What Nitrocellulose Group does

Nitrocellulose Group (NCG) is a Thailand-headquartered, privately-held manufacturer of industrial nitrocellulose serving global customers in the printing ink, wood coating, leather finish, foil and film lacquer, cosmetics (nail varnish), paper coating, metal coating, and automotive refinish paint industries. The group is owned by Thai parent VS Chem and was formed in 2016 through the consolidation of three previously associated entities—Nitro Chemical Industry Limited (NCI, founded 1982), Nobel NC Company Limited (NNC, founded 2006 and operational from 2008), and Fibre Pack Company Limited (FBP, the in-house fibre-drum manufacturer). NCG, NCI and NNC are described as one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial nitrocellulose, with products sold to customers in more than 50 countries.

Name

Nitrocellulose Group

Legal name

Nitrocellulose Group

Website

https://nitrocellulose.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Nitrocellulose Group is a privately-held, Thailand-based manufacturer of industrial nitrocellulose in Dense Form (cuboid granules), Fibrous Form and Paste/Solution grades, selling via European sales subsidiary Nobel NC Europe Ltd and a distributor network into printing ink, wood coating, leather, foil lacquer, cosmetics and automotive refinish markets across 50+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangkok

HQ country

Thailand

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Nitrocellulose Sales: Manufacturing and selling industrial nitrocellulose in Dense Form (cuboid granules), Fibrous Form, and paste/solution form. Products sold to Printing Ink and Coating industries globally. Revenue generated through direct sales and distribution partnerships across 50+ countries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nitrocellulose Group manufactures and supplies industrial nitrocellulose in Dense Form (proprietary cuboid granules from diced wood pulp), Fibrous Form (from cotton linters), and Paste/Solution form, with nitrogen content ranging from 10.7% to 12.2% across L, M, and H grade series and multiple viscosity options. The group operates two factories in Thailand with combined capacity of 40,000 tons per annum, exporting to printing ink, wood coating, leather coating, paper coating, metal coating, foil/film lacquer, cosmetics, and automotive refinish paint manufacturers across more than 50 countries through direct sales, regional offices, agents, and distributors.

Product overview

Nitrocellulose Group (NCG) is a manufacturer of industrial nitrocellulose products offered in three primary forms: Dense Form (cuboid granules from diced wood pulp), Fibrous Form (from cotton linters), and Paste/Solution Form. The company's unique technology produces superior quality nitrocellulose with nitrogen content between 10.7% and 12.2%, sold in more than 50 countries. All products are available with choice of wetting agents: ethanol, isopropanol, or water. The portfolio includes various nitrogen grades (L Grades/Low, M Grades/Medium, H Grades/High) and viscosity options for applications in printing inks, wood coatings, leather finishes, foil and film lacquers, cosmetics (nail varnishes), and automotive refinish paints.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Nitrocellulose — Dense Form Free-flowing, virtually dust-free nitrocellulose in proprietary cuboid granule form produced from diced wood pulp using NCG's unique nitration technology, with nitrogen content from 10.7% to 12.2% across L, M, and H grades and multiple viscosity options. Sold globally to flexographic and gravure printing ink manufacturers as the product of choice in the Printing Ink Industry worldwide, with minimal solvent migration during transport and storage.
• Industrial Nitrocellulose — Fibrous Form Nitrocellulose produced from cotton linters in fibrous form, manufactured at the Samut Sakorn plant with multiple nitrogen grades (10.7%-12.2%) and viscosity options for industrial ink and coating applications. Used by formulators requiring fibrous morphology suited to wood coatings, leather finishes, and other specialty applications.
• Nitrocellulose Paste/Solution Pre-dissolved nitrocellulose supplied in paste or solution form, providing ready-to-use nitrocellulose for industrial ink and coating formulations and reducing in-house dissolving requirements for customers. Produced at the Samut Sakorn plant, available with choice of ethanol, isopropanol, or water wetting agents.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40,000 tons per annum cumulative production capacity
• +2 more outcomes

Segments8 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered former, core and supporting.

