The Italian toner cartridge remanufacturer started in the industry in 1993.
Sapi s.r.l. has celebrated 20 years in the remanufacturing industry this month, having begun production in September 1993. Since then, the company says it has “always evolved and improved […] with a constant commitment to research and a careful eye on the evolution of technologies”. The company added that it is now “among the top ten producers of remanufactured cartridges in Europe”, and has “not only distinguished itself from others due to its quality, but also managed over the years to reach the upper steps of the market”.
Sapi is located in Lombardy in Italy, near Milan, and is “guided by a management team with many years of experience in multinational companies”, with its Italian style a “symbol of pride favouring local labour and producing everything in-house”, despite the “great difficulties” of the aftermarket. The “conscious choice” of the owners for a “healthy, comfortable and rewarding environment” has seen the company grow from a small office and three staff to a 5,000 square metre production facility, warehouse and offices with over 40 employees.
In terms of remanufacturing, Sapi noted that it has a “small but important role” in the “reverse chain” leading from cartridge collection to selling remanufactured cartridges, noting that it is “aware of the importance of adopting a responsible behaviour respecting the environment”, and that from 1993 onwards it has “set itself the goal of developing a productive activity aimed at achieving economic results, in full respect of environmental protection and consumer satisfaction”.
On an environmental basis, Sapi aims to provide consumers with the possibility of “using products with low environmental impact but high quality and less cost” than the OEM, and is aware of its “prominent role in the waste disposal processes of our society”. Aiming to reduce “the quantities of waste to be disposed of”, Sapi has “maximis[ed] production” and increased “the amount of recovered materials”, in turn “contributing to the preservation of natural resources”, with over 3,000 truckloads of waste material reused a year.
In looking to the future, the remanufacturer started its subsidiary company, Sapi Service, in 2009, which operates in MPS and designs its own software, “integrating maintenance [and] reuse of printers”.