ACTIVITY REPORT 2013

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION

2002

2012

ETIRA

European Toner & Inkjet Remanufacturers Association aisbl/ivzw

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CONTENTS

Page

Word from the President 3 General market developments 4 Legal issues 6

Promoting quality remanufacturing 8 Environment 9 Networking 10 Public relations 12 ETIRA Bodies 13

ETIRA is the trade association for the European cartridge remanufacturing industry. ETIRA speaks on behalf of

the thousands of large and small companies across Europe that provide an equal quality, yet more environment-friendly and cost-effective alternative to the regular OEM product. Visit www.etira.org for more information. overview.

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Word from the President

As President of ETIRA, it is my pleasure to present to you this ETIRA "multi-annual" annual report.

Since our previous report in 2010, the EU cartridge remanufacturing market has seen tough times. The golden

days of 20-40 % annual growth and double-digit profit margins are gone, and probably gone forever. The overall decrease in printing, and the protracted economic crisis in Europe have affected both OEM's and

remanufacturers. In addition, the omnipresence of cheap, illegal, and polluting newbuilts from SE Asia has turned normal competition into a "lowest price only" -type race to the bottom.

Remanufacturers who look ahead will have to adjust their business models: by including services like e.g. MPS in their offerings, they can maintain close customer contact, and identify new growth opportunities.

As illegal clones will eventually disappear, and given the potential in colour laser, ETIRA expects the cartridge

remanufacturing industry in Europe to return to better margins in the next years.

In 2012, ETIRA celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a conference on the French Riviera. We thanked and said goodbye to industry veteran Mr Heinz Sieg of KMP, who, like David Connett of industry magazine The Recycler,

back in 2002 was one of the 17 visionaries who created ETIRA.

Ten years is quite an accomplishment for a organization that represents such a dynamic industry as cartridge remanufacturing. We have come a long way since the early nineties, when the pioneers among us started to

refill the large toners in their back-yard garages. Today, remanufacturing is a high-tech and quality-focused industry, requiring constant innovation to keep up with the permanent changes in the OEM product.

And also in terms of volume we have made substantial progress. Several European remanufacturers crossed the annual 1 million units mark already a long time ago. As a result, remanufacturing went from zero percent in the

early nineties, to today's 20-25% of European market share in toners, and 15-18% in ink. And whilst generating

thousands of jobs across Europe, the industry also helps our environment: remanufacturing prevented millions of empties from unnecessarily going to landfill straight after 1st use.

These added values set us apart from what has become the largest threat to OEM's and remanufacturers alike:

the invasion of cheap and polluting cartridges imported from SE Asia. Unscrupulous traders who do not care

about patents, quality, or the environment, sell illegal newbuilt copycat cartridges from China to ignorant European customers every day. And after their first use, these cartridges go straight to landfill, polluting our

environment: being illegal, remanufacturers cannot remanufacture them either. That is why ETIRA took tough action: in 2012, we developed a "Guide to Clones" to educate resellers and the

general public about the dangers of trading these illegal newbuilts. Please download your free copy from our website in your preferred language. And we insisted with OEM's that they enact their patent rights, and many

did. We also clarified our Code of Conduct with which ETIRA Members must comply: if you as a customer buy a

cartridge from an ETIRA Member, you will have the full guarantee that you do not infringe an OEM-patent.

In 2012, ETIRA registered more new Members than ever before, which to me is the proof that we must be doing something right. Having acted as the associations' President since 2006 was, and still is, a great honour

for me. Together with our Board of Directors and the Secretariat, I look forward to serving the industry for

many more years. I thank you for your interest in cartridge remanufacturing, and in ETIRA. Talk to us anytime you want: just

write to info@etira.org.

