An explosion at Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical in China is causing a severe impact on the global raw material supply chain, including materials used in publication and UV printing inks.

The incident has caused the death of 80 people and injuring hundreds of others, forcing thousands of evacuations of nearby areas.

The government in China has forced shut-downs at the industrial park and others nearby, to allow for investigations and safety inspections.

Arno de Groot, vice president procurement for Flint Group Packaging comments: “Thousands of factories have already been shut down. Government investigations and safety inspections will impact the total chemical industry in China and will not be limited to the province where the catastrophic accident happened.”

The company has noted that the shortage will not affect ink supply for customers of Flint Group, but the incident has affected companies that supply materials for photoinitiators and for red and yellow pigments.

“Our hearts go out to the loved ones of those hurt or killed,” says Michael Podd, chief procurement officer of Flint Group’s CPS Inks business. “Our preferred status with our partner suppliers helps us minimise supply chain disruptions, even during unforeseen crises like this one.”

Podd continues: “Our customers can rely on us for an uninterrupted supply of inks, though these raw materials will come at a higher cost due to the supply/demand imbalance this event has caused.”

It is still unclear when the raw material facilities will reopen.

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