A graceful bow-out for Proton
February 15, 2018
The French supplier of cartridge parts is officially closing their doors this year, as the company’s annual turnover becomes unsustainable.
Speaking to The Recycler, Proton’s owner, Philippe Roucou, explained that, after 18 years of supplying cartridge parts to a variety of customers and businesses across the industry, the era of Proton’s success has drawn to a close and the company is officially closing down this year.
Roucou explained that, following a successful 2011 in which Proton had amassed a substantial turnover of €1.2 million ($1.4 million), the company has since been losing up to 25 percent annual turnover each year.
“Last business year,” Roucou explained, “Proton made just €400,00 ($491,483) and this year the CEO said he expects Proton to make no more than €300,000 ($370,648). “It’s time to stop,” Roucou declared. The loss of Proton means “a difficult time” for the company’s owner, who has been at the helm of the company ever since its inception.
Roucou founded the business on 2 April 1999, several years after starting off his career in the industry working for Polypore S.A., a developer, manufacturer and distributor of printing consumables, which was launched in 1988.
After gaining experience in R&D and remanufacturing at Polypore, Roucou opted to create his own business, Proton, specialising in remanufacturing toner and inkjet cartridges and reselling plastic parts for the industry with a Hip Kiu (now Triton Precision Engineering) partnership. Initially, Polypore was a shareholder in Proton, but in 2004 the two companies cut their ties permanently, with Roucou keeping Proton’s name and roster of customers. Polypore went on to declare bankruptcy in 2016.
Roucou revealed that there were several reasons for the closure of his business, among them the disappearance of mid-size companies from the market, and a growing trend for businesses wanting to purchase their products directly from the manufacturer rather than going through a third-party supplier.
“We also lost three important customers in recent years,” Roucou explained, among them Polypore and Portuguese company Intyme, which went bankrupt in 2016. All three customers owed Proton debts of up to €30,000 ($37,064), a deficit which, Roucou noted, made it “difficult to continue.”
Now, with a persistent fall in annual turnover, Roucou is bowing out gracefully, explaining that the business will be dissolved without owing any debts.
“I can face myself in the mirror without shame,” Roucou declared. “Everyone will be paid.”
Concluding the interview with The Recycler, Roucou said he wished to point out that in order to officially close down Proton the business still needed to amass at least €60,000 ($73,722). The CEO explained that he planned to raise this sum through the distribution of Proton’s remaining stock, which has a cost value of approximately €140,000 ($172,019).
“They are good products and still have value,” Roucou explained. “I would prefer, for some items, to only charge transport costs. I will make no profit from them, I just don’t want to see them wasted.”
Following Proton’s closure, Roucou, who is the inventor of the plastic rail clips used to reassemble split cartridges and who also describes himself as the “father of conversion kits”, having come up with the idea of transforming an EP-A cartridge from Canon so that it could be used in a HP 1100 printer, is determined to keep one foot in the industry.
“I would like to become a consultant,” he explained, saying that his goal will be to help companies boost their productivity. “So I am not leaving the business entirely.”
Roucou voiced his hope that he would receive recognition for his achievements over his many years in the industry, saying, “I may not have children but I want to leave some trace, some memory of me behind.”
Categories : World Focus