Feldkirchen, Austria, June 2013

Christian Wernhart (Embatex), President of ETIRA

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General market developments The last few years have been a challenge for the European cartridge remanufacturing industry, mainly due the

recession that started in 2007/2008 and still lingers on. Initially, the economic setback turned out to be a positive for our industry. As we offer a similar quality to OEM

products but at a 20-30% lower price, many users moved from original cartridges to remanufactured for the first time, and were happy with that switch.

But the new decade also brought a new phenomenon: the smartphone and the tablet. These devices allowed

users to share pictures and texts instantly, without the need to first print them off. Moreover, electronic invoicing and other online-based applications ended the need for printing everything off on paper.

In addition, towards 2011 it became clear that the economic crisis which started in 2007/2008, was not going to be a 3-year event. What started as a banking crisis, evolved into a serious government debt crisis in the

eurozone. Failing banks were propped up with taxpayer money, putting several major eurozone country

budgets on the brink of collapse. The subsequent austerity programs resulted in cost cutting, but also in an continuation of the economic contraction. Growing unemployment aggravated the problems.

The "no growth"- economy" also gave support to the 3rd key factor key affecting the remanufacturing industry: the major rise in imports from newbuilt non-OEM cartridges from SE Asia. Often sold at prices 60-90% below

the OEM equivalent, and available in the market within just a few weeks after a new printer is launched, these cartridges took away OEM margins at an alarming rate.

These three key developments took their toll on the remanufacturing industry, in particular in terms of margin. But, as patent infringing newbuilts are now coming under increased legal pressure from the OEM's, their market

presence will eventually diminish. We see this effect already today in Spain. As a result, ETIRA expects sales to pick up again and margins to improve for cartridge remanufacturers (and OEM's !) in the next few years.

The worldwide hardcopy peripherals market decreased 9.7% year over year with 25.8 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2013, according to market intelligence firm IDC International Data Corporation:

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, Spring 2013

Toner According to market intelligence firm InfoTrends, the aftermarket (=remanufactured and newbuilt non-OEMs),

has seen an increase in number of units sold in the past years. Sometimes offered below the cost of an empty, the increase partly concerns Asian clones, and remanufacturing margins have come under heavy pressure.

Colour toner remains a growth opportunity for remanufacturers: aftermarket penetration is still below 10%.

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Source: InfoTrends, www.infotrends.com, 2012

Inkjet

Consumer inkjet has reduced substantially, as Kodak and Lexmark cease to produce printers in this market segment. According to market intelligence firm InfoTrends, consumer inkjet may fall from 58bn printed pages

today to under 50bn in 2016, compensated by business inkjet, which may grow from 12bn pages in 2013 to

just under 20bn in 2016. Since 2008, the aftermarket share of inkjet units is estimated to be more or less stable at 16%-20%.

MPS

At the end of 2011, ETIRA set up a small MPS Working Group. Its mission was to assess the growing use of

MPS across the imaging industry, and the way it affects the remanufacturing business. In 2012, two presentations have been developed: one for internal use and another one that Members can use

as model for presenting their services to their clients. The second one is available on the ETIRA website.

The Working Group also decided to gauge Member interest in participating in discussing issues like chips,

software selection, etc.), joint negotiations with suppliers, etc. A joint approach in tackling these elements required thorough preparation and was a main focus at our June 2012 annual meeting in Nice, France.

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Legal issues Legal issues, including patents and fair competition rules, are permanently on ETIRA’s radar screen.

OEM’s apply a wide variety of tools to frustrate the growth of our industry. Examples of the tools they use

include: -clever chips: the printer does not recognize the cartridge, and will not print or gives confusing messages to the

end-user

-design: the make-up of the cartridge is designed to make remanufacturing impossible (example: use of glue instead of screws to fit cartridge-parts together) or unnecessarily difficult

-warranties: a few OEM’s still threaten end-users that the printer warranty is void when non-original cartridges are used. However, such an obligation to only use OEM-cartridges violates EU fair competition laws, and will not

stand up in court

-OEM’s closed shop collection schemes for empties, denying remanufacturers access to their base material: empties

-illegal exclusion of non-OEM products from public or private tenders Where and when required, ETIRA fights these tools to ensure fair competition

Patent infringing newbuilt cartridges from SE Asia

Since 2009/2010, the EU market has seen an invasion of cheap and polluting cartridges imported from SE Asia.

