Packaging, manufacturing
or shipping cartridges and supplies?
With 40 years of experience and industry know-how—
Call Amatix
By Jamie Hamilton
If you know Amatix, you know
packaging. For 14 years, they have provided the aftermarket
industry with cartridge boxes (including design), bags, labels
and shipping supplies specific to cartridge type. Customers can
choose from a custom design for cartons and labels or choose
from a variety of in-stock design styles that they can
personalize with their brand identity.
Owned by Marfred Industries, a box
and shipping supplies manufacturer that was founded 40 years ago,
Amatix has the expertise of structural engineers and
packaging designers that know the packaging industry from the
inside out. Solely concentrated on the imaging supplies market,
Amatix uses this experience to develop supplies that look
professional and prevent structural damage to cartridges
during shipping
and deliveries as well as movement and
storage throughout facilities.
While you may know this side of
Amatix, what you may not know is what they offer remanufacturers and
industry suppliers.
Amatix spends time with
its customers on-site to define their needs. With this information,
Amatix can present solutions and options for customers with the
backing of packaging engineers, structural and graphic designers,
etc. Such on-site participation has lead to the development of a
number of specialty boxes, production and storage trays, as well as
specialty items that are now offered in-stock.
So,
whether you are moving inkjets, toner
cartridges, or drums through your facility or shipping them out to
customers, Amatix has the technology to service your
shipping-packing-storing needs.
Custom vs. In-Stock
Design
At Amatix, you can choose from a
variety in-stock design options or work with designers to create a
custom look.
In-stock options include a
selection of 12 lines of boxes - from conservative and 'generic', to
higher-end "retail-look" designs - all geared to accommodate
wholesale and retail applications.
Easily personalized, customers can add
their logo onto the carton with a customized label. To complete the
look, your logo can be added to cartridge labels designed to match
the carton.
The benefit to choosing an
in-stock design will be time. Orders placed before 3:00 p.m.
will go out the same day and online shopping is available at
www.amatix.com.
While an in-stock design
adds to convenience and timesavings,
a custom design will set your brand apart from the rest.
Packaging is a great tool to create a uniform brand. It will pull
your website and print promotional items together so that your
customers see your company as an industry professional.
If the box matches your
professionalism, your customers will be comfortable with the quality
of the product inside it.
This is why Amatix designers are on
hand to complete your brand identity with packaging that mirrors
your current image; or, they can create your brand from the logo
up. Work with Amatix to create a carton specifically designed
for your company including color, logo, and image style.
Quantity
Price-Breaks Save You Money
While there is
no minimum order requirement (Amatix can run one box for a
customer if requested, however, this is not the most economical
option), quantity price breaks offer customers dramatic savings.
If you know what your usage is, Amatix can design a plan that is
right for you, including warehousing and banking your boxes so
you don’t have to.
Price breaks are basd on
the total square footage of the material used to create each box run.
So, price breaks for a larger box may be set at 1000 boxes ordered,
while a smaller carton’s price break may be set at 1500. That said,
price breaks are vaguely placed at 1000 boxes ordered, 2500, 5000,
and 10,000 and above. The more you order the better the discount
will be.
The most cost-effective plan
for customers is Amatix’s 3-month option.
Instead of ordering boxes monthly as you need them, order enough for
three months. Amatix will warehouse and
bank the boxes until you need them. With this option, you will pay
for the boxes monthly as they are shipped to your facility, but you
will receive the greatly reduced price per box for the larger order.
“We would generally look at 90-120
day run-rate consumption,” said Richard Cohn, GM of Amatix and
Senior VP of Marfred Industries, “Rather than producing only the
amount that customers are going to use in one month, we would rather
look at the cost efficiencies of quantity break-ups in a longer term
of usage and produce that larger quantity. Therefore, we’re
able to offer a much more economical price to the customer.”
He went on to say, “It’s a win-win.
Number one, the price drops dramatically as quantities increase
and number two, they only have to pay for the order as it’s
shipped which frees up cash flow. It’s a huge
benefit for people who know they’re going to use those types of
quantities but may not have the space, cash flow, or may not want it
sitting around their warehouse. This way we’re responsible for
it. We manage their inventory and then we deliver it to them
as they need it.”
