HiSiaddi is an innovative foreign trade service provider driven by both technology transformation and export business. We have established a service system formulated as "1+2+3+4=1" and can supply genuine raw materials of Photoinitiator 1173 from multiple well-known brand manufacturers. As a technology R&D-oriented foreign trade enterprise, HiSiaddi has collaborated with factories on technology conversion and accurately captured market demands on numerous occasions, successfully resolving customized product requirements for Photoinitiator 1173. Below is a case detailing how HiSiaddi fulfilled customized development demands for Photoinitiator 1173.
For more customized service support, please contact HiSiaddi customer service.
Purchaser: SWISSCOAT AG, a listed high-end UV coating group headquartered in Switzerland with 32 years of R&D and production experience in food-contact cardstock UV overprint varnish, infant food packaging ink and pharmaceutical aluminum foil varnish. Its products are supplied to full-range packaging lines of Nestlé, Tetra Pak and local Swiss organic food brands, complying with Swiss BfR food contact regulations, EU Regulation 10/2011, REACH and SGS migration limit standards. The client previously purchased Omnirad 1173 (formerly BASF) produced by IGM as its regular Photoinitiator 1173, with an annual regular procurement volume of 135 tons.
Due to a 32% price hike from European manufacturers, extended production lead times of up to 60 days at overseas plants and fluctuations in European chemical raw material supply chains, the client initiated localized substitution of domestically produced 1173. Standard domestically produced 1173 compliant with national general standards failed to meet three rigid customized requirements for food packaging materials: ultra-low residue, low odor and minimal small-molecule migration. The client independently contacted two leading domestic 1173 manufacturers, Jiu Ri New Materials and Qiangli New Materials, yet their standardized mass production lines only supplied general national-standard grades and refused to launch dedicated production lines for customized formula optimization and rectification process upgrades, putting the customized project on hold. The client therefore entrusted HiSiaddi to fully deliver end-to-end customized development covering lab trials, pilot tests and mass production.
Image: Stock Solution of Photoinitiator 1173
General industrial-grade 1173 under national standard specifications: purity ≥99.0%, color ≤50 APHA, trace benzene impurities ≤20 ppm, only applicable to common UV coatings for wood and plastic substrates. The client’s customized food-grade 1173 adheres to stringent tailored parameters as follows:
1. Customized purity ≥99.92%, single impurities (acetophenone, cumyl alcohol and other by-products) ≤3 ppm each, total organic impurities ≤8 ppm (general national-standard products commonly contain 15–30 ppm impurities, which fail EU food migration testing);
2. Ultra-low migration customization: After being incorporated into UV overprint varnish and cured, the migration volume of 1173 monomer into food simulants is less than 0.01 mg/kg, meeting Swiss BfR food contact limits. Migration of ordinary domestic 1173 generally ranges from 0.08 to 0.15 mg/kg, failing market access thresholds;
3. Low-odor customization: Deep rectification to remove light fractions eliminates volatile small-molecule odors from raw materials, suitable for production in enclosed food packaging workshops with no odor precipitation from cured coating films. Custom exclusive packaging is required: 25 kg light-shielded inner-coated PE iron drums with vacuum nitrogen-sealed packaging (ordinary plastic drums are used for standard commercial products);
4. Additional supporting documents: English COA, BfR statement of compliance and migration test reports recognized by EU third-party laboratories to be delivered with each batch.
After contacting two leading domestic manufacturers, the client learned that standardized production lines are designed for large-volume mass production. Modifying rectification processes, adding light-component removal rectification towers and revamping filling lines would significantly increase production costs, so manufacturer sales teams prioritized existing off-the-shelf national-standard products and declined to launch dedicated customized production lines. Three rounds of small-scale trials with client samples all exceeded impurity and migration limits, halting the localization project.
HiSiaddi formed a special project team in collaboration with Qiangli New Materials’ customized R&D workshop, EU notarized third-party testing laboratories and customized packaging manufacturers, covering four core modules: formula optimization, production process modification, customized filling and regulatory document support.
1. HiSiaddi coordinated the factory to deploy a dedicated high-purity fine rectification production line (separate from general mass production lines), adjusted segmented temperature control parameters for rectification and added two stages of negative-pressure light-component removal rectification to eliminate low-boiling volatile small molecules and benzene-based by-products;
2. Strictly controlled the purity of starting monomer raw materials by screening high-purity feedstocks to curb by-product generation at the source. 5 kg customized trial samples were produced and simultaneously sent to EU SGS laboratories for full-spectrum impurity testing and food migration dual testing;
3. Test results of trial samples: purity 99.93%, maximum single impurity 2.2 ppm, migration 0.007 mg/kg – all indices met the client’s customized specifications.
1. Replicated the production process in the factory’s pilot workshop based on rectification parameters from lab trials, fixing heating rates, vacuum negative pressure and distillate cut-off ranges to avoid batch-to-batch fluctuations in product indices;
2. HiSiaddi coordinated packaging manufacturers to develop custom food-grade inner-coated iron drums with vacuum nitrogen sealing to prevent product discoloration from oxidation and secondary impurity generation during storage and transportation;
3. 200 kg pilot products were air-shipped to the client’s R&D laboratory in Switzerland. The client incorporated the material into its proprietary food varnish formula for simulated production line curing tests: curing speed matched the original imported IGM material, no yellowing of coating films, zero odor, and migration retesting after water boiling immersion passed all standards.
1. After client validation of pilot batches, HiSiaddi signed a dedicated customized capacity locking agreement with the factory, reserving one full fine rectification production line for fixed monthly output of this customized grade 1173 to avoid cross-contamination from co-production with general industrial-grade products;
2. Launched an exclusive custom grade code: PI-1173-FOOD (Food Custom Grade), differentiated from the factory’s commercially available general industrial grade TR-1173, with independent production filing and control protocols.
1. Trial order fulfillment: First customized mass production batch of 30 tons shipped in two consignments from Shanghai Port to Zurich, Switzerland. The client fully replaced its production line with the material, and finished products successfully passed Swiss food drug administration filing and entered Nestlé’s food packaging supply chain;
2. Annual framework contract signed: Full performance of the material matched imported BASF raw materials in all dimensions, and the client finalized an annual procurement framework for 132 tons of customized 1173, shipped evenly in 12 monthly batches. Compared with imported IGM raw materials, the client’s overall procurement cost decreased by 27.5%, and sea freight delivery lead time was shortened from 60 days to 22–28 days;
3. Long-term customized cooperation: The client later entrusted HiSiaddi with localized customized development of low-migration TPO and 184 photoinitiators for its new infant complementary food packaging products, establishing long-term exclusive customized procurement partnership.
1. Industry Pain Point: Major domestic photoinitiator manufacturers prioritize mass production of general national-standard industrial grades. Modifying standardized production lines or launching dedicated customized lines incurs high input costs, giving manufacturers little incentive to adjust processes or develop exclusive grades for individual high-end overseas clients. It is difficult for high-end food-grade 1173 customized demand to be directly fulfilled by manufacturers;
2. Core Value of HiSiaddi: Leveraging upstream factory resources to coordinate dedicated production line modification, process customization, bespoke packaging and regulatory document support, bridging the gap between clients’ customized demands and manufacturers’ flexible production to realize mass production of non-standard high-end grades;
3. Procurement Logic of High-end Clients: For food packaging manufacturers, customized ultra-low impurity and low-migration specifications take priority over unit price and delivery speed. Customized products with minimal impurities and migration are core prerequisites for localized procurement.
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