Green Cartridges Ltd were announced as finalists in the Ixion Challenge Survive and Thrive 2010
An toner cartridge remanufacturing company based in Braintree is one of just five businesses from the East of England that have reached the final stage of the Ixion Challenge 2009 and now has just weeks to prepare their case for the £27,000 award to help their business survive and revive.
Chairman of Ixion Holdings Ltd, Margaret Hyde, explained: “This year saw a record 154 companies from across the East of England submit an entry for the first stage of the Ixion Challenge, nearly three times the number that entered last year, and during the last three weeks the judges have been studying entries from the 11 semi-finalists in detail and have now approved five firms which will be visited by the judging panel.
“During this next stage the panel of judges will be visiting each finalist to discuss their business plan and discover details of how the firm would use the £20,000 cash award available to the winner.”
“We are delighted that Green Cartridges Limited of Braintree has reached this final stage due to their proposals to further develop their facilities to meet the increasing demand for recycled inkjet and laser toner cartridges and we look forward to their detailed plan of how they would use the Ixion Challenge award to further develop their work in this field.”
GREEN Cartridges is bucking the current economical trend by securing national and international work.
The provider and remanufacturer of laser toner cartridges has recently added High Street store Wilkinson and courier company FedEx to its growing list of clients.
As many businesses struggle to keep afloat in the recession, Green Cartridges is celebrating boosting its turnover and becoming a big player in its industry.
Before the deals were struck, a big customer for Green Cartridges would order 20 cartridges per month. Wilkinson ordered 400 in the first month of the partnership.
As a result, Green Cartridges has employed an extra team of staff to cope with the influx of work, providing an employment boost locally.
The deal with Wilkinson was struck as a result of building relationships with the company over a period of a year after a first meeting at an exhibition.
Abbe Coulton, of Green Cartridges, said: When we met the senior people from Wilkinson in May 2008, they already had a facility in place.
"But, we kept in touch and built up a relationship so when that arrangement came to an end, Green Cartridges was on hand to step in immediately.
Green Cartridges is now providing cartridges to Wilkinson's two distribution depots which in turn supply its stores nationwide.
FedEx has given Green Cartridges Preferred Supplier Status, meaning it will be called on as a priority over other companies for its international supplies.
Neil Coulton said: "We always saw Green Cartridges™ turnover increasing, but then the recession was suddenly around the corner. But, the recession has made people look at their own spending and where they are getting value for money. Green Cartridges offers that value for money.
"These deals have helped push Green Cartridges to another level."
