Giovanni Ravelli and Ursula Rabitsch on ARTI-Italia

December 3, 2012

Emstar staff speak on the new Italian aftermarket association.

Giovanni Ravelli, Italy Sales Manager for Emstar and President of ARTI-Italia, and Emstar’s Ursula Rabitsch have spoken with The Recycler on the formation of ARTI-Italia, a new aftermarket association that intends to spread “the culture of remanufactured products in Italy and […] the aggregation of other entities in the same industry that share the same principles”.

With ARMOR, Embatex, Katun and KMP entering the association, and ARTI-Italia’s clear respect for the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association (ETIRA), Ravelli commented on ETIRA’s influence: “We are proud that our companies are all ETIRA members because the European Association leads us in the right way to develop our business. [Additionally], the Clones Guide is really helpful in the Italian market where the share of illegal cartridges has drastically increased in the last few years with negative effects on environmental sustainability too.”

Regardless, Rabitsch stated that “any Italian company is welcome as a member if they are in the remanufacturing business and respect the code of conduct and especially not to sell clones.”

Although ARTI-Italia houses some of the largest European aftermarket companies, Ravelli was keen to expound that Italian remanufacturers of all sizes are welcome within the association: “Our aim is to talk with the Italian companies and find a common way to fight illegal clones. I know a low of Italian recyclers who have [thoughts] on how to increase their business legally […] we can do a good job together and they can become ARTI-Italia members if they agree with our statute and the ETIRA Code of Conduct.”

Akin to the direction taken by France Cartouche Reemploi, ARTI-Italia are also going to be taking the discussion to the OEMs and, following discussions with representative from Samsung and Epson at the Big Buyer show in Bologna, Ravelli remarked: “From my point of view, there is not sufficient knowledge in the domestic market about the difference between compatible and remanufactured cartridges, between legal and illegal goods, between correctly recycled and ‘drill and fill’ cartridges.

“I see us as competitors and for that reason we can compete and protect our job from those who do not respect any intellectual property in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) where Italy is an important nation.”

Categories : World Focus

Tags : ARTI-Italia Embatex Italy