What Ceac does

CEAC AG is a privately held Swiss specialty chemicals and software company, founded in 1999 in Birsfelden after five years of operation inside a large Swiss chemical group. The company designs, produces, and sells Advanced Tinting Systems for paint manufacturers, paint retailers, and industrial paint producers worldwide, combining its proprietary pigment pastes and colorants with in-house software to dispense and manage colour recipes at the point of sale or in-plant.

The product portfolio is structured around four interlocking layers. At the software layer, CEAC's BCO PRO and BCO PRO 2 platforms — now in their fourth generation, developed entirely in-house and available in more than 30 languages — control shade libraries, drive all major classes of tinting machine (manual, semi-automatic, automatic), manage production and sales statistics, and connect to third-party spectrophotometers and colorimeters. At the colorant layer, the company sells five dedicated ranges: Versacol HP (high-performance, for volumetric or gravimetric dosing), Versacol DC (universal POS), Versacol TM (universal tinting-machine), Versacol ED (in-plant waterborne), and IC Colours (industrial solvent). A marketing and specification layer is provided by the Harmony family of colour fan decks (Façade 830, Synthesis 1030, Façade 200, Deco&Wood 1000, Eco 260), each tuned to a different end-application. The stack is completed by distribution of partner-branded tinting equipment (Fast&Fluid, i352, UNICA-Intera, DROMONT) and CEAC's own Colorcatch Nano portable colorimeter.

CEAC monetizes the system through a mix of colorant and equipment hardware sales, software licensing (BCO PRO / BCO PRO 2), one-time sales of colour fan decks, and technical services that include customer color laboratory work, color matching, formulation transfer, and tailor-made tinting system development. Distribution combines direct technical sales by incorporated, technically trained representatives with affiliated companies and local branches operating in more than 40 countries on 4 continents. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified at headquarters (valid December 2021–December 2024) and counts 51–100 employees, with management continuity into a second generation from the original Swiss chemical group. No external funding, public listing, or AI/ML capability disclosures are present in the source material.

Name

Ceac

Legal name

CEAC AG

Website

https://ceac-colours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CEAC AG is a Swiss specialty chemicals and software company (founded 1999, Birsfelden) that sells Advanced Tinting Systems — proprietary pigment pastes, BCO PRO software, colour fan decks, and partner-integrated tinting equipment — to paint manufacturers, retailers, and industrial paint producers across 40+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Paint Colorants & Tinting Systems

NAICS

Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Color Matching, Tinting & Colorant Systems (IMAEAHAL)

Keywords

• Tinting systems
• Pigment pastes
• Paint colorants
• Color matching software
• Dispensing equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Birsfelden

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tinting Pastes/Colorants Sales: Production and sale of new generation tinting pastes for In Plant Tinting and Point Of Sales applications across Universal, Facade, Wood, Water-based, and Industrial colorant ranges
2. Software Licenses (BCO PRO & BCO PRO 2): Proprietary software licensing for manual and automatic dispensers, laboratory and R&D applications, commercial applications, and In Plant Tinting. Software supports multiple languages and integrates with tinting machines.
3. Colour Fan Decks: Development and sale of colour fan decks to promote adequate paint characteristics. Colour cards combined with right choice of colorants serve as essential marketing tools.
4. Tinting Equipment Distribution: Distribution of manual, semi-automatic, and automatic tinting machines as well as mixers in cooperation with leading global producers. All machines driven with BCO Pro software.
5. Measuring Apparatus: Colorimeters and spectrophotometers including Colorcatch Nano, connected to BCO Pro software. Partnership with leading producers of measuring equipment.
6. Technical Services: Technical study on customer's paints, color matching, and build-up colour databases. Cost and quality analysis. Tailor-made and customized tinting system development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ceac AG produces pigment pastes (colorants) for In-Plant Tinting and Point-of-Sale applications and combines them with its proprietary BCO PRO tinting software package to deliver turn-key Advanced Tinting Systems for the paint and coatings industry. The company supplies Versacol and IC Colours colorant ranges, integrated software, partner-supplied tinting machines and mixers, colorimeters/spectrophotometers, and technical services including colour matching and database build-up for paint manufacturers, paint retailers and industrial paint producers.

Product overview

Ceac AG offers Advanced Tinting Systems as an integrated portfolio combining proprietary software with specialized colorants and colour cards. The core offering consists of BCO PRO and BCO PRO 2 software (now in 4th generation) that drives tinting machines and manages colour databases for Point of Sale and In Plant Tinting applications. Supporting the software are five ranges of Versacol pigment paste colorants (HP, DC, TM, ED) plus IC Colours for industrial applications, and five Harmony colour card fan decks (Façade 830, Synthesis 1030, Façade 200, Deco&Wood 1000, Eco 260) designed for different market segments. The ecosystem is completed by tinting equipment (machines and mixers from partners) and measuring apparatus including spectrophotometers, all integrated through the BCO Pro platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Versacol® HP: High Performance colorants system for point of sale tinting.
• Versacol® DC
• Versacol® TM
• Versacol® ED
• IC Colours
• BCO PRO
• BCO PRO 2
• Colorcatch Nano