Unscrupulous traders who do not care about patents, quality, or the environment, sell illegal newbuilt copycat cartridges from China to ignorant European customers every day.

ETIRA opposes the trade in these products: selling patent-infringing newbuilt cartridges is a criminal offense, and resellers and distributors should not buy these products if they want to stay out of court and avoid

bankruptcy. And it's also anti-social behaviour: these Asian cartridges typically pollute the European

environment as they are neither remanufactured (that would be just as illegal as building them) nor recycled. They are simply thrown away after 1st use, resulting in unnecessary extra landfill in Europe. Any European

individual or company caring about sustainability, should only buy remanufactured OEM cartridges.

OEM actions against patent-infringing newbuilts

In the past years, the industry in the USA witnessed a lot of legal actions by the OEM's against newbuilt cartridges, and new components used in remanufactured cartridges. The Canon case on gears was the case in

point. Epson acted forcefully against patent infringing newbuilts.

Later, the OEM's also noticed the threats in Europe, and started to take action. In early 2012, printer giant Samsung started the first of a series of legal actions against the trade in patent-infringing newbuilt cartridges in

Europe. About 30 to 40 companies in Spain, France, Holland, Germany, UK and other countries received

warning letters from lawyers of the OEM. Samsung told the firms to immediately stop the sale and pay damages.

Also HP took similar action in 2012: in Spain, HP lawyers wrote to over 30 firms that traded patent-infringing newbuilt inkjet cartridges. The firms were ordered to stop the sale and destroy any available products, and

indemnify HP for lost profits. And these actions were successful: today, in Spain many illegal cartridges are no

longer available, and the sellers are bankrupt. ETIRA also welcomed similar actions by HP in Poland in 2013, where several firms were forced to stop selling

products, and others were taken to court.

The general public can help OEM’s identify companies selling patent-infringing newbuilts, by reporting these firms via the respective OEM e-mail dropboxes. We understand that these dropboxes are a major success: over

the last 18 months, OEM’s received the names of dozens of companies in Europe in their inbox, and have since

started legal action against many of them.

Also ETIRA became active. We realized that the key problem was the unawareness among distributors and resellers regarding the various kinds of cartridges in the marketplace. To many customers, there was only the

distinction "OEM or non-OEM". ETIRA considered that it needed to fill this knowledge gap by educating

distributors and resellers about the different kinds of non-OEM cartridges available, and by exposing the dangers involved when you sell or buy a patent -infringing newbuilts from SE Asia.

Early 2012, ETIRA Board of Directors finalized the text of the "ETIRA Guide to Clones". Freely downloadable

from the ETIRA website in 8 languages, this Guide defines "clones" and is a useful tool for ETIRA Members and

their clients in our ongoing fight against the flood of cheap newbuilt patent-infringing non-OEM cartridges from SE Asia.

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The ETIRA Guide to Clones can be downloaded from the ETIRA website for free in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech and Swedish languages

ETIRA also reached out to the EU regarding clones. We wrote to Environment Commissioner Potoznik, pointing

out that most of these products have no end-of-life solution and simply wind up in landfill, polluting the European environment. We also stressed that very often these cartridges do not respect European health

regulations (REACH), resulting in serious hazards for the health and well-being of users.

In September 2012, ETIRA met with the Waste Management Unit in the European Commission's Environment DG. We outlined the problem surrounding patent infringing newbuilts and discussed the various ways to tackle

the problem. ETIRA and the Unit identified the following policy options: WEEE review, RoHS, Waste Framework Directive (WFD) and anti-dumping measures.

