What Kustom Group does

Kustom Group, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Richwood, Kentucky, is a privately-held specialty chemicals formulator and manufacturer serving the graphic arts and printing industries. The company manufactures overprints, coatings, and ink vehicles across three core chemistry platforms: oil-based, aqueous, and energy cure (UV, LED, H-UV). Its product portfolio spans the Lithomaster flagship oleoresinous vehicle line, the Greenmaster eco-friendly vehicle system, Kustom Kote aqueous coatings, Kentucky Shine press-applied acrylic overprints, and the Kustom Kure energy cure coatings line, addressing lithographic, flexographic, screen, and digital printing applications. The company also provides toll manufacturing services for ink extenders, resin cuts, and powder additions across all core chemistries, and develops custom-designed vehicles for specific customer applications.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market model. In the US, Kustom reaches the market through a three-person direct regional sales force (covering Central, Southeast/Midwest, and Florida/international territories) plus a strategic distribution partnership with S-One Label & Packaging for Canada and Western/Eastern US states. Internationally, the company relies on three named regional agents: Umicore Specialty Materials Brugge in Belgium (which also manufactures EU-compliant versions of the product line using EU-sourced raw materials for REACH compliance), DIA VAR Chemical Company in Taiwan, and CMC Engineering Export GmbH's Korea branch in Seoul. The company ships to over 26 countries across five continents, with batch sizes ranging from gallon pails to truckloads, positioning it as a flexible, "right-sized" supplier to ink makers, dealers, and commercial/packaging printers. Several product lines are pre-certified for food packaging applications (21CFR 175.300, Prop 65, Swiss, and Nestle compliance), which is a meaningful differentiator in regulated end-markets.

Name

Kustom Group

Legal name

Kustom Group

Website

https://kustomgroup.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kustom Group is a US-based specialty chemicals formulator manufacturing ink vehicles, overprints, and coatings in oil-based, aqueous, and energy cure chemistries for ink makers, dealers, and commercial printers globally across 26+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Printing Chemicals

NAICS

Printing Ink Manufacturing (325910)

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Printing Inks (IMAEAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital & Specialty Inks (Inkjet, UV, Conductive) (IMAEAHAI), Label Stock, Inks, Coatings & Laminates (Materials Supply) (IMALAKAL), Sustainable Labels, Adhesives & Inks (Wash-Off Labels, De-inkable Inks, Low-VOC) (IMALAMAJ)

Keywords

• Printing ink vehicles
• Overprint varnishes
• UV curable coatings
• Aqueous wet-litho coatings
• Flexo screen coatings

Headquarters

HQ city

Florence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Specialty Coatings and Overprints Manufacturing: Formulates and manufactures overprints and coatings in oil-based, aqueous, and UV chemistries sold to ink makers and dealers who then sell to printers. Products range from gallon pails to fiber drums to disposable poly totes.
2. Toll Manufacturing: Part of core mission to develop and manufacture products that customers cannot produce internally. Includes toll manufacturing of ink extenders, resin cuts, and powder additions for all core chemistries in varying batch sizes.
3. Custom Product Development: Partners with customers on creative concepts for major brands and evolving print technologies, developing custom-designed vehicles for specific applications.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kustom Group formulates and manufactures specialty printing ink vehicles, overprint varnishes, and coatings in oil-based, aqueous, and energy cure (UV, LED, H-UV) chemistries for lithographic, flexo, screen, and digital printing applications. Products are sold in flexible batch sizes from gallons to truckloads to ink makers, dealers, and commercial/package printers, with toll manufacturing and custom product development as adjunct offerings.

