Marabu

What Marabu does

Marabu GmbH & Co. KG is a German specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1859 and headquartered in Tamm, Baden-Württemberg. The company operates two distinct business divisions: Marabu Druckfarben, which produces screen printing, digital printing, and pad printing inks as well as liquid coatings for industrial and graphic applications, and Marabu Kreativfarben, which supplies creative colors, stencils, stamps, and accessories for the hobby, art, and school end-market. Its technology portfolio centers on proprietary UV-curing, LED-curing, and water-based ink systems, with over 90% of creative color systems already water-based and stated R&D direction toward formulations derived from renewable raw materials.

Marabu generates revenue through direct sale of specialty inks and creative products, distributed primarily through 15 wholly-owned subsidiaries and exclusive distribution partners serving more than 80 countries. The company operates production facilities in Germany, the USA, and Paraguay, with annual production capacity exceeding 3,000 tonnes and an export share above 80% of sales. The industrial division serves printing and OEM customers requiring qualified, high-performance ink systems, while the creative division addresses consumer and hobbyist channels with easy-to-use products under the "Gelinggarantie" (guaranteed success) positioning.

Marabu is a family-owned limited partnership (GmbH & Co. KG) with no external institutional investors, listed parent, or venture funding. It is led by sole managing director York Boeder and has accumulated 165 years of operating history, a portfolio of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 certifications, FSC Chain-of-Custody certification, Sony Green Partner status, and repeated SGIA Sustainability Recognition Awards. The "Project Green" initiative coordinates climate, energy, raw material, packaging, and waste management efforts across the group, supporting the company's positioning as a sustainability-forward specialty ink supplier.

Name

Marabu

Legal name

Marabu GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://marabu.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1859

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Marabu is a German specialty inks manufacturer founded in 1859 that produces screen, digital, and pad printing inks plus creative colors for hobby and art use, distributed through 15 subsidiaries and partners in 80+ countries with production in Germany, the USA, and Paraguay.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Printing Inks

NAICS

Printing Ink Manufacturing (325910)

SIC

Commercial Printing (2750), Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAMAL

Custom Printing & Decoration Services (Screen Print, Embroidery, Laser)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Promotional Products & Sales Promotion Services

Keywords

• Screen printing inks
• Digital printing inks
• Pad printing inks
• Creative art supplies
• Liquid coatings

Headquarters

HQ city

Tamm

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Printing Inks: Sale of screen printing inks, digital printing inks, and pad printing inks as well as liquid coatings for industrial and graphic applications. Revenue from two business divisions: Printing Inks (industrial) and Creative Colours (hobby/art/school). Export accounts for 80% of sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Marabu is a German manufacturer that produces screen printing, digital printing, and pad printing inks along with liquid coatings for industrial and graphic applications, and supplies creative colors, stencils, stamps, and accessories for hobby, art, and school use. The company runs two divisions — Marabu Druckfarben (printing inks) and Marabu Kreativfarben (creative colours) — and distributes through 15 subsidiaries and exclusive partners in more than 80 countries.

Product overview

Marabu is a German manufacturer of specialty printing inks and creative colors with over 165 years of history since 1859. The company operates two distinct divisions: Marabu Druckfarben (Printing Inks) offers screen, digital, and pad printing inks plus liquid coatings for industrial and graphic applications, while Marabu Kreativfarben (Creative Colours) provides hobby, art, and school products including colors, stencils, stamps, and accessories. The company has 14 subsidiaries and distribution partners serving over 80 countries, with production facilities in Germany, USA, and Paraguay.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Marabu Druckfarben: World-leading manufacturer of screen, digital, and pad printing inks as well as liquid coatings
• Marabu Kreativfarben
• Project Green

Products and services

• Marabu Druckfarben (Printing Inks) Marabu Druckfarben is the company's screen, digital, and pad printing inks division, offering specialty inks and liquid coatings with unique properties for a wide range of graphical and industrial printing applications. It serves industrial and graphic-arts printers worldwide and includes UV-curing, LED-curing, and water-based ink systems.
• Marabu Kreativfarben (Creative Colours) Marabu Kreativfarben provides a comprehensive range of creative colours, stencils, stamps, and matching accessories designed for hobbyists, artists, and school use, with products engineered to be easy to apply and deliver guaranteed creative success.

Quantifiable outcome

• Since 2007, all energy needs met by green electricity from hydropower, eliminating nearly 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per year — equivalent to the annual CO2 footprint of 175 German citizens.
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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.

• Marabu Subsidiaries (Global)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarabu operates 15 subsidiaries worldwide (including Brasil, Mexico, China, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, USA) that serve as the primary distribution and sales network. These subsidiaries handle local sales, distribution, and customer service for Marabu's printing inks and creative colours products.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DIC Corporation: DIC Corporation is the Japanese parent of Sun Chemical and a global specialty chemicals and printing ink major; it operates at much larger scale but its Sun Chemical subsidiary directly competes head-to-head with Marabu.
• HP Inc. HP is a global incumbent in digital printing presses and supplies, including HP-branded inks for industrial and graphic digital printing, representing both a customer-adjacent channel and a competitive force for Marabu's digital ink portfolio.
• Faber-Castell: Faber-Castell is a global heritage manufacturer of art and creative supplies, overlapping with Marabu Kreativfarben in hobby, art, and school colour and craft products but operating at much larger consumer-brand scale.

Direct peers

• Nazdar Ink Technologies: Nazdar is a US-based specialty manufacturer of screen printing, digital, and UV inks for industrial applications, a niche but direct competitor to Marabu in industrial screen and digital inks.
• Sun Chemical: Sun Chemical is the world's largest producer of printing inks and a subsidiary of DIC Corporation, directly competing with Marabu Druckfarben across screen, digital, and pad printing inks for industrial and graphic applications.
• Sakata INX: Sakata INX is a Japanese manufacturer of offset, gravure, screen, and digital printing inks with global operations, competing directly with Marabu in industrial and graphic screen/digital printing inks.
• Toyo Ink (Toyo Ink SC Holdings): Toyo Ink is a major Japanese producer of printing inks, pigments, and polymer materials serving packaging, commercial, and industrial print markets, comparable in scope to Marabu's industrial inks portfolio.
• Flint Group: Flint Group is a global supplier of inks, coatings, and printing consumables serving the packaging and commercial print markets, making it a direct peer to Marabu's industrial printing inks division.
• Siegwerk Druckfarben: Siegwerk is a German-headquartered, family-owned manufacturer of printing inks for packaging and graphic applications, a very close geographic and product peer to Marabu Druckfarben.
• Royal Talens (ColArt): Royal Talens is a Dutch manufacturer of artist paints and creative supplies, directly comparable to Marabu Kreativfarben in the hobby, art, and school creative colours segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MarabuGermany
• Facebookfacebook.com/marabuchannel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marabu-gmbh-&-co-kg
• Pinterestpinterest.com/MarabuChannel

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries15 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 Marabu