In the next few months, the ETIRA Board of Directors will define its strategy in this matter.

French OEM trade association SFIB speaks out against clones

In early 2013, SFIB, the association representing French OEM's, published a paper available in french and english, regarding clones. Similar to the ETIRA Guide to Clones, the paper warns customers and distributors to

be aware before buying or selling such products because they have a high risk of intellectual property infringement, deceive buyers regarding the nature of the product, have a negative impact on the environment

and on health and safety, and a poor product performance. Download your own copy of the paper here:

http://www.sfib.org/le-sfib-met-en-garde-contre-les-clones/

ETIRA met Polish reman industry at Static Control seminar in Lodz, Poland

In March 2013, ETIRA’s Vincent van Dijk presented in Lodz, Poland at the Static Control industry seminar there.

Regarding clones, Static`s and ETIRA´s presentations outlined the dangers involved when you sell these products, quoting the recent HP legal actions against firms in Poland as a clear example.

8 New Code of Conduct

During a special meeting at remanexpo 2013, ETIRA Members adopted a new Code of Conduct. ETIRA has

carried a code of good business practice since 2002. Upon the Associations’ 10th anniversary, a revised text was agreed to highlight the key ETIRA Member commitments. The new Code again shows ETIRA Members are

industry-leaders: member obligations’ include social and environmental responsibility, promotion of top-quality and innovative products, clear warranties, compliance with laws and regulations at national and international

level, and ensuring consumer and worker safety and health. The new Code also includes a clear obligation to

refrain from trading patent-infringing newbuilts as defined in ETIRA’s “Guide to Clones” . The 2013 Code of Conduct is available for download from the ETIRA website.

Public tenders excluding remanufactured cartridges under the tender Objecting against public tenders excluding remanufactured cartridges from participating in the tender is a quasi-

permanent task for ETIRA. Some public bodies, deliberately or not, tend to ask only for original product and

exclude reman’s. The kind of exclusion may take many different forms: ranging from a simple direct exclusion (“only OEM products can be offered”) through a indirect exclusion (demanding that “the original manufacturer certifies the non-OEM product”) to outright nonsense argumentation (“only OEM because warranty on the printer is void if non-OEM is used”).

It is unfortunate that we continue to see public bodies still not fully complying with EU law on free competition,

and illegally excluding remanufactured a fair and equal opportunity to tender. But this is a matter of principle for our industry, so we continue to protest everywhere we find these illegal

exclusions. For use by its Members, ETIRA has available a Paper outlining the legal arguments why public tenders cannot exclude remanufactured.

In 2012/2013, ETIRA protested against exclusion in tenders in Belgium, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Austria and the Czech Republic. In at least half of the cases where ETIRA intervened, the tendering public body

changed their tender criteria following our protest.

Warranties

In accordance with EU and national law, a company cannot simply argue that the printer warranty is void only because non-OEM cartridges were used: there must be clear and undisputed proof that the malfunction of the

printer was directly caused by the non-OEM cartridge. If this proof cannot be provided, the warranty must be

honoured in full. This practice of refusing to honour the warranty without 100% proof that the non-OEM cartridge has caused

the printer to malfunction is a permanent nuisance in our industry. Indeed, almost all OEM’s have published clear statements, even on the internet, that the printer warranty is not void simply because non-OEM cartridges

are used. Also the EPEAT public procurement scheme (see separate section in this Report) and similar public

procurement schemes clearly require OEM’s to provide these assurances.

Promoting quality remanufacturing Product quality is the #1 priority of ETIRA: only if our product is as good as, or better than the OEM-equivalent,

are we able to grow our market share. This is why most of our efforts focus on enhancing quality across the industry. ETIRA Members do not compromise when it comes to quality: only the best will do. ETIRA welcomes

pan-European and global standards that set clear parameters, and are widely recognized.

