PCL Direct Group has expanded its sustainable product offering with the launch of Eco-Direct.
The company is leveraging its expertise in toner cartridge and consumable units remanufacturing to upcycle used machines and give them a second life.
Directors Andrew Ellis, Ian McIntyre and Dave Higgott are united in their vision to contribute to a more sustainable future and are strong advocates of a circular business model which chooses reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, to keep products circulating for as long as possible.
The company actively promotes and practices circular economy principles across its remanufactured product lines and invests heavily in R&D to support this. The company has recently joined the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturing Association (ETIRA). Founded in 2003, ETIRA is a non- profit association that represents the interests of European inkjet and toner cartridge remanufacturers, related service providers and compatible manufacturers.
The association works on issues including product safety, quality and standardisation, and provides a range of services to its members and the broader industry.
McIntyre said: “Joining ETIRA is a significant step for us. As a member, we are better positioned to leverage our expertise and experience in cartridge remanufacturing to drive positive change in the industry and contribute to a more sustainable future.”
Quality control
PCL Direct has been remanufacturing for over a decade. There are two arms to the business – remanufacturing – and it’s not just OEM toners, it’s all the parts within the photocopier such as the drums, fusers, developers and transfer belt units, and the company is also a distributor serving the UK and Ireland channel.
The largest part of PCL Direct’s business lies in remanufacturing consumable units and toner cartridges for Konica Minolta, Develop and Olivetti devices. It was actually first to market with its remanufactured range for the Konica Minolta i-Series range.
“We specialise in Konica Minolta, and I believe we are certainly the largest Konica Minolta remanufacturer in the UK, and probably one of the largest
in Europe,” McIntyre said. In addition, it provides remanufactured products for use in selected Lexmark, Ricoh and Canon models.
As McIntyre explains, the entire remanufacturing process is managed out of its Nuneaton-based operation. “We buy the raw materials, only use OEM original cartridges and we control the entire remanufacturing process from start to finish, including the fill levels. Quality control is tightly embedded at all stages and our products are bought by customers in the UK, across Europe and into Africa. Importantly, we don’t just buy in the raw materials and repackage used items, we have invested heavily in our people, we have an experienced team with a very keen eye on quality.”
Remanufactured vs OEM original
Over the years there has been much debate over the use of remanufactured consumables vs. OEM originals. Certainly, from an environmental perspective the reman option makes sense, and again there is also the argument that this route can be more cost-effective for dealers.
There are, says McIntyre a couple of different sides to this: “You’ve typically got a dealer that buys OEM originals for the first 12 months within the warranty period and then they will switch. But I think COVID has turned everything upside down, dealers have seen a drop in revenues I’d say 30 to 40 per cent which in turn means that the company’s overall GDP has declined. So, I think they are now looking for an alternative to help increase the profitability of the business. The second thing is the supply chain challenges have impacted the OEMs who have turned to remanufacturers for help sourcing product – so what message is that giving to the dealers?
“From our perspective, we are working with OEM cartridges and making an OEM version. As I said earlier, we control the entire process and operate to the highest quality standards. If what we produced didn’t do what it is supposed to do, we wouldn’t still be in business.”
PCL Direct effectively closes the loop, it offers a collection service, customers receive a waste collection certificate, used cartridges are sent to a specialist company and come back to them as a clean unit where they are remanufactured and sold for re-use, then the cycle starts again.
The same thing applies to machine parts. “So, if a dealer wants to promote working towards a circular economy they can come to us. We provide remanufactured consumable units for Konica Minolta, Develop and Olivetti devices as well as select Lexmark, Canon and Ricoh models. All parts are tested and all work is carried out in our UK head office,” McIntyre added.
Eco-Direct
The latest offering from PCL Direct is its Eco-Direct range of remanufactured devices.
“We were already producing quality remanufactured components for predominantly Konica Minolta devices, and we thought why stop there? So, we decided to look at renovating and upcycling used copiers and MFPs,” Ellis said. “Building on what we were already doing in terms of remanufacturing components, it made sense to take that a step further and recondition used devices that still have lots of life yet such as ones that have been superseded by new models or replaced as part of a fleet refresh, and that signalled the launch of the Eco-Direct brand,” he added.
PCL Direct first started the process pre-pandemic and has since then evolved the practice. “We went on a journey, learned along the way and changed the remanufacturing processes. We are now at a point where we are very confident in the value of this product line, so much so that we offer a full six-month parts warranty on every Eco- Direct device,” Ellis explained.
Greener solution
In line with PCL Direct’s approach to remanufacturing consumables and cartridges, the Eco-Direct refurbishment process is both thorough and quality controlled.
“It’s important to note that these machines are not that old, we focus on models that have superseded with a new range say two or three years ago. Most devices are under contract for a three to five year period and have a lifetime of 1 million prints. But often fleet refreshes take place well before that. We typically take in devices with between 150-300,000 prints which have a lot of life left in them, what we won’t do is put a machine with 600,000+ prints on the meter through the process,” Ellis said.
Ellis explains that the reason they can cost-effectively upcycle used devices is that they already remanufacture all of the consumable items. Devices that meet the criteria are “What’s more an Eco-Direct MFP provides dealers with the opportunity to offer customers a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative which can in many sectors open doors. We’re helping dealers win business and get into areas of commerce that they would normally not be able to,” he added.
To date, PCL Direct has refurbished about 500 machines but Ellis says that he expects to ramp up production significantly. “Eco-Direct has been really well received by the dealer channel
and expanding in this area is a key growth area for the business. We have not been able to grow as quickly as we anticipated as supply chain challenges around sourcing new devices obviously impacted the influx of used machines coming in from dealers.
“We’re really happy with the standard of product that we’ve reached, we’ve thoroughly tested production capability and speed and what we’re able to achieve, and now we’re looking to expand that production rate.”
PCL Direct currently specialises in Konica Minolta models. The current offering includes upcycled 25, 30, 36, 45, 55 and 65 ppm Konica Minolta A3 colour MFPs and the company intends to expand its offering adding other OEM devices including Ricoh to its roster.
