Ann Arbor, Mich. (October 7, 2004) ­­- Early last year, Flint Ink opened a news and heatset manufacturing center in Beijing, China. Now the corporation, the second largest ink manufacturer in the world, has taken initial steps toward construction of a fluid ink manufacturing company to serve the rapidly expanding Chinese package printing market. Subject to local government approval, the new company will be called Flint Ink (Guangzhou) Printing Ink Co., Ltd. A plant is to be built in Guangzhou, China, in the southern part of the country, not far from Hong Kong. In addition to manufacturing water- and solvent-based inks for the packaging market, the new plant will serve as a blending site for sheetfed inks. According to Henry Leong, president, Flint Ink Asia, the building project will be carried out in two phases. Phase 1, which includes company registration, land acquisition, and detailed engineering design work, has already begun. "The Chinese packaging market is expected to grow 10 to 12 percent in the next decade," says Leong. "This plant, together with the plant in Beijing will allow us to serve printers in all of the primary printing markets in China. In addition, Guangzhou is a strategic foothold for expanding our business into the broader Southeast Asian market."