ISO cartridge characterization standard 29142 Since 2007, ISO Working Group JC28 has worked on a new product standard for cartridges. An addition to the

existing ISO yield standards, the new standard will apply to OEM, compatible and remanufactured cartridges

alike, and cover environmental performance criteria. Purpose of the standard is to provide transparency to users regarding cartridge characteristics.

The entities participating in the ISO work are predominantly the major international OEM’s. Some manufacturers of compatibles, and a few remanufacturers also contribute to the work of this ISO Working

Group. Being a trade association, ETIRA does not directly participate in ISO.

In late 2012, the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 28 Working Group finalized the work. The agreed standard 29142 includes three parts: Part 1 (General), Part 2 (Labelling) and Part 3 (Environment). ETIRA expects that the standard will

see growing popularity in the course of the next few years. The standard can be obtained from ISO.

DIN standard for remanufactured cartridges

This standard applies only to remanufactured cartridges. In 2013, DIN will finalize the review of its existing standards 33870-1 (B/W) and 33870-2 (colour). The standards can be obtained from DIN.

Environment Remanufacturing empty cartridges is good for the environment. This is why ETIRA insists that European public

policy should promote remanufacturing, and support our industry in its call for a level playing field. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

The EU has defined a clear hierarchy in the environmental impact of waste: prevention of waste has the lowest impact, and re-use follows immediately after that, so before recycling. With re-use prevailing over recycling, re-

use should always be the preferred option.

Eco-design

Since 2005, ETIRA has constantly lobbied worldwide for the introduction of eco-design rules that would support

reuse of cartridges, and outlaw anti-remanufacturing practices and devices such as clever chips. After all, the largest environmental impact from printing comes from the many cartridges used in the printer during its

lifetime, not from the printer as such. Reuse of cartridges can reduce CO2 emissions by 40%-60%. In the larger framework of promoting eco-friendly printing in both the EU and in the USA, regulators are

working to set rules for imaging equipment. In that context, ETIRA has reached out to authorities and

participated in seminars, meetings, working groups, etc. We push for favourable wording in the EU ecodesign criteria for imaging equipment, the upcoming Ecolabel for imaging equipment, the criteria for public

procurement GPP, the US public procurement scheme EPEAT, and lastly Nordic Swan.

Energy-using products (EuP)/ Voluntary Agreement Imaging Equipment The EU Directive on eco-design aims to reduce energy-use of products by obliging manufacturers to design

products in such a way that they have the lowest environmental impact, measured throughout their lifecycle

(LCA). In theory, all energy-using products (including cartridges) could be covered under this Directive. The suggested legal approach was that the EU and national authorities would not draft legislation, provided that

industry would set up its own voluntary rules, under so called industry-wide Voluntary Agreements (VA's) . ETIRA has lobbied this dossier since 2008. We argued that in the case of cartridges, voluntary instruments are

insufficient: OEM’s will simply continue their current practices of fitting cartridges with anti-remanufacturing

devices, making design for re-use an illusion. Recently, a Voluntary Agreement (VA) Imaging Equipment was approved by the EU Commission. In 2013, we

will continue the lobby to get acceptable wording into this Voluntary Agreement.

EU ecolabel/GPP

An EU Ecolabel for imaging equipment will allow consumers to identify the products which have the best environmental performance. And the label will also serve as tool for public authorities that want to buy green

products, because the Ecolabel will become part of the EU’s recommended Green Public Procurement criteria (GPP) that public bodies can use when ordering equipment.

In 2012, the EU's scientific advisory body JRC published new draft texts for both Ecolabel and GPP criteria. Another revision for the Ecolabel criteria was published in February 2013, followed by a revised Background

Paper on Ecolabel in May 2013. Concerning cartridges, this 3rd new version still maintains the major criteria

ETIRA has lobbied hard for ("cartridge design should not prevent re-use, printers should accept remanufactured cartridges"). But the Annex to the Background Paper contains OEM wording that questions the environmental

benefits of remanufactured. ETIRA will continue to push that acceptable wording is effectively agreed in the end.

