The trade association said the event in Rome, Italy, had been a “top opportunity for networking and learning”.
In a post on ETIRA’s website, it detailed that 26 member firms had attended the board meeting and annual statutory meeting that preceded The Recycler Live’s Focus on Europe (FOE) event. The association adopted its 2015/2016 Activity Report, “which highlights the work done by ETIRA in the past 18 months”, as well as its priorities for the year ahead.
It said that over the last year “ETIRA focused on fighting clones and OEM patents on remanufacturing” while lobbying for “remanufacturing-friendly rules on eco-design and the WEEE”. The organisation has also worked to prevent tenders excluding aftermarket cartridges, and OEMs which refuse to honour the printer warranty simply because non-OEM cartridges were used.
ETIRA will be “active on WEEE implementation at national level” for the remainder of 2015 and 2016, while supporting members being sued by OEMs for patent infringements. The board of directors “took a fresh look” at drafting a product standard and writing an updated press kit for members, and will maintain its “ongoing fight against clones”. It will also focus on eco-design issues, including the implementation of the WEEE Directive at national level and pushing for Ecolabel certified printers and green public procurement.
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The group’s report on the FOE event said that Clover’s Mark Perry’s talk on buying and selling a business was a “noticeable appearance”, as the company “have shown to be the experts” on business acquisitions. It reported on the talks on the Italian market, and that the remanufacturing industry “could benefit” from the minimum percentage legislation for government purchases that have to be remanufactured, which “will be even better” if it becomes obligatory.
It also reported on the cocktail reception and dinner on the first evening, when Horst Edelmeier of OCP and Heinz Sieg of KMP were given lifetime achievement awards. ETIRA commented that they had been “pioneers in the creation of the industry back in the 1980/1990s. They recognised the huge potential that cartridge remanufacturing could bring, and successfully built their firms from scratch to the global leading firms they are today”.
The Recycler reported on the ETIRA AGM and the other events of day one and day two of the Focus on Europe programme. A full report on the event was published in a supplement accompanying issue 272 of The Recycler.