Cinic Chemicals

What Cinic Chemicals does

CINIC Chemicals (先尼科化工) is a privately held specialty chemicals company founded in 2003 that develops, manufactures, and globally distributes high-performance organic pigments (HPPs), with stated market leadership in Diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole (DPP), Anthraquinone, Isoindolinone, and Isoindoline chemistries. The company sells primarily under two brands: Cinilex® HPPs for plastics, coatings and specialty inks, and Cinipol® polymer-soluble colorants for engineering plastics (PET, PC, PMMA, ABS, PA). It operates two manufacturing facilities in China — a 4-hectare Shanghai plant built in 2003 and a 20-hectare Taixing plant built in 2007 — both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, alongside an R&D center with 70+ personnel including PhDs and senior chemists, and seven specialized laboratories.

The business model is enterprise B2B, with quote-based pricing negotiated through regional sales offices in Hong Kong (global HQ), Shanghai, Saint-Louis (France), and Pittsburgh (USA), supplemented by a network of local selling partnerships covering 27 countries across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania, and regional warehouses in Antwerp (Belgium) and Branchburg (USA). Revenue is generated primarily through one-off pigment sales into three end-markets — coatings (notably automotive OEM and refinish), plastics (polyolefin, PVC, engineering plastics, food-contact packaging), and specialty inks (lamination, UV, inkjet, packaging) — with technical and application support bundled into the sales engagement. The company cites full regulatory compliance (FDA, EN71-3, GB9685), ETAD membership, and EcoVadis Silver Medal status (top 15% globally) as part of its value proposition for highly regulated downstream applications. The company is privately held under CINIC Holdings Ltd. (Hong Kong), with wholly-owned regional subsidiaries in Europe and the Americas and no disclosed external equity investors or public listing.

Name

Cinic Chemicals

Legal name

Cinic Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (先尼科化工（上海）有限公司)

Website

https://cinic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Cinic Chemicals (先尼科化工) is a privately held Chinese manufacturer and global supplier of high-performance organic pigments (Cinilex® HPPs and Cinipol® polymer-soluble colorants), serving enterprise customers in coatings, plastics, and specialty inks across 27 countries via manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and Taixing and regional offices in Hong Kong, France, and the USA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemicals - High Performance Organic Pigments

NAICS

Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513), Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Chemicals & Allied Products (2800)

akta.pro primary industry

Pigments & Dyes (IMAEAHAJ)

Keywords

• High performance pigments
• Organic pigment manufacturing
• Specialty chemicals supply
• DPP pigment production
• Industrial colorants

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. High Performance Organic Pigment Sales: CINIC generates revenue through the development, manufacturing, and global sales of high performance organic pigments (HPPs) including DPP, Anthraquinone, Isoindolinone, and Isoindoline pigments. Products are sold under the Cinilex® and Cinipol® brands for use in coatings, plastics, and specialty inks applications.
2. Technical and Application Services: CINIC provides technical service and support through its global sales team and local partners, offering product information, samples, and coloring solutions to customers in paints, plastics, and ink industries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cinic Chemicals is a global manufacturer and supplier of high-performance organic pigments (HPPs) under the Cinilex® and Cinipol® brands, including DPP, Anthraquinone, Isoindolinone, and Isoindoline chemistries. The pigments are produced at two large facilities in China and sold worldwide for use in industrial coatings, automotive paints, plastics (including food contact and engineering plastics), and specialty inks. The company also provides technical service, color matching, and application support to its industrial customers through regional sales offices and a partner network in 27 countries.

