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Jet Tec
Need
Inkjets...Go Jet Tec
“Jet Tec is designed
to be the most complete brand of compatible inkjet cartridges
in the world. High retail appeal combined with unrivaled
quality and service has completed this wish. If you are
looking for the only compatible brand that the end user will
ask for by name, then look for Jet Tec,”says John Studholme,
Founder, Owner, President, and CEO of DCI and Jet Tec. Jet
Tec is the inkjet brand supported (owned) by powerhouse
manufacturer DCI (Dynamic Cassette International) in Boston,
England. They outsource nothing. They make their own inks.
They make their own cartridges. Everything is done in
house. They have complete Quality Control.
Thousands of cartridges a day are
produced from their 100 computer-automated filling machines.
Their chip design department installs their patented chips,
and clip technology snaps on their patented clips (one of
which the corresponding OEM asked to buy, the offer was
refused). They are then placed in custom designed blister
packs with language specific text, unique to the industry.
“Our in house design and engineering
team have developed and introduced machinery manufactured in
our tool room to automate our production line (76 molding
machines produce over a million plastic components a day,
satisfying customer requirements from printer cassettes to
inkjet cartridges). As a result of this automation, we have
been able to redistribute our work force (over 300 employees
at DCI alone) to perform new operations thus increasing our
capacity without increasing our cost. DCI rigorously applies
ISO 9002 procedures and efficient working practices and
strictly adheres to all applicable employment regulation,”
says Mr. Studholme, “DCI’s philosophy is to design and build
everything in house.”
Their line of inkjets and compatibles
includes HP, Canon, Epson, and Xerox. Photo range cartridges
are a line they have just introduced. They sell ink in bulk
as well as toners, photo quality paper, refill kits, chip
resetters, circuit testers/ converters and computer cables.
Jet Tec provides a 1-800 help number to assist end users in
trouble shooting techniques or inquiries on all their
products.
While these products may seem ordinary,
there are extraordinary features involved in many
manufacturing aspects. For example, their clips do not allow
the end user to install the cartridge without removing the
clip, eliminating cartridge failure due to un-removed vent
tape. Their HP cartridge circuit tester/ converter is
designed to change an HP 45 cartridge into a 15 (The cartridge
circuit tester/converter is priced at $2,950.00). It also
checks all the circuits, counts each cartridge it has tested,
and keeps a running tab on the status of each cartridge while
displaying why a cartridge failed.
“Extra-Life” chips add a 30% increase
in printing ability to a cartridge life.
“All you have to do is, when the computer
tells you your cartridge is empty, shut the printer off, wait
a few seconds, and turn it back on. This resets the chip
automatically and you can continue printing 30% more, until
the cartridge is completely drained.” Barbara, Jet Tec USA
National Sales Manager.
Mr. Studholme talks about his designs,
“As an authority on patents and intellectual property in
our industry, our technical department has lectured patent
attorneys representing both our distributors and potential
clients. These presentations highlight the work we have
undertaken to avoid patent infringement and the implications
of selling competing products that infringe third party
patents. We also welcome visitors to our factory, where we
give in depth tours and detailed explanations of the
manufacturing, technical and quality assurance procedures that
we employ. We also extend this training to potential
customers, which has proven an extremely successful tactic.”
Jet Tec/ DCI-
an Engineer’s Dream
John
Studholme, a Mechanical Engineer/ Teacher, founded DCI twenty
years ago. He was in the typewriter ribbon manufacturing
business at the time, and he foresaw that the market was going
toward the inkjet. He borrowed some money from a friend and
bought two molding machines. Convincing his current
typewriter ribbon customer base to go into inkjets, he started
manufacturing them. He eventually turned them into believing
in the inkjet world. Then, they became inkjet customers
referring other customers to the company and it grew from
there.