USA: EPEAT standards 1680.2 and 1680.3 The US-led EPEAT programme sets recommendations for public procurement criteria: public organisations can

use them and only buy products which are EPEAT-registered. ETIRA, jointly with its sister-organisations UKCRA (UK), I-ITC (USA), supported by Static Control and with

technical support from Xanfeon consultancy (Dr Michael Gell), have been actively involved in the EPEAT-work during the past 5 years. As minority in the large stakeholders' groups, we fought an uphill battle. But we were

successful, and the wording which is now agreed is an acceptable compromise between the different interests

of the many different EPEAT stakeholders.

New criteria Nordic Ecolabel (formerly Nordic Swan) Nordic Ecolabel is the official Ecolabel of the Nordic countries. Due to their environment-friendliness, the Nordic

Ecolabel is available only for remanufactured cartridges, not for OEM and other newbuilt cartridge types.

In 2012, Nordic Ecolabel reviewed its existing criteria for cartridges. Where possible, ETIRA had given its views on the proposed modifications. The new criteria may be obtained from Nordic Ecolabel.

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Networking Organising events on a regular basis is a key activity of ETIRA: meeting current and new partners, in both

informal and formal settings, helps to get new business and to raise overall industry market share.

ETIRA met at 2013 remanexpo trade show, and said no to clones

Networking and newbizz leads at ETIRA booth and at the ETIRA Cocktail, January 2013, at remanexpo.

In January 2013, ETIRA again exhibited throughout the 4 days at the 2013 remanexpo trade show at

Paperworld. This largest European show for office supplies was held 27-30 January 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany. We met with Members and prospects and distributed flyers urging visitors to buy remanufactured

cartridges and related services from ETIRA Members only. We also handed out hundreds of ETIRA's

meanwhile famous "Guide to Clones".

ETIRA Board of Directors met at OCP in Bochum

In early 2012, the ETIRA Board of Directors met at OCP offices in Bochum, Germany. Upon the kind invitation of industry veteran Mr Horst Edelmeier of ETIRA member firm OCP, the Board spent a useful session on taking

stock in the fight against patent-infringing newbuilt clones. The Board welcomed the actions by OEM’s, and

renewed the call on OEM’s to become active against patent-infringing newbuilts from South-East Asia. The Board also heard from ARMOR’s specialist patent attorney Mr Eugen Harazim, who outlined the many different

aspects of patent issues.

ETIRA Board Members and guests at work ARMOR expert patent attorney Eugen Harazim

ETIRA 10th Anniversary Meeting held in Nice, France, in June 2012 In June 2012, ETIRA celebrated a great 10th Anniversary Party, followed by instructive seminars in Nice on

the French Riviera. About 115 delegates attended what was truly ETIRA's best event ever.

Seminars and learning about all the latest Steve Weedon on 10 years The President thanks KMP's Heinz industry news and developments ETIRA work for the industry Sieg (l.) for his work for ETIRA

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in Europe after remanexpo at Paperworld. The formal session was followed by a Keynote address delivered by

one of the industry’s major personalities, Mr Steve Weedon. As Steve created The Recycler magazine, was one of ETIRA founding fathers, and for many years led the European operations of Static Control Components, he

was the perfect man to give the full overview of ETIRA’s first 10 year lifespan in a comprehensive and humorous way.

The Cocktail and Dinner saw ETIRA pay tribute by offering Awards to (the 11 that are still in business of) the

17 companies that, back in 2002, had the great vision and decided to create the industry association. ETIRA also said farewell and "thank you" to founding father Mr Heinz Sieg of KMP PrintTechnik, who, after 10

years of dedicated service to ETIRA and its Board, decided to step down. Lifetime achievement awards were presented to Heinz Sieg and to Mr David Connett, owner of The Recycler

magazine. David’s support, dedication and know-how were instrumental to the growth of ETIRA from 17 to over 50 Members today.

