs and manufactures color concentrates and functional additives for industrial customers. Its products are delivered as thermoplastic masterbatches (pellet-form color concentrates for injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, and other plastic processes) and liquid pigment dispersions (water-based, solvent-based, and UV-curable) for inks and coatings. The portfolio is complemented by thermoplastic compounds and finished inks, plus toll manufacturing services and design center support through customer innovation centers.
Is Penn Color a public or private company?
Penn Color is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Penn Color founded?
Penn Color was founded in 1965. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Penn Color based?
Penn Color is headquartered in Doylestown, United States, in the North America region.
How does Penn Color make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Thermoplastic Masterbatches are the primary driver. The others are liquid Dispersions, thermoplastic Compounds, finished Inks, tolling Services and custom Product Development.
Who are Penn Color's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ampacet Corporation, Avient Corporation, Chromaflo Technologies, Hubron International, Sun Chemical, DIC Corporation, Lifocolor Farben GmbH and Toyocolor Co., Ltd.. Broad incumbents are Clariant AG and BASF SE.
Does Penn Color have an API?
No public API is recorded for Penn Color.
What industry is Penn Color in?
Penn Color's product category is Specialty Chemical Manufacturing (Colorants and Functional Additives). Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAEAHAK, Color Masterbatches & Dispersions, with a secondary code of IMANABAD, Masterbatch Manufacturing (Color, Additive, White/Black). Its NAICS code is 32513 and its SIC code is 2890.