Product overview

Kustom Group is a formulator and manufacturer of specialty printing ink vehicles, overprints, and coatings serving the graphic arts industry. The company offers products across three main chemistries: oil-based, aqueous, and energy cure (UV/LED/H-UV). Core product lines include the Lithomaster vehicle system (flagship), Greenmaster eco-friendly vehicles, Kustom Kote aqueous coatings, Kentucky Shine press-applied overprints, and Kustom Kure UV/energy cure coatings. Products span multiple printing processes including lithography, flexo, screen, and digital. The portfolio includes waxes, additives, overprint varnishes, and specialty effect coatings. The company also provides toll manufacturing services and EU-compliant products through Umicore in Belgium.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lithomaster: Proprietary resin technology used in letback vehicles and overprint varnishes, known for consistent litho properties and high heat/shear resistance on high-speed presses.
• Greenmaster
• Midnight Black Ink Vehicle
• Tuff Stuff Plastic Line
• Kustom Kote
• Kentucky Shine
• Kustom Kure

Products and services

• Lithomaster Oil-Based Litho Vehicles Flagship oleoresinous vehicle system for sheetfed and heatset/web printing using proprietary resin technology for fast setting, high gloss, and superior lithographic properties. Sold to ink makers and dealers.
• Greenmaster Vehicle System Environmentally-focused vehicle system with 0% VOCs and 80% renewable content derived from naturally-occurring raw materials, for eco-friendly pressroom operations.
• Midnight Black Ink Vehicle High-performance ink vehicle for black inks with enhanced pigment dispersion and drying properties.
• Tuff Stuff Plastic Line Specialized vehicle line for plastic and non-porous substrates with extreme oxidative drying potential and hard dry adhesion properties.
• Oil-Based Litho Overprints Full line of sheetfed and heatset oil-based overprint varnishes including high rub, non-yellowing, matte finish, chemical and heat resistant, waterless, wax free, pearlescent, and perfecting variants.
• Oil-Based Waxes & Additives Wax compounds and additives for lithographic applications designed to enhance rub resistance, slip properties, and end-product appearance.
• Kustom Kote Aqueous Wet-Litho Coatings Water-based wet-litho coatings including high performance gloss, satin and matte products for paper and non-porous substrates, plus specialty effect coatings.
• Kentucky Shine Ink Train Water Coating Press-applied acrylic overprint applied through the last inking unit, allowing sheetfed or web heatset offset printers to produce water coating appearance without inline coating equipment.
• Digital Coatings and Overprints Overprints and coatings designed for digital printing applications, including UV coatings for toner prints, Kentucky Shine aqueous overprints, and Lithomaster oil-based overprint varnishes applied via litho press.
• Special Effects Coatings and Overprints Specialty effect coatings including Soft-Touch/Soft-Feel, Sandy, Strike-Thru, Textured, Pearlescent, and metalized pigment coatings available in multiple technologies for all printing platforms.
• Flexo Coatings UV and water coatings for flexo printing serving packaging and label markets, with controlled slide angle, rub resistance, heat, wet block, chemical resistance, and specialty effects like pearlescent and Soft-Feel.
• Kustom Kure Energy Cure Coatings and Overprints UV, H-UV, and LED curable coatings and overprints including specialty effects like Strike-Thru, Pearlescent, Sandy-Feel, Dry-Erase, and Raised UV for litho, flexo, screen and off-line coater applications.
• Energy Cure Waxes and Additives Wax products and additives for Energy Cure lithographic applications including improved slip, anti-blocking, water resistance, mar/rub resistance, and Nestle Compliant PTFE Compound.
• Kustom Kure Energy Cure Ink Vehicles Litho and flexo ink vehicles for UV, LED, and hybrid energy cure systems including grinding/flushing vehicles, free flows, gels, and photoinitiator blends.
• Screen Coatings Screen coatings including color shift, glitter, tactile (raised, rubber feel, sandy feel, soft touch), gloss, satin and matte options for specialty printed pieces.
• EU Products (Manufactured by Umicore) Products manufactured by Umicore in Belgium using Kustom formulations with EU-sourced raw materials for REACH compliance, including Conventional Sheetfed Ink Vehicles, Additives, Overprint Bases, Heatset Web Offset Overprints, and Wax Compounds.
• Toll Manufacturing Services Contract manufacturing of ink extenders, resin cuts, and powder additions for all core chemistries in varying batch sizes, including products that customers cannot produce internally.
• Custom Product Development Custom design and development of vehicles and coatings for specific customer applications, including partnerships with major brands on evolving print technologies.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• S-One Label & PackagingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 July 2020Strategic partnership formed in July 2020. S-One Label & Packaging serves as a sales contact for Kustom Group products in Canada and Western US regions (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington State, Wyoming, and Eastern US states).
• Umicore Specialty Materials BruggecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU manufacturing partner producing products using Kustom formulations with EU-sourced raw materials to ensure no REACH compliance issues. Located in Brugge, Belgium. Partnership established to serve customers within the EU requiring locally manufactured products. Individual Technical Data Sheets available for EU versions of conventional sheetfed ink vehicles, additives, overprint bases, heatset web offset overprints, and wax compounds.
• DIA VAR Chemical CompanyregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAsia Agent for Kustom Group. Located in Taipei, Taiwan. Handles distribution and sales support for Asian markets. General Manager: Mr. Wei Chen Lin.
• CMC Engineering Export GmbH - Korea BranchregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouth Korea Agent for Kustom Group. Located in Seoul, South Korea. Handles distribution and sales support for Korean markets. Contact: Mr. Hans Kim.
• S-OneLPregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSales contact for Canada and specific US regions including Western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, etc.) and Eastern states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, etc.). Part of S-One Label & Packaging partnership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wikoff Color Corporation: US-based formulator and manufacturer of printing inks, coatings, and specialty chemical products for lithographic, flexographic, and digital printing. Directly comparable to Kustom as a similarly sized, independently owned specialty ink vehicle and coatings producer serving the same customer base of ink makers and converters.
• Gans Ink & Supply Co. Privately held manufacturer of offset printing inks, overprint varnishes, and coatings for the commercial printing industry. Comparable to Kustom in scale, US-based manufacturing focus, and product range spanning vehicles, OPVs, and specialty coatings for sheetfed and heatset applications.
• Zeller+Gmelin GmbH: German-based specialty manufacturer of printing inks, varnishes, and coatings for offset, flexo, and digital printing. Comparable to Kustom in offering oil-based vehicles, UV/energy-cure coatings, and food-packaging-compliant formulations for converters.
• Braden Sutphin Ink Company: US-based manufacturer of offset printing inks and overprint varnishes serving commercial printers. Comparable to Kustom in regional scale, oil-based vehicle formulations, and customer base of converters and ink makers in the Midwest and Eastern US.