Product overview

Cinic Chemicals is a global leader in high-performance organic pigments (HPPs), offering two main product brands: Cinilex® for high-performance organic pigments and Cinipol® for polymer-soluble colorants. Cinilex® products are used across plastics, coatings, and specialty inks, featuring DPP, Anthraquinone, Isoindolinone, and Isoindoline chemistries with high chroma, weather resistance, and light fastness. Cinipol® products are designed for engineering plastics including PET, PC, PMMA, ABS, and polyamide, offering high heat stability, brilliance, and food-contact compliance. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and Taixing, China, and serves global customers through regional offices in Europe and the Americas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cinilex®: High performance organic pigments brand for plastics, coatings, and specialty inks applications
• Cinipol®

Products and services

• Cinilex® High Performance Organic Pigments A comprehensive portfolio of high-performance organic pigments (HPPs) including DPP, Anthraquinone, Isoindolinone, and Isoindoline chemistries. Used in paints, coatings, plastics, and specialty inks applications, offering high chroma, color strength, weather resistance, and light fastness properties.
• Cinipol® Polymer-Soluble Colorants High-performance polymer-soluble colorants for engineering plastics including PET, PC, PMMA, ABS, and PA. Features high purity, excellent heat stability, outstanding brilliance and transparency, and migration resistance. Suitable for food contact applications.
• Cinilex® DPP Red SR2P High strength, highly resistant mid-shade red organic pigment for solvent and water-based decorative, powder and industrial coatings. Can replace Naphthol red pigments with improved overpainting resistance and heat stability.
• Cinilex® DPP Red SR1C Opaque, highly weather-resistant mid-shade red organic pigment for automotive OEM and refinish paints. Outstanding chemical and solvent resistance. Can be used in architectural, powder and industrial coatings.
• Cinilex® Yellow SY1H The most weather resistant red shade organic yellow pigment available for PVC, Polyolefin and Styrenic exterior applications. Maintains outstanding performance in highly reduced shades with Titanium Dioxide or other inorganic pigments.
• Cinipol® Violet DV3P Bright bluish shade violet with excellent lightfastness and low sublimation tendency. Recommended for Polystyrene, Polyester, SAN and engineering plastics. Specially suited for PES fiber applications.
• Cinipol® Red DR7P Transparent bluish shade red with excellent heat resistance, lightfastness and high tinting strength. Suitable for wide range of applications including Polyamide 6 and Polyamide 66 fibre applications.
• Cinipol® Yellow DY5P Mid-shade yellow with excellent lightfastness, outstanding migration resistance and FDA compliance. Preferred product for PET bottles and PES fiber applications - an industry standard.
• Cinilex® DPP Rubine SR6T Highly transparent bluish red, halogen-free organic pigment with very high chroma. Strongly recommended for transparent full shade Polyolefin, GPPS, HIPS and SAN systems in combination with pearlescent and special effect pigments.
• Cinilex® DPP Orange SJ1C DPP orange pigment with very high saturation, high opacity and good durability. Perfect orange pigment for lead alternative applications.
• Pigments for Paints and Coatings High-performance organic pigments product line for paints and coatings applications, serving automotive, industrial, architectural, and powder coating manufacturers with high chroma, weather resistance, and heat stability pigments.
• Pigments for Inks High-performance organic pigments product line for specialty ink applications including lamination inks, UV systems, inkjet inks, packaging inks, and woodgrain decorative inks, providing light fastness, weathering fastness, and food contact compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 15% globally in EcoVadis sustainability rating
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MORPHICminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026CINIC collaborated with MORPHIC to host the AI Ad Making Hackathon in Bengaluru, bringing together 80 AI creators to produce brand-led advertisements using generative AI. The one-day event served as a talent discovery platform connecting AI creators with design studios, production houses, and brands seeking high-quality advertising content.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sun Chemical (DIC Corporation): Sun Chemical, part of Japan's DIC Corporation, is the world's largest producer of printing inks and a major manufacturer of organic pigments including azo, quinacridone, and perylene pigments. Directly competes with CINIC in high-performance pigments for coatings, plastics, and specialty inks, but operates at significantly larger scale across a broader product portfolio.
• BASF Colors & Effects:

Direct peers

• Heubach Group: Heubach is a global manufacturer of high-performance organic and inorganic pigments, with particular strength in complex inorganic and selected organic chemistries used in coatings, plastics, and inks. Following its 2022 acquisition of Clariant's pigment business, it competes head-to-head with CINIC in DPP and specialty pigment supply for industrial applications.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 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 Cinic Chemicals