Double joy for Biuromax, as wta achieve the treble: Day Two at Paperworld 2018

January 29, 2018

At the annual Recycler Awards, there was joy for wta Carsten Weser, on a day defined by networking opportunities.

The second day of Paperworld 2018, including the Remanexpo product group, concluded last night with the annual ceremony announcing the winners of the prestigious The Recycler Awards 2018.

In a presentation hosted by Connett & Unland’s David Connett, it was wta Carsten Weser, of Suhl, Germany, who took the prize of Remanufacturer of the Year, for an unprecedented third year in a row. The company’s Business Development Manager, Lee Fowler, spoke to The Recycler after the ceremony, and said he was “very, very pleased”, calling the hattrick “a fantastic achievement.” He added that he believed the recognition was “well deserved [because] we’re one of the greenest companies in the market.” The Chinese company Speed Infotech finished as runners-up, in an extremely close contest.

Static Control Components (Europe), meanwhile, were awarded the prize for Supplier of the Year, pipping last year’s winner, Biuromax, into second place. The Polish company was not left empty-handed, however, taking home both the Marketing Campaign of the Year title, and that for Customer Service of the Year. The distributor’s Dariusz Wozniack said himself and his colleagues were “very happy, of course – all of us!”

In the Reseller of the Year category, Dutch firm Katun were the victors, with Swedish reseller Greenman Toners AB finishing in second place, whilst Spanish cartridge collector Bioservice also tasted victory, in the Collector of the Year class. The Rising Star Award was won by Laser Pros International’s Madison Ison, and Apex Microelectronics’ new-generation chip resetter, the Unismart 3, earned the Chinese manufacturer the award for Innovation of the Year. The results were the outcome of a three-month public ballot on The Recycler’s website, in which a total of more than 40,000 votes were cast.

Earlier in the day, the focus around Hall 6.0 of Messe Frankfurt was on networking, and the unique ability to Remanexpo to help companies and customers come together. Multiple companies have chosen this year’s show to enhance existing connections and meet new contacts, rather than to exhibit particular product lines, with Mito Colour Imaging one such company; Lucy Liu, Mito’s Vice President of Global Business Development, emphasised that the Chinese remanufacturer were there to “show their presence”, and explained the company’s measured, methodical approach to releasing new products.

Delacamp AG’s CEO, Volker Kappius, voiced similar sentiments, and told The Recycler that his company had again chosen to have a meeting room, rather than a booth, at what he called a “busy, professional show in a very professional location.”

The value of attending was brought home particularly to Jos Parejo, of first-time exhibitors GM Technology SL. Parejo admitted to being pleasantly shocked by the “incredible” response to the remanufacturer’s booth, stating: “We didn’t expect so many people coming to us – first time I looked at my watch, it was half past nine, and then next time it was half past one… It was really incredible.” GMT made the decision to exhibit for the first time as part of their ongoing strategy to expand worldwide, but added that they were also enjoying the personal touch afforded by being in Frankfurt in person. Although they have contacts across the world, Parejo explained, “it’s different to do it personally, instead of telephone, or email. [Customers] can touch our products. That’s the best thing of Paperworld.”

Syrena Cong, of Print-Rite, was similarly enthusiastic: “There are more new customers coming here, which is good news,” she explained, “and the customer feedback is good. They said, ‘if we just know your company from the magazine, or from the poster, it’s not enough.’ Because you can see our products here, you can touch it, you can feel it, you can know the key points of the innovation.”

“In our industry, this is the best way to meet people,” agreed Biuromax’s Michal Lewandowski, who said he recognised several faces from the pages of The Recycler before meeting them at Paperworld. “We believe in direct meetings”, he added, calling such face-to-face communication so important as to be “company policy.”

Another precious opportunity to network within the hall was afforded by The Recycler Live Frankfurt Seminars, which yesterday saw talks from David Connett, on remanufacturing as a 21st-century solution; Printer Aide’s Corp Roger Teng, on the risk posed by laser printed emitted particles; Ecostar’s Eleni Chrysagi, on best practise in cartridge remanufacturing; PrinCity’s Maciej Sianos and Krzysztof Serwatka, and later Nubeprint’s Antonio Sanchez, on the opportunities of MPS, and a very well-received digital marketing Q&A with Zoltan Matyas.

Today in the Seminar Theatre, Andrew Carroll of Keypoint Intelligence will discuss HP’s drive for growth at 11am, followed by Matyas again, speaking on inbound and content marketing, before WEEELogic’s Romain Letenneur discusses the challenges of WEEE compliance, and Mark Dawson suggests how to create new revenue streams for channel resellers. There will be another chance to hear Antonio Sanchez’s talk on MPS, at 3pm, before Actionable Intelligence’s Charlie Brewer delivers a seminar on the imaging market in 2018.

To see the full schedule for the rest of Paperworld 2018, click here, or pick up a copy of The Recycler Issue 302 from Booth D39 in Frankfurt.

 

 

Categories : World Focus

Tags : Frankfurt Paperworld Paperworld 2018 Remanexpo The Recycler Awards