ETIRA also launched its Guide to Clones, a multi-language tool educating distributors and resellers regarding

clones.

ETIRA at Big Buyer trade show in Bologna tells Italian distributors not to sell clones

In 2012, for the first time, ETIRA attended the BIG BUYER office supplies trade show in Bologna (Italy) and

manned a booth throughout the full 3 showdays. We distributed approx. 150 Guides to Clones in the Italian language, and educated show visitors about the risks they run when they buy patent-infringing newbuilts from

China. Over the last 2 years, the Italian market has seen a large increase in imports of illegal patent infringing newbuilts from China, as local distributors care little about cartridge quality, and only look at price. ETIRA is

working with its Members and national associations to counter this market development.

The Board of ETIRA also held its autumn meeting in Bologna at BIG BUYER. We discussed the current market

situation, clones, the new Code of Conduct, and may other topics. Bologna also saw the first informal session of the newly created ETIRA Working Group "Patents on remanufacturing". This Working Group took a fresh

look at the many OEM patents that have been filed in the past few years, and analysed the impact they may have or had on our industry.

The WG assessed that patents on functionality, such as chips will increase in the coming years.

ETIRA met Italian remanufacturing industry

In late 2012, ETIRA met in Milano with PACTO, a national association of Italian cartridge remanufacturers. PACTO lobbies the Italian government on behalf of the industry, fighting for opening up public tenders to remans, more

flexibility in waste management/transport rules, higher standards in business conduct, action re Chinese clones,

etc. They undertook several useful legal actions, resulting in more open tenders. ETIRA also met with ARTI-Italia, a new association created by a number of large European remanufacturers

whose head-offices are outside Italy. ARTI-Italia will focus on collaborating with public institutions such as the provincial administrations that manage waste legislation, regional agencies for the environment, the Ministry of

Economy and Finance and the Ministry of the Environment. ARTI-Italia supports the ETIRA Code of Conduct, and

seeks to educate the Italian market regarding the dangers of trading patent-infringing newbuilts.

ETIRA met UK remanufacturers at UKCRA AGM in Coventry In April 2013, ETIRA Secretary General Vincent van Dijk travelled to Coventry to meet UK remanufacturers and

their suppliers, in the framework of the annual meeting of the oldest national association for cartridge remanufacturers in Europe: UKCRA. ETIRA gave UKCRA Members a brief overview of the general headlines of the upcoming ISO cartridge

characterization standard 29142, now available for purchase from the ISO website. During the breaks we discussed ongoing issues such as OEM patents and clones, and the challenges facing industry associations in the

next years. The meeting was a perfect networking event: national associations have a useful role to play, in addition to ETIRA’s work at the EU–level.

Various In 2012/2013, ETIRA-manager Vincent van Dijk visited many ETIRA member firms and prospect-members across

Europe, to discuss current topics and highlight the benefits of ETIRA membership.

Newsletters and articles Newsletters and frequent Newsflashes were sent to members to inform them about industry developments and

ETIRA activities.

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Public relations

ETIRA’ s role includes raising awareness about the industry among the general public. We stress that

remanufacturing spent cartridges is a high-tech, innovative and dynamic activity, good for both the customer and for the environment.

Major German newspaper Der Spiegel interviews ETIRA President on clones Following input by German industry monthly DI-Digital Imaging magazine, the hardcopy edition 46/2012 of major German magazine Der Spiegel included an article lambasting patent-infringing newbuilts. Entitled “Attack by the

Toner Clones”, the German language article quotes ETIRA President Christian Wernhart and shows the 941,000

Spiegel subscribers why it is a major risk to use Chinese clones that infringe OEM-patents. It says the fraudulent firms pack the newbuilts as remanufactured, and that many Chinese clones do not function properly. The article

also describes the legal actions by ETIRA and a number of OEM’s , and lambasts public bodies that allow these illegal clones to take part in their public tenders.