As new
technology evolved, he would start manufacturing it. If
customers needed a new product, he would buy more machines and
start remanufacturing it. When they needed something else, he
would buy even more machines and start on that. His
inspiration stemmed from his friend and role model Bill Niemy
of Connecticut, USA. Mr. Niemy had a manufacturing facility
in Europe and Studholme decided he would like one too.
20
years later he has (complete ownership belongs to John) a
power house: a 200,000 sq. ft. facility which they are
currently updating with another 200,000 sq. ft.
With a
founder rooted in engineering, it is no surprise that much of
the company consists of engineers. “The main people in the
company all have engineering degrees,” says Barbara Blake, National Sales Manager, Jet Tec USA. However, the
company incorporates a diverse group of employees, “We have
all kinds of people that are necessary to run a factory and
make it efficient. We have people from all walks of life and
all different backgrounds,” says Studholme.
Annual
revenue is over $50 million per year for DCI and there isn’t a
hiatus in site. “Our growth rate is tremendous. It’s
constantly growing, I can’t even tell you how fast or we
wouldn’t be adding that 200,000 sq. ft. [to their facility].
It’s constant.”
Blake
went on to say, “What makes our
company different is the quality of our product. Plus the
fact that we outsource nothing. It’s a very, very large
company, and we are just starting here in the States. We
only have 5 employees now, but we started with two and that
was less than 1 year ago. (Jet Tec was created in 1996,
producing headquarters in the UK; Germany,1997; and the USA,
2002).”
Going Global
in Imaging
Jet Tec’s
distributing tactics are note worthy. John Studholme
describes the strategy, “Many companies have gone under due to
the buying power of the large multiple retail stores. These
chains are notorious for squeezing the margin of manufacturers
and enforcing cutthroat delivery terms that have resulted in
the downfall and eventual liquidation of many suppliers. For
this reason DCI has established a base of over two thousand
active independent retail accounts before approaching the
multiple retail channel. Using our distribution center, Jet
Tec, we are able to service these stores with overnight
deliveries, sales and marketing support and also individual
customer service. This gives DCI an extremely secure and
stable business base where no single customer forms a large
percentage of the turnover.”
Jet Tec
products are distributed in 55 countries. The product is then
exported to 110 countries ranging from New Zealand to
Guatemala. Currently, their market is as follows: Europe,
41%; South America, 12%; Australia and Asia, 11%; and North
America, 10%. However, they hope to expand and have tested
well in new markets such as Indonesia, Egypt, Belgium and
Mexico.
“DCI still
acknowledges the importance of the multiple retailers, and the
impact that these retailers will have on the independent
stores,” Mr. Studholme says, seemingly navigating the
industry, “As a result of our unprecedented success in the
independent retail sector, we are now able to approach
multiple retail stores with an established customer base that
gives us strength to negotiate.”
He goes on to
share, “A new sales strategy that we employ is sharing the
information of our successes and the successes of our
distributors. Many global multiple retailers have authority
to buy specific products in their own country. These
retailers are far more likely to stock a product that has a
proven sales track record especially when results from their
particular store or partners can be demonstrated. We
circulate sales figures and listings with multiple retailers
among our distributors. They can then approach potential
buyers with hard facts that the sales of Jet Tec products are
real and profitable.”
This approach
is working for DCI. And they have the awards to prove it. In
1989 the company won the coveted Queen’s Award for Export
Achievement, and was the first in the industry to be awarded
the ISO 9002 certification.
“New
generations of people are using computers,” Studholme
insightfully explains, “These are not big businesses or small
offices, but people at school and people at home. They are
shopping, drawing, painting, writing, gaming or researching-
but most of all they are printing. You need a brand that is
easily recognizable for what it is, the only true high
quality, high value alternative: Jet Tec.”
T. 1.866.538.8321
702.453.8832
F.
702.270.0419
sales@jettecusa.com
Jet Tec USA
6185 South
Valley View Blv.
Suite N
Las Vegas,
Nevada 89118
USA
www.jettecusa.com
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