Products and services

• BCO PRO Software User-friendly, customisable tinting software that controls and updates shade libraries, drives manual, semi-automatic and automatic tinting machines, and manages production and sales statistics. Sold to paint manufacturers, paint retailers and industrial paint producers for Point-of-Sale and In-Plant Tinting use.
• BCO PRO 2 Software Enhanced Windows-compatible tinting software with multi-window full-screen design, fast search across multiple databases, and an optional Formulation & Transfer module for customers with spectro and formulation software. Aimed at the same paint and coatings customers as BCO PRO.
• Versacol HP Colorants High Performance pigment paste system for use with volumetric or gravimetric dosing systems in Point-of-Sale and In-Plant Tinting applications. Targeted at paint manufacturers requiring premium colorant performance.
• Versacol DC Colorants Universal Point-of-Sale colorants system built on standardized white and clear bases, designed for retail paint store tinting with ease of use.
• Versacol TM Colorants Universal Tinting Machine Colorants designed to work inside automated dispensing equipment at Point-of-Sale or In-Plant Tinting locations.
• Versacol ED Colorants Waterborne In-Plant-Tinting colorants system designed for paint manufacturing facilities using automated dosing systems.
• IC Colours Universal industrial solvent-based colorants system for industrial coating applications requiring solvent-based pigments, sold to industrial paint producers.
• Tinting Equipment Range of manual, semi-automatic and automatic tinting machines plus mixers sourced from leading global producers and integrated with BCO PRO software, sold to paint manufacturers and paint retailers.
• Measuring Apparatus Colorimeters and spectrophotometers, including the Colorcatch Nano portable colorimeter, supplied in partnership with leading measuring equipment producers and fully integrated with BCO PRO software.
• Harmony Colour Card Fan Decks Colour fan decks and shade libraries (Harmony Façade 830, Harmony Façade 200, Harmony Synthesis 1030, Harmony Deco&Wood 1000, Harmony Eco 260) developed and sold to support paint manufacturers' marketing of tinted coatings across facade, decorative, wood and eco product ranges.
• Technical Services & Customer Colour Laboratory Technical study, colour matching, custom colour database build-up, cost and quality analysis, and development of tailor-made tinting systems delivered through CEAC's customer colour laboratory and technical sales service to paint manufacturers and industrial paint producers.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fast&FluidcoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal partner for tinting systems supplying manual, semi-automatic, and automatic tinting machines as well as mixers. Products include HA450, Blendorama Series, Giotto, Galileo, and Hercules Digital. All machines are driven with CEAC BCO Pro software for optimum efficiency.
• i50 / i352 / i250C (Global Partner)coreTechnology or IntegrationTinting machines from global producer integrated with CEAC BCO Pro software for guaranteed optimum efficiency.
• UNICA – InteracoreTechnology or IntegrationFull automatic tinting machine partner integrated with CEAC BCO Pro software.
• Leading Measuring Equipment ProducerscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with leading producers of measuring equipment (colorimeters and spectrophotometers) to fulfil specific customer needs. CEAC BCO Pro software can be connected to spectrophotocolorimeters or colorimeters.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AkzoNobel: AkzoNobel is one of the largest decorative and industrial coatings producers globally, with proprietary tinting systems (e.g., Dulux, Sikkens). It competes for the same paint manufacturer and POS customers that CEAC serves.
• Lanxess: Lanxess produces inorganic pigments and specialty chemicals for coatings, plastics, and printing inks. Its pigments and colorant intermediates compete with CEAC's offerings to paint manufacturers.
• PPG Industries: PPG is a major global paints and coatings manufacturer with internal colorant/tinting capabilities that supply its own architectural and industrial paint lines, putting it in competition with CEAC's customer base.
• Sun Chemical (DIC Corporation): Sun Chemical is one of the world's largest pigment producers and supplies colorants across inks, coatings, and plastics. It overlaps with CEAC in supplying pigment-based color systems to the paints and coatings value chain.
• BASF Coatings: BASF is a global chemicals giant with a sizable pigments and coatings additives portfolio. It competes with CEAC in supplying raw materials, colorants, and formulation support to paint manufacturers.

Direct peers

• Chromaflo Technologies: Chromaflo is a global supplier of colorants and pigment dispersions for paints and coatings, with its own tinting systems. It directly competes with CEAC's Versacol ranges in industrial and architectural colorant markets.
• Vibrantz Technologies: Vibrantz (formerly Ferro) supplies color solutions and pigment preparations to the coatings industry. Its colorant systems compete with CEAC's offering to paint manufacturers and POS tinting customers.
• DyStar: DyStar manufactures dyes and pigment preparations for multiple industries including paints and coatings. Its pigment preparation activities overlap with CEAC's colorant manufacturing and supply.
• Heubach Group (formerly Clariant Pigments): Heubach produces high-performance pigments and pigment preparations used in paints, plastics, and inks. Its pigment preparation portfolio competes directly with CEAC's Versacol and IC Colours colorant lines.

Emerging players

• Lovibond (Tintometer Group): Tintometer manufactures color measurement instruments including portable colorimeters and spectrophotometers for liquid and surface color analysis. It competes with CEAC's Colorcatch Nano and integrates with similar software workflows used by CEAC's paint customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Ceac