Amatix will also be offering
a short-run option soon. They now have
the technology to make it cost-effective for a customer to place an
order for under 500 boxes. This new technology will revolutionize
the box printing industry and provide cost solutions for smaller
companies.
R & D
“We try to anticipate our customers’
needs,” said Cohn. “Therefore, we invest a lot in our technology
and the products we offer. A lot of what we do is keeping a pulse
on the industry, actively keeping in touch with the media on
emerging technology and products. We strive to get access to those
products as early as possible so we are able to bring them in-house
to evaluate them for size, shape and shipping requirements.”
Amatix’s in-house structural and
design services analyze products and offer their sizes based on a
full line of cartridges, not individual boxes. This way, customers
can order a line of 4-6 sku’s that will cover their cartridge needs,
instead of ordering a box for each cartridge type.
With their finger on the pulse of the
industry, Amatix also keeps current with the needs of
remanufactures. From cleaning supplies to disassembly cartridge
trays, and partition divisions, Amatix can assist your company with
a product that is designed to house your products safely and
efficiently.
Amatix from A-Z-
Company History
Amatix was started by Ed Goodfield in
1987. At the time he was remanufacturing toner cartridges, and with
the industry just beginning he discovered that there was little to
no alternative as far as shipping cartons were concerned. He took
his problem to local box manufacturer, Marfred Industries. He
wanted a generic packaging that he could customize with labels,
allowing him to sell to a wide range of customers.
As time went on, he grew and other
manufactures became very interested with his packaging, so he began
selling them what he had left in the warehouse. Most of the cartons
he bought from Marfred he used for his business, but a large part of
them people were buying. As he continued to develop his product
line, he also nurtured his shipping line, creating generic shipping
inserts and labels.
After a few years, it began to seem
like there was more interest in his stock packaging than his
cartridges. So, he decided to move on from remanufacturing. He
brought the idea of a cartridge packaging division to Marfred. This
lead to Goodfield selling Amatix to Marfred; he also agreed to stay
on to run the cartridge packaging division for a short period of
time.
When Goodfield decided to leave
Amatix, Richard Cohn, who was working in the supplies industry as
Exec. VP for Imaging Resources, heard about the opportunity and
wanted to take Amatix in a new direction. With his industry
knowledge, he thought Amatix would be a unique prospect; he
recognized its potential in the industry. He also realized that it
wasn’t growing at the time. He approached Marfred with a business
plan that he thought would take them to another level.
After negotiations, Marfred brought
Cohn on as division manager. He came in to build the product line
and re-build the company's identity, productivity and reputation in
the industry. He began strengthening the Amatix image through
renewed Marketing efforts including advertising, trade shows, trade
association involvement and industry event participation.
18 months later he was
named General Manager. Cohn's efforts in growing sales included
expanding and developing a wider range of products to service a
growing industry and offering a product line of packaging options,
production and cleaning supplies and other items specifically geared
towards the printing supply industry.
In the six years that Cohn
(who is now also Senior VP of Marfred) has worked with Amatix, the
company has increased it's product sku's from 300 to approximately
1200 sku's. Today, Amatix and parent company Marfred
operates from over 500,000 sq. ft facilities, employing over
310 employees at facilities in
Sun Valley, Lakeview Terrace, Ontario,
San Diego, Hayward, and Las Vegas, NV.
With numerous awards including
Readers’ Choice Awards for new products and
marketing, packaging design, preferred vendor and most efficient
supplier, Amatix has become and industry leader, revolutionizing
packaging and design for the aftermarket imaging industry.
Contact Amatix:
(800) 869-0744
www.amatix.com
by Jamie Hamilton— in
addition to writing business profiles in ENX, Jamie writes and
designs ads, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and technical manuals
for companies in the imaging industry. She can be contacted at:
Tel/ Fax 502-896-1051 or e-mail her at:
jamiewriter@hotmail.com.
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