Global chip manufacturer company joins ETIRA

June 22, 2022

A Korean company focused on manufacturing chips and reset machines has joined the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association.

TinTec, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, specialises in chips and reset development and is expanding into areas including CISS solution and MPS software.

Since being founded as TNCore in 2006, company has grown his reputation rapidly, being an industry leader, especially in re-progamabale chips and chip resetting. The company opened a European arm, TINTEC EU, in Spain in 2017 under the umbrella of TN Group

Julie Jang, General Manager, at TinTec, said: “Ever since the company was founded, our emphasis has always been on recycling. In fact, we created the first resettable, reprogrammed chips.

“Most of our main customers are ETIRA members and we are well aware of the important work the association does. In our industry, each year more than one billion cartridges are sold, with approximately half ending up in landfill. Many Life Cycle analyses have show that by using remanufactured cartridges, we can reduce CO₂ emissions by half compared to new cartridges.

“As a leading company in recycling, as part of a worldwide community and as human beings, it is our responsibility to unite with ETIRA and fellow members to promote sustainable economic and environmental development.”

Julie said it was important to educate customers on the differences between newly-built Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) cartridges and more environmentally-friendly recycled cartridges.

She said: “We need to change the mindset of the consumers, to look beyond the prices and base their decisions equally on environmental impact and sustainability.

“Some consumers have the mistaken idea that new-built cartridges are ‘better’ than remanufactured products. But the eco-friendly process we use not only ensures quality, but also sustainability. We hope that remanufactured products will not be undervalued, but rather give us a competitive edge.

“Our CEO came from a family business in the recycling industry, including recycling cartridges, and has integrated technology and recycling into TinTec. While OEMs have been making increasing efforts to block recycling and make reprogramming of chips more difficult, our commitment and faith in recycling continues with a strong sense of duty.

“We are inspired to take this chance to push for a bigger shift towards remanufacturing cartridges. Collectively with ETIRA and our fellow members, let’s move towards increasing reuse of waste cartridges and towards a greener and sustainable future.”

Javier Martinez, president of ETIRA, said: “We are very pleased to welcome TinTec to the ETIRA family. The group have a long-term commitment to remanufacturing since their foundation in Korea and that has continued with their expansion into Europe.

“As a member of our network of environmentally-conscious remanufacturers, TinTec joins a group committed to raising the profile of remanufactured products that offer a superior environmental performance.”