Optical Technologies Honored for Industry Support in Three States
Long Island City, NY — The New York State Assembly and two regional cartridge remanufacturing associations recently recognized Optical Technologies Corp. and President Lester Cornelius for
its commitment to promoting the remanufacturing industry.
"Optical Technologies has given freely of its best resources, time and money," said Texas Association of Cartridge Remanufacturers President Mike Wendt at a TACR awards ceremony in
early June. "Without his guidance in the early days, we might not have come this far." Texas recently enacted legislation making it the first state to secure a law that supports the industry in its fight
against single-use campaigns. TACR awarded Optical Technologies Corp. one of two special awards for "Sowing the Seeds of Rebellion in Texas."
The Northeast Cartridge Remanufacturing Association (NECRA) also acknowledged the leadership and commitment made by Optical Technologies in assisting the group in promoting
legislation in New York and Connecticut. The award was conferred upon Optical Technologies Corp. and Cornelius at the NECRA show held in Meadowlands, New Jersey.
"The leadership at OTC is genuine in its commitment to making the industry a better and thriving corporate community," said NECRA President Howard Topal. NECRA has helped promote
legislation throughout the northeast and has been instrumental in getting a law passed in Connecticut, a bill through the Assembly in New York, and a bill sponsored in Pennsylvania.
Assemblyman Joe Morelle, sponsor of the New York legislation, was unaware of the plight of the remanufacturing industry in its fight with Lexmark's industry-threatening Prebate program until he
met OTC's Cornelius at a special hearing he convened on remanufacturing.
Calling Lexmark's policy "wrong-headed," Morelle became a one-man campaign that has led to legislation or bid specification revision in at least a dozen states. Morelle and Cornelius have
even appeared on cable television programs together to garner support for the New York legislation.
Morelle was also instrumental in gaining the support of OEMs' Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Xerox for the legislation, and relied on OTC's expertise to assure that outcome. "Lester's leadership
and insight make him the ideal resource to help us fight this battle," Morelle said. "We are still fighting the fight, but win, lose or draw, we've made inroads."
After passing the bill in the Assembly for the second year in a row, Morelle called upon spokespeople from Hewlett-Packard, Xerox and Optical Technologies to discuss the importance of the legislation.
"No one understands the intricacies of this industry as well as OTC and Cornelius," Assemblyman Morelle's Director of Communications Mary McCrank said. "We needed their insight to make sure that
our targeted goal was achieved."
Morelle gained the support of NY Speaker Sheldon Silver, who assisted in securing a $1 million tax incentive package to make New York state the most "remanufacturer friendly" state in the nation.
"Remanufacturing is the type of industry that New York state wants to foster," Morelle said.
Optical Technologies Corp. is an industry leader in imaging supplies, coatings and products. The New York-based company sells and licenses special coating formulations to Kodak, the
federal government and Fortune 500 companies.
For further information, contact Optical Technologies Corp. at 800-682-7371, 718-729-4430, or fax 718-729-5291.
This article originally appeared in the July 1999 issue of Recharger.