What International Coatings Company does

International Coatings Company, Inc. is a privately held US specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1956, headquartered in Cerritos, California with a second manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia. The company operates three distinct product lines: (1) plastisol screen printing inks for textile and apparel printers, marketed under the 700, 7600, All-Pro™ 900, Cool Sport™ 6100, and UltraMix® 7500 series, with the FlexCure™ platform enabling cure temperatures from 275°F to 325°F and the Guardian™ hybrid bleed-blocking technology addressing dye migration on polyester and sublimated fabrics; (2) Line-PRO™ traffic marking paints covering parking lot, airport, Caltrans-compliant, low-VOC, high-build, highway, and specialty applications including glass beads; and (3) an Industrial Plastic Compounding division producing custom plastisols, polyurethanes, and primer/adhesive/coating formulations for aerospace, medical, automotive, water filtration, and consumer products customers.

The company sells almost exclusively through an authorized distributor network, supported by an Ink Distributor Locator on its website and a regional sales team. Distribution is reinforced by content marketing via a technical blog, social media, video demonstrations, trade shows, and an email newsletter, with no direct e-commerce channel. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; standard ink products are unit-priced by distributors in container sizes from quart to 50-gallon drums, while industrial compounding work is quote-based on multi-year contracts. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified (ANAB) and is led by President Steve Kahane, with ownership appearing to be family/management-controlled (Kahane family).

Revenue mechanics rest on three legs: high-volume, low-unit-cost plastisol ink distribution to a fragmented screen printing SMB base; project/contract-based industrial compounding for OEM customers; and public-sector traffic paint sales (Caltrans, airports, highways). Customer concentration is dispersed across thousands of screen-print SMBs, with named enterprise references including Mattel (historical toy coatings) and Disney (historical specialty plastics for Imagineering), plus a current apparel customer (Threadfast Apparel). No public filings, no disclosed funding, and no AI/ML capability footprint are evident in the source material.

Name

International Coatings Company

Legal name

International Coatings Company, Inc.

Website

https://iccink.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

International Coatings is a US specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1956 producing plastisol screen printing inks (Plastisol, AXEON™, FlexCure™), Line-PRO™ traffic paints, and custom industrial plastic compounds. It sells exclusively through authorized distributors to screen print shops, traffic marking contractors, and OEMs in aerospace, medical, and automotive.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemical Manufacturing

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (32551), Printing Ink Manufacturing (32591)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Label Stock, Inks, Coatings & Laminates (Materials Supply) (IMALAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Protective Coatings (IMAEAGAB), Automotive & Transportation Coatings (IMAEAGAC)

Keywords

• Screen printing inks
• Traffic marking paints
• Industrial coatings
• Plastisol compounds
• Custom chemical formulations

Headquarters

HQ city

Cerritos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Screen Printing Inks: Manufacture and sale of plastisol inks for textile screen printing, including multiple product lines such as 700 Series, 7600 Series, All-Pro 900 Series, Cool Sport 6100 Series, and specialty inks. Products are sold through distributor network.
2. Traffic Paints (Line-PRO™): Traffic marking paints for parking lots, airports, highways, and Caltrans applications. Includes glass beads and specialty products.
3. Industrial Products: Custom industrial compounding for specialty plastics, adhesives, and coatings. Serving aerospace, medical, automotive, and consumer products manufacturers with bespoke formulations.
4. AXEON™ Non-PVC Inks: Non-phthalate, non-PVC ink alternatives for environmentally conscious printers and compliance with regulations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

International Coatings manufactures plastisol and non-PVC (AXEON™) textile screen printing inks, the Line-PRO™ traffic marking paint line (parking lots, airports, highways, Caltrans-compliant), and custom industrial compounds (plastisols, polyurethanes, primers, adhesives, and coatings) for OEMs in aerospace, medical, automotive, and consumer products. Products are sold through authorized distributors and direct industrial compounding supply contracts.

