Fujifilm Business Innovation has set up a new Circular Manufacturing Center in the Netherlands.
The firm has expanded its presence in the European market significantly since the launch of its Revoria range of toner digital presses in the spring.
Initially the new operation at Fujifilm’s Tilburg site will collect used toner cartridges from customers and remanufacture them into new cartridges.
The intention is this will be expanded in the future to include the remanufacturing of spare parts for production printers and of multifunction devices.
The 1,000sqm site began operating over the summer.
The Japanese manufacturer first began establishing its circular production systems nearly 30 years ago.
Fujifilm said the new Circular Manufacturing Center would also “achieve virtually zero CO2 emissions from the electricity it uses”, thanks to its on-site wind power generation facility, and through the group’s purchase of a separate wind power company.
Meanwhile, Brother Industries has expanded its UK manufacturing facility in Ruabon, North Wales to include the remanufacturing of used ink cartridges as of this month.
“This initiative follows 20 years of the Brother Group's efforts to remanufacture toner cartridges, and the company is now handling the entire process in-house, from the collection of used ink cartridges to their redistribution, contributing to further waste reduction in pursuit of a sustainable society,” Brother stated.
The firm said that used ink cartridges collected from customers across Europe will be remanufactured into cartridges “of the same quality as new ones and shipped out once again”.
The Japan-headquartered group also has a European remanufacturing facility in Slovakia, along with operations in Japan and the US.
Brother had remanufactured more than 40m toner cartridges worldwide as of the end of March this year.
Regarding the new ink cartridge option, Brother said that one of the biggest challenges was the amount of additional work required in comparison to toner cartridge remanufacturing, while also “trying to maintain the highest quality, at a fair price for the customer”.
“It’s a costly and complex process that requires an increased level of work to thoroughly inspect and clean the cartridges so that they can be used again.”
The firm has adapted the design of its cartridges to make them easier to remanufacture, and has also added quality control technology that tracks how many times a cartridge has been through the process.
