The Recycler Issue 316

WORLD FOCUS
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EUROPE Armor, Business, Certifications
Positive updates from ARMOR
The French-headquartered company began 2019 in grand style with the announcement of a renewed certification and new
African subsidiaries.
As Labels and Labeling reveals, Armor has
opened a new subsidiary in a Kenya and
another in the Ivory Coast, noting that “six
of the 10 fastest growing countries in 2018
were in Africa.” Ivory Coast was ranked
fourth on this list.
The opening of these two new
subsidiaries follow the unveiling of a
Moroccan “industrial site” and a thermal
transfer ribbon plant in South Africa,
opened in 2013.
The new facility located in Nairobi,
Kenya, “has been established to grow the
market for thermal transfer printing of
barcode labels”, with Armor stating that
this “new presence in Kenya” will help the
company to leverage “the region’s
industrial dynamism”.
“This market proximity enables us to be
highly responsive and flexible in order to
develop customer service of the highest
quality,” the company explained.
Andrew Fosbrook, Managing Director at
Armor Africa, continued, “We have been
able to successfully penetrate the South
African market with our standards of high
quality. So we are now launching Armor
East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, in an
extremely dynamic region of the
continent.”
As for the Ivory Coast, Armor’s new
foothold in this part of Africa “marks the
beginning of a new deployment phase for
sustainable organic photovoltaic options in
Africa”. West Africa has been highlighted
as a strong area of “potential growth” for
the company.
“We are seeking to identify projects that
meet real needs by joining forces with local
private and/or public sector partners,’
stated Adrien Ranchon, Business
Development, Armor ASCA Africa.
In other news, the OWA ARMOR brand
of Armor, specialising in office printing
solutions, has revealed that its
QUALICERT certification has been
renewed.
The company explained that at the end
of December 2018, during the renewal
audit, Armor Office Printing’s OWA range
of laser cartridges was once again certified
for another three years in accordance with
the Qualicert standard for the following
sector: Collection, sorting and recovery of
empty laser printer cartridges - production
and distribution of remanufactured laser
printer cartridges.
At least 36 aspects of the production
process and services are certified in
conformity with this standard. The OWA
sector is, as a result, the first and only one
to be certified under this standard which is
awarded by SGS, the global leader in
inspection, checking, analysis and
certification.
As Armor explains, the Qualicert
standard for the collection, sorting and
recovery of empty laser printer cartridges -
production and distribution of
remanufactured laser printer cartridges
sector covers the environment, safety, the
quality of products and includes 2 types
of services: - Services which are valued
by consumers: the collection, sorting of
cartridges, dismantling of materials for
recycling, customer service and the
provision of a materials audit. - Services
which guarantee the quality of
remanufactured cartridges: organisational
quality, quality checks, and staff training.
The standard therefore serves as a set
of technical specifications for any
organisation that wishes to have an ethical
recycling process for laser printer
cartridges.
“The renewal of the certification is strong
evidence of Armor Office Printing’s
continuing wish to extend its
commitments to providing quality services
to its users and to recycle 100% of the
cartridges collected,” states Gerwald van
der Gijp, Director of Armor Office Printing.
At least 36 aspects of the production
process and Armor Office Printing services
(distribution, collection, sorting, recovery,
reconditioning and production) are
certified by this standard.
Since the launch of its OWA range of
eco-friendly cartridges in 2015, Armor
Office Printing says it has adopted a
dedicated approach to the circular
economy. This approach, adds the
company, stems from Armor Office
Printing’s ambition to achieve real and
lasting transparency in its commitments
thanks to certification by a third party.
Olivier Trifault, in charge of the audit at
SGS, particularly notes “the availability,
competence and involvement of the staff in
the quality process, the real presence of a
culture of safety, quality and responsibility
towards the environment among the
Armor Office Printing teams. The services
implemented in recent years, like the
Armor Connect portal for partners, or the
collection portal, allow for better tracking,
greater autonomy and better customer
service.”
In general terms, the following were also
noted: a collection service that is in tune
with its market, efficient management of
stock and special congratulations to the
ESATCO Atlantique for the effectiveness of
their monitoring. Armor has been working
with the ESATCO Atlantique for several
years to package OWA laser cartridges as
well as to strengthen collection boxes.
8 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 316 • MARCH 2019