• Inabata JapanformerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Inabata Japan was a joint venture partner in Nobel NC Company Limited (NNC), established in 2006 as a joint venture between NCI, Inabata Japan and Inabata Singapore. In 2017, the Japanese partner's shareholding was acquired by the current owners, ending the partnership.
• Inabata SingaporeformerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Inabata Singapore was a joint venture partner in Nobel NC Company Limited (NNC). NCI acquired 36.75% of Inabata Singapore's shareholding in 2014, increasing Thai shareholding of NNC to 87.75%.
• Nobel NC Europe Ltd.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholly-owned subsidiary operating as the European sales and technical support centre. Manages sales across Europe including UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and serves as distribution hub. Nobel NC Europe Ltd handles direct sales for European regions and manages Nobel NC branded operations.
• Nitro Chemical Industry Ltd. (NCI)coreOthersFounded in 1982 as part of Thailand's Board of Investment promotional privilege programme. Based in Samut Sakhon with 10,000 tpa capacity. One of the group's two manufacturing facilities producing Fibrous Nitrocellulose and Nitrocellulose Paste/Solution.
• Nobel NC Company Limited (NNC)coreOthersEstablished in 2008 as joint venture. Based in Chainat with 30,000 tpa capacity. Produces Dense Nitrocellulose. Japanese partner shares were acquired in 2017.
• Fibre Pack Company Limited (FBP)supportingOthersBased in Chainat, manufactures fibre drums for the transportation of nitrocellulose. Part of the integrated group operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Dow Chemical: US-headquartered diversified chemicals major that historically manufactured industrial nitrocellulose (formerly Union Carbide). Dow is a broad incumbent competitor across multiple NC end-uses and sets pricing benchmarks globally for solvent-based coatings and ink raw materials.
• BASF: World's largest chemical company with broad coatings, dispersions, and performance chemicals portfolios. BASF does not produce industrial NC at scale but competes as a formulator's alternative chemistry supplier and sets baseline raw-material benchmarks relevant to NCG's downstream customers.
• DuPont: Diversified US specialty chemicals company with a historical nitrocellulose franchise that has been divested and reshaped multiple times. DuPont competes in adjacent specialty-coatings chemistry and represents a potential consolidator or adjacent comparable for valuation benchmarking.
• Allnex: Global supplier of coating resins and additives serving the same printing-ink, wood-coating, and industrial-coatings customers as NCG. Allnex is a broad incumbent adjacent-comparable that illuminates the customer-side value chain NCG sells into and competes with at the formulator level.

Direct peers

• Synthesia: Czech producer of nitrocellulose, pigments, resins, and adhesives headquartered in Pardubice. Synthesia competes directly with NCG in European printing-ink and industrial-coatings NC markets, with overlapping grade portfolios and customer base in flexographic and gravure inks.
• Hagedorn-NC: German specialty manufacturer focused on industrial nitrocellulose for inks, coatings, and specialty applications. Hagedorn-NC is a smaller but technically respected European competitor with overlapping product grades, particularly in alcohol-wetted NC for high-end gravure inks.
• Eurenco: French state-owned specialty chemicals group and historically the world's largest industrial nitrocellulose producer. Eurenco is NCG's most direct global competitor across printing-ink, wood-coating, and defence-grade NC grades, competing head-to-head on capacity, grade breadth, and security-of-supply contracts.

Regional players

• Nitrex Chemicals India: Indian manufacturer of industrial nitrocellulose serving domestic and select export markets in South Asia. Nitrex is a regional competitor whose cost position in cotton-linter-derived NC overlaps with NCG's Fibrous Form Samut Sakorn plant, though Nitrex has limited European footprint.
• Sichuan Nitrocell Industrial: Chinese industrial nitrocellulose manufacturer based in Sichuan province. Competes with NCG primarily in Asian markets on price, particularly in printing-ink applications, and represents the principal Asian low-cost competitive threat to NCG's regional pricing power.

Emerging players

• Atomax Chemicals: Chinese producer of industrial nitrocellulose and related cellulose derivatives. Atomax is an emerging Asian competitor scaling capacity to serve domestic Chinese coatings demand, with potential export reach into Southeast Asia where NCG has its anchor customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nitrochemical-industry

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Nitrocellulose Group