In France, at a time when 70 million printer cartridges are put on the market each year, 8 out of 10 still end up in the bin. Launched in the 1990s, the ARMOR Group's sustainable services and consumables business, ARMOR Print Solutions, has continued to grow and is now a leading player in Europe.
In a context of market restructuring with the withdrawal of certain players, this pioneer of the circular economy is betting on growth and unveiling its strategic choices and new projects, ready to seize acquisition opportunities.
Investing in the circular economy
Anchored in a true circular economy approach, the collection and production of remanufactured print cartridges, which began in the early 1990s, are at the heart of the activity of ARMOR Print Solutions, a company in the ARMOR group. Historically focused on Laser and Inkjet technologies, they have recently been extended to so-called "large format" cartridges, which optimize the use of ink, to franking machines, and in 2020 to copier consumables, the latter range having recorded +200% growth since its launch. As the only environmentally friendly alternative to original consumables, ARMOR Print Solutions is growing rapidly and has already recruited 50 new employees since the beginning of the year, in addition to the 400 already in place at its Moroccan production site. Around 100 new employees are expected to be hired in the coming months. At the same time, the buildings will be expanded by 4,500m2 by the end of the first half of the year. The European sorting site is also being expanded.
"With our collected, remanufactured and remarketed printing consumables, at the heart of the circular economy concerns, we cover 95% of the references of original manufacturer cartridges (HP, EPSON, Canon, etc.) and 98% of the references of printers on the market. To do this, we rely on a hundred years of industrial know-how in ink formulation and on a rapidly expanding community of several hundred employees in Europe and Morocco." says Gerwald van der Gijp, Managing Director of ARMOR Print Solutions. Finally, with a view to diversifying its circular economy offering, ARMOR Print Solutions is announcing that it will be consolidating its range of reconditioned printers in the coming months.
Strengthening the territorial network and networks
ARMOR Print Solutions has a very dense network of resellers and distributors in Europe, including over a thousand in France. In order to increase its European presence, ARMOR Print Solutions is also strengthening its position in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and in Northern Europe, by expanding its sales teams and investing in a 24-to-72-hour delivery logistics solution. Its management team is also being strengthened with, in particular, the forthcoming arrival of a sales manager for France, ARMOR's historic market which still has vast growth potential. In parallel, the Polish ink production plant will soon be opened to other players in the sustainable printing industry. "With this project, we plan to create a co-production and partnership unit, to form a true hub for sustainable printing." says Gerwald van der Gijp.
"ARMOR Print Solutions is now a major European player in remanufactured cartridges and responsible printing solutions. The challenge for remanufactured cartridge producers is to reach a critical size large enough to generate sustainable profitability. Many players are in fact too small to grow. Some have decided to withdraw from the European market. Coupled with the awareness of the challenges of preserving the planet's resources, we see an opportunity. With the support of the ARMOR Group, which will invest several million euros in the consolidation of ARMOR Print Solutions and the OWA brand, the ambition is to become the only solid alternative to original equipment manufacturers. Through organic growth and future external acquisitions, we aim to grow our sales of remanufactured consumables by 40% by 2023, serving our commitment to the circular economy and supporting our customers' commitment to sustainable ecology," concludes Hubert de Boisredon, Chairman and CEO of ARMOR.
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