Gardenia Química

Name

Gardenia Química

Legal name

YOUNEXA SPAIN SLU

Website

http://gardeniaquimica.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Gardenia Química is a Spain-based specialty chemical manufacturer (legal entity YOUNEXA SPAIN SLU) that develops and supplies chemical additives — including printing vehicles, glaze additives, surfactants, and binders — to ceramic tile manufacturers globally, operating as a brand within Altadia Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Onda

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ceramic Additives Sales: B2B sales of chemical additives to ceramic manufacturers. Products are tailored solutions for various stages of ceramic manufacturing including engobes, glazes, printing, and body processing. Revenue is generated through product sales with close technical support as a key differentiator.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gardenia Química develops, manufactures, and sells a comprehensive range of mineral and organic chemical additives for the ceramic industry. Its six core product lines — Rotary Printing Vehicles, Glaze Additives, Surfactants, Dry Grit Binders, Wet Grit Binders, and Body Binders — are tailored to optimise technical and aesthetic properties of ceramic products at every stage of manufacturing, including engobe and glaze preparation and large-format production up to 120x120 cm. The company provides these tailored solutions to ceramic manufacturers worldwide as part of the Altadia Group, accompanied by close personalised technical support.

Product overview

Gardenia Química, the ceramic additives brand of Altadia Group, develops and manufactures a comprehensive portfolio of chemical additives for the ceramic industry. The product portfolio includes six main categories: Rotary Printing Vehicles (for relief, flexography, and rotogravure applications), Glaze Additives (encompassing binders, thickeners, suspending agents, drying accelerators, defoamers, fluidisers, primers, super-wetting agents, and levelling agents), Surfactants (for levelling and wetting control), Dry Grit Binders (for airless application of dry grits), Wet Grit Binders (for traditional ceramic technologies with inkjet compatibility), and Body Binders (optimizing ceramic body performance and enabling large format production up to 120x120 cm). All products are designed to optimize technical and aesthetic properties of ceramic products at every stage of the manufacturing process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rotary Printing Vehicles Chemical vehicles designed for ceramic rotary printing applications including relief, flexography, and rotogravure. Adaptable to extreme temperatures, heavy application, and wide viscosity ranges, offering fast-drying options, high resistance, and cost-effective solutions for ceramic manufacturers' printing processes.
• Glaze Additives Comprehensive range of additives for ceramic glazing including binders (stabilise without altering viscosity), thickeners (create ideal textures), suspending agents (prevent sedimentation), drying accelerators, defoamers (eliminate bubbles), fluidisers, primers for inkjet ink adhesion, super-wetting agents, and levelling agents — designed to address every challenge in ceramic glazing for manufacturers.
• Surfactants Surfactants for uniform and controlled levelling in glazes and engobes applied by disc, bell, curtain coater, and airless systems. Includes defoamers to eliminate bubbles and super-wetting agents that prevent repellency between inkjet inks and glazes, ensuring flawless finish and optimal adhesion for ceramic manufacturers.
• Dry Grit Binders Wet binders for airless application that ensure optimal fixation of dry grits and granulated glazes, allowing residue-free finish after firing. Available as ready-to-use solutions or as concentrates to be diluted with water at destination, with high binding capacity and versatile dosing options for ceramic manufacturers.
• Wet Grit Binders Liquid binders for grits with excellent suspension capacity, optimal rheology, and uniform spread across traditional ceramic technologies (airless, bell-curtain, rotocolour). Available for glossy, matt, and lustre finishes suitable for coarse and fine textures, with high compatibility with inkjet technology and minimal repellency issues for ceramic manufacturers.
• Body Binders Additives for ceramic body optimisation offering an unmatched performance-to-cost ratio. Enhance safety during handling of shaped pieces, maintain quality despite variations in clay batches, and enable production of large ceramic formats up to 120x120 cm, expanding possibilities in ceramic design and manufacturing for ceramic producers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Enables production of large formats up to 120x120 cm

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Altadia GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020In 2020, Gardenia became part of Altadia, a leading group in the chemical sector. Today Gardenia is the ceramic additives brand of the Altadia Group, continuing its commitment to delivering innovative solutions for clients worldwide.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sarabia Group: Spanish manufacturer of ceramic inks, glazes, and digital decoration products. Comparable Spanish-headquartered peer with overlapping product portfolio and customer base in the ceramic tile industry.
• Esmalglass-Itaca: Sister brand within the Altadia Group, producing ceramic glazes, frits, colours, and inks. Operates in the same product categories as Gardenia and serves the same ceramic manufacturer customer base, making it the closest internal comparable.
• Torrecid Group: Spanish-headquartered global supplier of ceramic frits, glazes, colours, and digital inks for the ceramic tile industry. Direct competitor to Gardenia in ceramic process chemistry, with overlapping product categories including glazes and printing vehicles.
• Zschimmer & Schwarz: German specialty chemicals manufacturer supplying the ceramic industry among others, with a portfolio including defoamers, binders, and surfactants. Overlaps with Gardenia in industrial additives and process chemistry supplied to ceramic manufacturers.
• Smalticeram: Italian producer of ceramic glazes, frits, and digital inks serving global ceramic manufacturers. Comparable in scope of ceramic process additives and in targeting of large-format and inkjet-compatible formulations.
• Colorobbia: Italian specialty chemicals producer supplying glazes, colours, inks, and ceramic additives to tile manufacturers worldwide. Closely comparable product mix and customer base to Gardenia, with similar consultative B2B technical-sales model.
• Sicer: Italian company specialising in ceramic glazes, digital inks, and process additives. Directly comparable to Gardenia in the ceramic value chain, with similar focus on inkjet-compatible formulations and large-format tile applications.

Emerging players

• Foshan IVY Ceramic Materials: Chinese supplier of ceramic glazes, inks, and additives focused on the rapidly growing Asian tile manufacturing hub. Comparable in ceramic process chemistry and product mix but with a regional footprint centred on China rather than Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Altadia Group: Parent group of Gardenia and a leading chemical-sector platform with multiple ceramic-focused brands (including Esmalglass-Itaca). Comparable as the broader portfolio of ceramic glazes, frits, colours, and additives against which Gardenia is positioned as the dedicated additives brand.
• Ferro Corporation: Former owner of Gardenia's ceramic additives business (2018) and a much larger diversified performance materials and specialty chemicals producer. Comparable as a broad incumbent in ceramic colours and coatings, though operating at materially greater scale and product breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gardeniaquimica

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Gardenia Química