Broad incumbents

• Sun Chemical: World's largest producer of printing inks and pigments, part of DIC Corporation. Overlaps with Kustom across virtually every product category (offset vehicles, UV/LED coatings, OPVs, food-packaging inks) but at vastly greater scale and with a global direct-to-converter sales model.
• Flint Group: Global supplier of printing inks, coatings, and consumables for packaging and commercial print. Directly overlaps with Kustom's litho, flexo, and energy-cure portfolios, and competes for the same converters and ink makers, though with substantially broader geographic and product coverage.
• INX International Ink Co. Third-largest global ink manufacturer offering a full line of inks and coatings for packaging, commercial, and digital printing. Comparable product overlap in offset vehicles, UV-cure coatings, and food-packaging-compliant inks, with a much larger manufacturing footprint.
• Toyo Ink SC Holdings: Japanese-headquartered global manufacturer of printing inks, coatings, and graphic arts materials. Competes with Kustom in offset vehicles, UV/EB curable products, and packaging coatings, with strong positions in Asia-Pacific that overlap with Kustom's regional distributors.
• Sakata INX Corporation: Japanese ink manufacturer with global operations across offset, gravure, flexo, and screen inks plus UV/EB curable products. Overlaps with Kustom in offset vehicles, OPVs, and energy-cure coatings for packaging and commercial printers.
• hubergroup: German-based global ink and coatings manufacturer (parent of Hostmann-Steinberg). Offers offset inks, UV coatings, and food-packaging-compliant products directly comparable to Kustom's Lithomaster, Kustom Kure, and food-contact portfolio, with strong European presence that overlaps with Kustom's Umicore channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Kustom Group