Lintec, a Tokyo-based manufacturer of paper and film labelstock, adhesives and release liners, has been a longtime industry leader in Japan and other Asian label and packaging markets, having been established in 1934. The company’s name Lintec derives from “linkage” and “technology,” two key components of its business philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of close relations, inside and outside the company, and leading-edge R&D programs. By bringing these two elements together, Lintec says it has developed a reputation in Japan and overseas as both a reliable and innovative supplier.

Lintec specializes in four core technologies: adhesive applications, surface improvement, system development and specialty papers/release materials production. With more than 4,000 employees at 15 manufacturing sites worldwide, annual net sales are ¥207,255 million (roughly $1.7 billion). Overseas sales account for 38.8% of Lintec’s business, a number that the company has its sights set on increasing. Lintec’s global network consists of 29 companies in 56 locations. There are established sales bases in New Delhi, Hanoi, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, as well as a delivery center in Mumbai, and the company continues to actively strengthen its overseas network.

Having enjoyed great success in the Far East for more than half a century, today Lintec has its sights set on entering label markets in Europe and beyond. At the recent FINAT European Label Forum in Amsterdam, Lintec representatives were on hand to meet with Europe’s label industry leaders as well as members of the trade media. It was here that company officials announced Lintec’s presence at the upcoming Labelexpo Europe in Brussels, September 29 – October 2. By exhibiting at Europe’s largest and most comprehensive label industry event, the company is positioning itself to now effectively enter the European label market, and beyond.

Lintec products make Labelexpo debut
Lintec develops and offers a diverse range of products. At Labelexpo, the company will feature adhesive papers and films for labels, shatter-proof window films, films for outdoor signs, interior finishing mounting sheets, automobile-use adhesive products, semiconductor-related adhesive tapes, and LCD-related adhesive films.

In addition, Lintec will be showcasing its “REPOP” series, a line of removable adhesive materials. These materials consist of a pressure sensitive adhesive that can be applied firmly to plastic containers, while leaving little adhesive residue upon removal. REPOP can be used on a variety of substrates including glass, polyester and polypropylene. It features strong adhesive power that the company says has far less tendency to peel-off while in use when compared with common removable adhesives.

The REPOP adhesive is formulated to reduce the amount of organic solvent used as diluent in the coating process. According to Lintec, it’s most suitable for Point-of-Purchase (POP) eye-catching labels and various labels for cosmetics, household and home appliance products. “For almost all of the POP labels that promote a variety of products, for example, bottle containers for cosmetics and hair care products, permanent types of adhesives are hard to remove. Therefore, difficulty in clean removal has been a problem associated with such products,” expains Kazuhiro Kusakari, general manager, Lintec Europe. “The new products are capable to meet the needs for this use, including POP eye-catching labels, and other uses such as reusing and recycling of plastic containers with labels easily removed.”

Lintec will also feature at Labelexpo newly-designed label materials that provide a substitute for PVC film-based security labels. The alternative material helps prevent re-sticking and tampering of labels whereby the “peeling-off” of a label is recognized at a glance. The technology behind these security products includes what the company describes as a “fragile” facestock that is easily torn and leaves partially torn labels behind.

“Generally, very fragile PVC film is used as a facestock on fragile types of label materials. While the fragile type is highly effective for prevention of reuse or diverted use of the label – as the facestock material is prone to breakage – it has faced a technical challenge within the diecutting process of label manufacturing. Enhanced suitability for the diecutting process has been obtained, while security features are maintained,” explains Kusakari. The label material maintains security features regardless of overlamination.

In addition, taking environmental sustainability into account, Lintec has developed label materials that are made from recycled PET bottles. Kusakari explains, “The method to which attention has been paid in recent years as the recycle method of the used PET bottles is the mechanical recycling (physical reproduction process). When compared with other recycling methods, this method does not require large-scale equipment and can generate the clean reproduction of PET resin at sufficiently high quality and at comparatively low cost.”

Lintec has developed the label materials using reproduced PET films by utilizing this renewable PET resin. The usage rate of the renewable PET resin for the surface base materials is 80% or more. “The new products released into the market help reduce the usage of petroleum resources by cyclic utilization of resources and contributes to the reduction of environmental impact,” Kusakari says. “This product satisfies the criteria of the usage rate for renewable PET resin proposed by the Japan PET Bottle Association, and we have already acquired certification from this council for this product. We will continue to concentrate on proposing and developing products that take the environment into consideration.”

The company says additional new products will be revealed at the Lintec stand in Brussels, Hall 4 4A35.

Sumio Morimoto, Lintec executive officer and general manager, Printing & Variable Information Products, comments, “Our technologies and the high level of customization that we offer have been refined by our relationships with clients. As we set out to enter the European market, it is our hope that  through the new products that we will be sharing at Labelexpo Europe, visitors to our booth and to the Expo can experience firsthand what we are about.”

For More on Lintec, check out the L&NW slideshow.

From left, Lintec Europe General Manager Kazuhiro Kusakari, Lintec Public Relations Manager Yasutoshi Abe, Lintec Executive Officer Sumio Morimoto,
L&NW Editor Steve Katz, and Lintec Section Chief Soichiro Fujinaga.