Our story

Luminochem was founded by a group of chemical engineers with a wide range of international experience in R&D projects and industrial chemical synthesis. All three founders graduated at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and their common past began within the walls of this patinated institution. Later, they traveled the world together, and then life brought them to the same laboratory in 2007, so they could really forge up and form a well-functioning team. Seeing how smooth the joint work was going and not being satisfied with their employer at the time, they decided to keep their eyes open and start a business together as soon as there was an opportunity.

At the beginning of 2008, the opportunity arrived and thus Luminochem was established, which at it’s start performed R&D work on an order basis.

The first lab was founded on the remains of a previously bankrupt laboratory. The guys got a call that somewhere in Budapest there is an abandoned lab that has perfectly working laboratory equipments and can be bought for pennies. All they needed was a van and a few helping hands and they could build up their own fully functioning laboratory. From this point everything was set to live their dream and start to work for their own.

Initial orders included all kinds of projects: oil industry, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and high security printing industry. The company saw a market opportunity and decided to specialise in developing and manufacturing unique luminescent photoactive materials and markers, with the main focus on organic fluorescent security pigments and dyes, near infra-red absorbing materials and anti-Stokes (up-converter) pigments. The goal was to create durable pigments that are vivid and eye-catching, with exclusive colors and effects. One of the visions of the founders was that they recognized the importance of water-soluble fluorescent dyes designed for water based inkjet technology and fiber dyeing processes.

In a relatively short time, the team saw a steady growth of clients and hired more chemical engineers. Thanks to the strong educational system (education of chemical engineers began in Hungary with the academic year 1863-64. Chemical engineer’s degree has been awarded since 1907) there was a good supply of talents. The initial successes allowed the company to invest into R&D and the team quickly found its place on the market offering high performance and specialty pigments to the security industry. 

Today the company develops a wide range of innovative pigments and dyes suitable for offset, flexo, gravure, intaglio and other printing applications. In 2020 the company has inaugurated its brand new, state-of-the-art R&D and pilot plant, that allows the creation of new products and to scale production in general.

We also have a formulation plant with grinding mills designed to manufacture the finest particle size pigments. We operate strict quality control procedures and our regulatory department ensures compliance with all international regulations.

In 2020, we were honored to have won an R&D tender with our partner fund by the National Research, Development and Innovation office. In the course of the joint research and development project of Luminochem Kft. and Optimal-Optik Kft., we will create a new product safety system by jointly developing marking materials and detectors suitable for their identification.

We are now recognized front runners at the leading edge of special effects technology, setting our sights on making a significant contribution to the security industry.

The company has recently been handed over to a very talented and highly experienced team so that they can move on the path of continuous improvement that the founders embarked on in 2008. This move has now given the company a much more stable financial background, paving the way for continuous new developments and conquering new market segments.

The original management currently functions as a shareholder and advisor, so to speak, a “living lexicon” in the life of the company, as they have accumulated invaluable expertise over the years. They like to address themselves as a “catalyst” that helps the company stay on the most promising paths, target the best new directions and further represent the professionalism, the love of science and top quality work that has established the company’s reputation.

We are proud to offer our expertise, dedication and experience as part of the shared journey towards protecting society and commerce in the fight against counterfeiting crime. Customer satisfaction is a key goal at Luminochem and we invite you to discuss your needs so that we can collaborate to create tailor-made products for any specified application.