(RALEIGH, N.C., August 11, 2003) -- North Carolina Governor Mike Easley signed House Bill 999 into law Thursday that will allow printer users the right to refill any cartridge, voiding contracts or purchase agreements that banned cartridges from being remanufactured.
"I think the issues are extremely simple. Does the OEM have the right to tell as a matter of public policy that their product cannot be remanufactured and therefore it must go into landfills?" said Ed Swartz, CEO of Static Control Components. "I am glad that the legislature intervened to protect the jobs of North Carolinians and our environment."
Initially introduced on April 16th, the toner cartridge bill stemmed from a battle with North Carolina based Static Control Components and Lexmark International. Static Control Components supplies remanufacturers with parts to refurbish depleted cartridges. "Lexmark International, the second largest printer manufacturer in the world, has consistently fought against the remanufacturing industry in an effort to protect hefty margins," according to Swartz. For Swartz, the bill was about fighting for the industry's survival.
"We took scarce financial resources and we devoted them to this and frankly, we have the moral high ground. We simply didn't misrepresent anything," said Swartz. "We just told it the way it was and legislators, after having listened to both sides, agreed with our policy that this was in the public interest for the state of North Carolina."
The bill originally passed in the House and was improved in the Senate Commerce Committee, where it received unanimous support. The Senate approved the committee substitute with a 39-5 vote sending it back to the House for concurrence. The House agreed with the Senate delivering a decisive 80-32 vote that sent the bill to the Governor. Static Control Components employs 1,200 people in three divisions. The Imaging Supplies Division (ISD) manufactures components that are sold to remanufacturers of laser printer toner cartridges. ISD and Static Control's other two divisions, Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and Santronics, combine for revenues in excess of $250M. The remanufacturing industry is comprised of over 5,000 customers, employing more than 34,000 people nationwide. Static Control Components maintains a worldwide presence with distribution in more than 163 countries. Static Control Components can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.scc-inc.com.
SOURCE Static Control Components
Web Site: http://www.scc-inc.com