ETIRA booth at annual Paperworld international trade show To help ETIRA Members grow their business, ETIRA exhibits every year at the annual remanexpo trade show held

in January/February in Frankfurt. We use the booth to showcase our industry, and inform many resellers and distributors from all over Europe about remanufactured cartridges, and the added benefits of trading with an

ETIRA Member.

We distribute leaflets and info in different languages. We answer enquiries about ETIRA and the Code of Conduct logo, outline the advantages of buying from an ETIRA member, and inform visitors why ETIRA Members provide

value for money.

Website ETIRA operates a website (www.etira.org) for the general public to learn about the benefits of inkjet and toner

remanufacturing, and to enhance the general industry image. The website also lists all ETIRA members, allowing

clients to find suppliers instantly.

Articles The Secretariat regularly writes in industry magazine The Recycler, and frequently contributes to other

publications. Information is also posted regularly on our website: www.etira.org.

ETIRA Code of Conduct and “Ticked-R” collective mark

ETIRA has a Code of Conduct: an industry code for good corporate behaviour, setting out a number of general guidelines and principles adhered to by the user in his daily business.

All ETIRA members must comply with the Code, allowing them to use the association’s green/yellow “Ticked-R”-logo, distinguishing them in the marketplace.

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ETIRA Bodies ETIRA is short for European Toner & Inkjet Remanufacturers Association aisbl/ivzw. A non-profit organisation in

accordance with Belgian law, its statutory seat is Brussels, Belgium, with a Secretary General's office in Breda, The Netherlands.

ETIRA represents the interests of the European inkjet and toner cartridge remanufacturers and related service providers/compatibles manufacturers, etc. in Europe. Created in 2003 by 17 founding companies, the current 55

ETIRA members now account for over 60% of industry turnover. A full list of ETIRA Members and their contact details can be found on our website: www.etira.org

Today, ETIRA is the recognized industry body for all topics affecting cartridge remanufacturing.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is comprised of all ETIRA full Members and meets at least 1x per year, usually at the remanexpo trade show. It sets the general guidelines of the Association, elects the Board of Directors, approves

the annual accounts and budgets, etc.

Board of Directors

ETIRA’s Board of Directors is elected by the General Assembly every other year, and composed of respected company representatives from the various sections of the cartridge remanufacturing industry across Europe.

Meeting approx. 2-3 times per year, Board Members are not remunerated and carry their own travel expenses.

The Board of Directors implements the General Assembly’s guidelines, sets an annual work program, approves membership applications, prepares annual accounts and budgets, etc.

The ETIRA Board of Directors is currently (June 2013) composed of the following persons (mandate 2012-2014): President Christian Wernhart Embatex A Vice-President David Connett The Recycler Magazine UK Treasurer Philippe Guenin LVL F Member Jan-Michael Sieg KMP PrintTechnik AG D Member Tamas Kadar KIT H Member Horst-Gerhard Edelmeier OCP D Member Dr Thorsten Lifka Pelikan CH Member Jan Luijks Cartrec NL Member Régis Thébaud Armor Group F Regular elections are scheduled for 2014. However, as Mrssrs Régis Thébaud and Thorsten Lifka will step down in June 2013, the General Assembly, at its meeting on 20 June 2013, is asked to appoint Mrssrs Flavio Monti (Pelikan) and Pierre-Yves Leger (Armor) as Members of the Board of Directors for the remaining part of the mandate 2012-2014.

Secretariat

ETIRA aisbl/ivzw, European Toner & Inkjet Remanufacturers Association Vincent van Dijk, secretary general

Grieglaan 7

4837 CB Breda The Netherlands

Tel + 31 6 414 614 63 Fax + 31 76 5640451 info@etira.org www.etira.org

(Registered address: Henri Wafelaertsstraat 34, 1060 Bruxelles)