Beijing, China (April 19, 2004) -- Flint Ink, the world’s largest privately owned printing ink manufacturer, has celebrated the official opening of a new state-of-the-art ink manufacturing facility in Beijing, China. The fully operational plant will provide Chinese news and publication printers with advanced coldset and heatset ink systems. Flint Ink Executive Vice President David Flint and Henry Leong, President, Flint Ink Asia, led the inaugural event, attended by dignitaries and customers, to unveil the facility. “As the largest newspaper printing center in China, Beijing is the ideal location for our news ink manufacturing plant,” says Flint. “In partnership with the Beijing Youth Daily, Economic Daily, Workers Daily and Army Daily newspapers, we designed a facility that provides high quality products and services tailored to the region’s needs.” Located in the Daxing Industrial Development Area of Beijing, the 23,000 square-meter facility currently produces coldset and heatset inks for the fast growing China market and is expected to export products to the surrounding Asian countries in the future. “China’s rapid population growth, increasing literacy and more internationally oriented economy are helping to drive market growth in the printing market,” says Leong. “Flint Ink Asia is positioned to deliver the most advanced products and services to support printers in the region, backed by a world leader in ink manufacture.” Despite delays due to the SARS outbreak in 2003, Flint Ink successfully completed the building of the new plant on schedule in December 2003. Plans for the new plant began in June of 2002 when Flint Ink made a significant investment in the Asian printing market through a joint venture agreement to establish Flint Ink (Beijing) Printing Ink Company Ltd. The initial two-part agreement created a joint venture between Flint Ink Corporation and Hong Kong-based Graphic-Tech. In the second part of the agreement, Flint Ink-Graphic Tech Holding Company Limited partnered with the four leading Beijing newspapers. Founded in 1920, Flint Ink offers a comprehensive range of flexographic, sheetfed, web offset, gravure, UV/EB curable, digital, and advanced and conductive inks. Operations are organized into eight segments: North America, Latin America, Asia, India/Pacific, Flint-Schmidt in Europe, Jetrion LLC (digital inks, equipment and integration), Precisia LLC (printed electronics), and CDR Pigments and Dispersions. Flint Ink operates nearly 100 facilities worldwide, employs approximately 4,600 people and has sales in excess of $1.4 billion USD worldwide.