Yes, Unigraph International Inc. is one of the largest, most respected North American manufacturers of chemicals for the printing industry. Yes, Unigraph has been a Canadian leader for the past 25 years in terms of innovation and quality.
And yes, Unigraph is committed to the development of new products that meet all current technical and environmental standards.
But it is the human side of this enormously successful family-run business that makes their story all the more fascinating, compelling and heart-warming. And it all began, simply and surprisingly, in Montreal in the mid 1920’s with a hard-working stone polisher named Wilbert Thibault.
He was a stone polisher by trade and honed his skills at Montreal Litho for 10 years. In those days, stones, not plates, were used to do printing. He likely didn’t realize it at the time, but he and his family would eventually become pioneers and key players in the evolution of the Canadian printing industry.
In 1933 Wilbert founded his own company, Commercial Litho Plate Graining Ltd. A visionary, he realized the potential for metal plates in the printing process and developed an innovative graining method which led to the development of the first aluminum-grained plates in Canada.
The shift in the 1950’s to offset printing using aluminum plates as opposed to zinc, was a major turning point in the industry, and Wilbert, along with his son Leo (CEO and Chairman of Unigraph today) who joined the company in 1951, played a key role in this transformation.
Then came another breakthrough. They devised an exclusive processing method that made the company’s wipe-on plates the most successful in North America.
New ideas were plentiful and further expansion resulted. In the early 1960’s, led by his son Leo, the company went international and signed an agreement with Harry H. Rogers of Chicago obtaining the right to manufacture the then world famous line of Rogersol pressroom chemicals in Canada. Leo also licensed Sun Chemical Corp. of New York to produce EEZY-KOTE, a line of chemicals for litho. By the late 1960’s, Leo Thibault had inked dealer agreements in more than 25 countries – an astounding feat!
Determined to continue the family tradition, Léo founded Unigraph International Inc. in 1982 and brought his sons John and Mike, and daughter Susan, into the company, making it three generations of success and innovation. His wife Ann Louise has also been instrumental in the company’s success.
“The last three generations of Thibaults have seen virtually every technological change in the printing industry,” says John Thibault, President of Unigraph. “My grandfather Wilbert brought the wipe-on plate to the Canadian market, my father Leo lived through the golden years of aluminum plates, and we’re now living in the challenging CTP age.”
Vice-President of Sales and eldest of the children, Susan Thibault is equally proud. “The passion and determination of our father and grandfather have shaped our success and made our company the success it is today,” she says.
Mike Thibault, Unigraph’s Technical Vice-President echoes those sentiments. “I’m extremely proud to be part of the Thibault family. We’ve been serving the graphic arts industry for three generations. It’s ironic and fun to meet senior press people or plant managers who’ve actually used my grandfather’s plates and chemicals,” he says.
“My grandfather and my father were instrumental in developing ground-breaking products and new technologies for the pressroom,” he adds. I’m also very proud that we’ve kept the tradition of ‘share your knowledge’ alive. My grandfather was a big supporter of the Craftsmen Club as is my father. My father has instilled in us a very strong work ethic and his knowledge of our industry is outstanding. He is 73 years young and still very active in our company.”
This year, the Thibault family is celebrating Unigraph International’s 25th Anniversary.
And every day, Unigraph customers are also celebrating in pressrooms across North America – because of Unigraph’s unique ability to solve virtually every problem related to pressroom chemistry.
Indeed, after 25 years, Unigraph has become the leader in pressroom chemistry in Canada, manufacturing top quality, environmentally friendly products and conducting ground-breaking research and development, all aimed at making work in the pressroom problem-free.
“At the beginning, we only manufactured solvents and served mostly small and medium-size printers,” says CEO and Chairman Leo Thibault. “In 1990, the marketing of the fountain solution Lithofount, and several other specialized products, marked a turnaround for our company and put us in the ‘big leagues.’ Our biggest strength has always been to be pioneers in the development of innovative products that meet the industry’s stringent standards. We possess this unique technical expertise,” he adds.
Forseeing the need for a solution free of isopropylic alcohol, the company launched the Alcofount solution a year later. In 2002, it launched its second generation of dampening solutions to meet the needs of the new CTP technology. In 2007, its research led to the development of one step Lithofount, a revolutionary fountain solution that completely eliminates the double procedure.
“Technologies are quickly evolving and the printing industry must adapt to all these changes. We’re working hand in hand with printers to develop formulas that optimize the performance of their equipment,” says Thibault.
The company’s products are manufactured in accordance with the highest quality standards of the printing industry and cover sheetfed presses, heatset web and coldset newspaper web. Products include fountain solutions, additives for fountain solutions, alcohol replacements, plate cleaners, protective gums, solvents, silicone and other specialized products.
Every product is designed to help solve common problems that occur in the pressroom such as bleeding, binding, calcium carbonate build-up, dot sharpness, ghosting, glazing, hickies, linting, misting, motting, oxidation, ph/conductivity, picking, piling, plugging, poor drying of ink, premature plate wear, scummimg, tinting, trapping – you name it!
Unigraph’s concern for the protection of the environment, and for the safety of consumers as well as pressroom employees, has also led them to develop biodegradable products in accordance with toxicity standards and VOC emissions. Unigraph International is currently an industry leader in the manufacture of ‘green’ products containing no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The company offers a wide selection of chrome and phosphate-free fountain solutions, products that are both environmentally-friendly and completely biodegradable, water-soluble solvents and numerous highly specialized formulas.
Unigraph also provides personalized consultation service to its clients by conducting hundreds of visits annually throughout the plants it services. Susan Thibault, Vice-President of Sales, insists that providing adequate support and assistance is essential.
“When customers are having problems printing a job, they need immediate support. Our 24-hour technical support allows them to solve their problems quickly and avoid downtime that could be extremely costly,” she says.
All Unigraph
products are manufactured in their own plant from premium quality, carefully selected raw materials. The plant also houses Unigraph’s Research & Development lab as well as their testing and control labs.