Product overview

International Coatings Company manufactures three distinct product lines: (1) Screen Printing Inks including plastisol-based inks (700 Series, 7600 Series, All-Pro™ 900 Series, Cool Sport™ 6100 Series) and Axeon™ Non-PVC inks, unified under the FlexCure™ technology platform offering flexible curing from 275°F to 325°F; (2) Line-PRO™ Traffic Paint covering parking lot, airport, highway, Caltrans, low VOC, and specialty marking applications with glass beads; and (3) Industrial Products including custom plastisols, polyurethanes, and primers/adhesives/coatings for automotive, aerospace, medical, and water filtration applications. Key specialty products include Guardian™ bleed blockers (Guardian Gray™ 7043 and Guardian Black™ 1240) for dye migration protection, white inks (Unicorn White™, Paramount White™ 7041, Poly White 741) for polyester applications, and Ultimate Black™ 717. The company also provides the UltraMix® color mixing system with online formulation tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plastisol Screen Printing Inks Flagship plastisol-based screen printing ink line organized into multiple series (700 Series Direct Print, 7600 General Purpose, All-Pro™ 900, Cool Sport™ 6100) plus 4-color process, metallic, and specialty inks. Sold in multiple container sizes for printing on cotton, polyester, and blended textiles.
• AXEON™ Non-PVC Inks Non-phthalate, non-PVC alternative plastisol ink line including AXEON™ UltraMix® 1200 Series, designed for environmentally conscious printers and CPSIA/major-retailer compliance requirements.
• UltraMix® Color Mixing System Comprehensive color matching and formulation system comprising UltraMix® CC (Color Concentrate) and UltraMix® RFU (Ready-For-Use) 7500 Series inks, supported by an online formulation tool at iccultramix.com for custom color matches and PMS equivalent lookups.
• Line-PRO™ Traffic Paint Complete traffic marking paint family including Line-PRO 1000 (parking lots), Line-PRO 2000 (airport marking and striping), Line-PRO 3000 (Caltrans), Line-PRO 4000 (Low VOC), Line-PRO 5000 (High Build), Line-PRO 6000 (highway/parking lot), specialty products, and complementary glass beads.
• Industrial Plastisols Custom plastisol compounds formulated for non-textile industrial applications across aerospace, medical devices, automotive, and water filtration markets, supplied under multi-year compounding contracts.
• Industrial Polyurethanes Custom polyurethane compounds developed to specific performance requirements for industrial manufacturing applications.
• Industrial Primers, Adhesives & Coatings Specialty primer, adhesive, and coating formulations produced for industrial manufacturers across multiple industry sectors as part of the company's 50+ year Industrial Plastic Compounding practice.
• Guardian Gray™ 7043 Bleed-Blocking Underbase Guardian hybrid-technology underbase ink engineered to absorb migrating dyes from sublimated polyester and performance fabrics; cures at 275°F–320°F and prints through 86–160 t/in mesh.
• Guardian Black™ 1240 (AXEON™ Non-PVC) Non-PVC version of Guardian bleed-blocker technology offering equivalent dye-migration protection in a phthalate-free formulation for problem fabrics.
• Ultimate Black™ 717 High-performance black screen printing ink with optimized rheology for smoother flow and recovery, sharper edge definition, deeper black with controlled satin finish, and improved coverage economics. Part of the FlexCure™ product family.
• Unicorn White™ Premium ultra-low bleed white screen printing ink for tough polyester jobs, offering smooth and creamy consistency, easy printing under less pressure, ultra-low bleed performance, and excellent opacity within the FlexCure™ cure range.
• Paramount White™ 7041 Ultra-low bleed white ink formulated for blocking dye migration on problem polyester fabrics with creamy viscosity, easy printing characteristics, and FlexCure™ flexible cure technology.
• Poly White 741 Ultra-low bleed white ink specifically formulated for blocking dye migration on polyester-content fabrics with fast flashing, low tack, and non-phthalate formulation.
• Pro-Brite™ 4-Color Process Inks CMYK process color inks for screen printing full-color graphics with calibrated process color values for accurate reproduction in four-color process printing.
• 3804 Low Cure Additive Additive for textile screen printing inks that lowers cure temperature to 300°F (149°C) or as low as 275°F (135°C), enabling printing on heat-sensitive substrates such as 100% polyester and non-woven polypropylene bags. Non-phthalate formulation.
• 3820 Flock Adhesive Special-effects adhesive for flock applications, enabling textured, velvet-like finishes on printed textiles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cure temperature range of 275°F to 325°F (135°C to 163°C)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Distributor PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational Coatings sells exclusively through a network of authorized distributor partners who provide local sales, technical support, and product availability to screen printing companies. The company provides an Ink Distributor Locator tool on their website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MagnaColours: UK-based screen-printing ink manufacturer with a strong position in water-based and PVC-free ink systems — a direct technical overlap with ICC's AXEON™ non-PVC line and Guardian™ bleed-blocker franchise for polyester apparel.
• Aexcel Corporation: Specialty formulator of traffic paints, industrial coatings, and custom chemical compounds sold through industrial channels — comparable to ICC's Line-PRO™ traffic and industrial compounding segments.
• Union Ink: Specialty manufacturer of screen-printing inks, plastisols, and athletic inks sold through a U.S. distributor channel — comparable product mix, channel structure, and end customer base to International Coatings.
• Wilflex: Direct competitor in plastisol screen-printing inks for textiles. Wilflex (now part of Avient) sells through a similar distributor model into apparel decorators and is the most direct head-to-head comparison for ICC's 700/7600/900/6100 series.
• Nazdar: Manufacturer of screen, digital, and inkjet inks with a strong U.S. distribution footprint. Overlaps with ICC on textile/screen-printing inks and on industrial coatings, serving a similar printer and OEM customer profile.
• Ennis-Flint (Crown Technology): Largest U.S. manufacturer of traffic marking paints, thermoplastics, and preformed markings for highways, airports, and parking lots — the most direct competitor to ICC's Line-PRO™ traffic paint line.
• RTP Company: Custom thermoplastic compounder serving automotive, medical, aerospace, and industrial OEMs. Closely mirrors ICC's Industrial Products division (plastisols, polyurethanes, specialty coatings) on the compounding side of the business.

Broad incumbents

• Avient (formerly PolyOne): Large specialty polymer formulator and owner of Wilflex. Comparable to ICC across both specialty colorants/plastisols for textiles and custom industrial compounding for regulated end markets (medical, aerospace, automotive).
• PPG Industries: Global industrial coatings major with overlapping exposure in automotive, industrial, and traffic/safety coatings. A likely strategic acquirer and a benchmark for the scale gap ICC faces in industrial coatings.
• Sherwin-Williams: Largest U.S. paints and coatings company, active in industrial, traffic, and specialty coatings. Comparable to ICC's coatings businesses at the category level and a likely acquirer profile for a niche specialty manufacturer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iccink
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ICCINK
• Facebookfacebook.com/InternationalCoatings
• Instagraminstagram.com/international_coatings

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 International Coatings Company