Local company dives into cartridge remanufacturing
JANESVILLE — The way Jamin Arn sees it, if Janesville does well, so do his companies.
That's why the president of the Janesville-based OfficePro started a new company that remanufactures toner cartridges for office printers.
Occupying about 5,000 square feet in the OfficePro headquarters on Parker Drive, Recycling4U has just a few employees.
But Arn believes the company's future will be driven by an economy that's spawned by a new focus on cost cutting and green initiatives.
"I've always been interested in providing jobs," Arn said. "I think the best way to do that is to create jobs that depend on money from outside the community."
Recycling4U harvests original, brand name toner cartridges. Workers take the cartridges apart and clean them and replace any parts. The cartridges are then refilled, tested and repackaged.
Ten years ago, the remanufactured cartridge market was big business, but Arn said it was nearly destroyed by shoddy suppliers. Today, about 90 percent of the toner cartridges sold are new, compared with the 10 percent that are remanufactured.
OfficePro—a supplier of office products, furniture and commercial janitorial supplies—is the young company's only customer. Eventually, Arn hopes to repackage the cartridges under his customers' labels.
While Arn started Recycling4U to supply his own business, he envisions a staff of six to 12 that are supplying independent office supply companies around the country.
"I've got more than 10 years in the office supply industry and have had a lot of success in the last couple of years," he said. "When I talk to other dealers at trade shows and other events, they respect me, plus I know what they're paying for their cartridges.
"Instead of selling to the end-users, we will sell to the dealers, and OfficePro is the anchor that allows us to do that."
To start the business, the company received $15,000 in Tax Increment Finance money from the city.
Arn also invested his own resources.
"Starting a new business, especially in this economy, is tough," he said. "Despite what some people think and say, it's not so easy to get money at the bank.
"I'm fortunate in that I can piggyback this business with the resources of OfficePro, plus have OfficePro as the first customer."
Jul 9, 2009 at 8:27 p.m.
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jarn - I'm sure you did your market research before starting the new business. People will always doubt a new idea because they didn't think of it. Kudos to you for being creative at a time when creativity is the only way this community will flourish again. Best of luck with the new venture.
Jul 9, 2009 at 8:07 p.m.
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jarn, I understand explicitly the differences between ink and toner. Most do not I understand.
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I am happy you started this business and brought some jobs to this area. I wish you the best of luck in a cutthroat I would rather buy chinese garbage culture.
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Are you specifically targeting business and office or are you also pursuing the mid level value laser printers that you find in most doctors offices, veterinarians and auto repair shops?
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If you also have the mid level machines in your sights as this is where most of the money to be made is, what is your strategy for dealing with consumables such as drum replacement, fuser assembly and transfer assembly?
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Fortune favors the bold my friend and I REALLY like to see people like you and your company succeed however the SWBA Seminars have really made me rethink my model before launching. Mainly capital borrowed and how it can quickly sink a new enterprise.
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I think your future will undoubtedly lay in diversification!
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Best Of Luck!
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Website? A little self advertising never hurt ;O)
Jul 9, 2009 at 4:56 p.m.
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regarding the nay sayers of the reman toner/ink business, there is a clear difference between ink and laser (toner)
Recycling4U is only in the laser business, the ink is more complicated and has a higher failure rate. As far as poor quality, everyone of our cartridges gets a 38 page test, which looks for several things, and believe me, if it does not pass this test, it does not go out the door. The HP and Cannons of the world do make it very difficult to reman, but it is not impossible, and with the proper training, tools, and supplies, it can be done, and done right.
I am just glad we have the chance to provide good jobs, jobs that are tied not to only one industry, jobs that will lead to more opportunities for our employees
Jul 9, 2009 at 3:04 p.m.
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The quality is not the same and why so many people have been burned in the first place.
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OEM manufacturers make it nearly impossible to refill/remanufacture for profit reasons.
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Even if it were not about profit there are still too many crappy providers of ink out there that will clot, clog or burn up printheads. There is no one solution that fits all manufacturers!
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http://www.inksupply.com/ is about the only quality ink supplier left I know off and even then their inks will clog when mixed with Canon, HP or Lexmark's proprietary formulas. I have not tested Epson yet.
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The only way you can run MIS inks sucessfully in many circumstances is to use a brand new printhead or empty oem chipped cartridge with a resetter.
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Laser printers are a whole other beast but if refilling were a novelty Walgreen's wouldn't be doing it. There is a nominal market there and they who exploits quality via word of mouth wins first.
Jul 9, 2009 at 1:39 p.m.
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@janesvillean. Are you serious? If local businesses can save even 10-20% it is wise to look at remanufactured cartridges. If done right, the quality is the same. Keep wasting your allowance because you are obviously just a kid.
Jul 9, 2009 at 9:01 a.m.
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Our company has experimented with several different re-manufactured cartridge dealers, none of them have worked as well as OEM. When you consider the time and hassle involved, we've lost more money than just buying OEM to begin with. I really hope that OfficePro can provide a better service, but it'll tough for us to convert after being burned so many times before.
Jul 8, 2009 at 5:58 p.m.
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Good luck, but recycled toner cartridges are not a big business nowadays, even though it's easier than ever to find places that will take them away for you. Mainly it's the overall drop in prices that's done them in.
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