NETLINK ENTERS INTO MARKETING ALLIANCE WITH PRINTRONIX

Dubai Netlink has entered a marketing alliance with California-based Printronix, the leading integrated supply-chain printing solutions manufacturer, as part of its strategy to offer world-class add-on tools to its portfolio of radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions and services in the region.

Netlink unveiled recently an independent business division focused exclusively on RFID, Netlink RFID. The division will cater to the emerging market for RFID solutions in the region by offering world-class products and solutions sourced from global partners. This will ensure maximum efficiency in enterprise business processes at competitive ownership costs.

Terming the marketing alliance as a significant step in the company’s accelerated efforts at developing and servicing the evolving regional RFID market, Mr. Satyajit, Chief Strategy Officer of Dubai Netlink L. L. C. said: “Our association with Printronix, a company that believes in the rising potential for RFID solutions in the Middle East, is a significant move in the strategic enhancement of our portfolio of RFID solutions and services. In the RFID realm, the reputation of Printronix in supplying globally benchmarked printing solutions, will add value to our positioning of Netlink RFID as an entity that has the entire gamut of RFID solutions in one place.

“Our focus on RFID for the regional market is based on our philosophy of offering innovative, next-generation products and services that will help increase the ROI in enterprises. RFID still is in its early stages of reception and adoption in the regional market, but world-over, the interest in these solutions is on the rise considering its potential to streamline and automate business processes in real time, particularly in the case of Supply Chain Management (SCM),” he said.

Commenting on the relationship with Netlink, Mr. Claus Hinge, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Printronix Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said: “Our partnership with Netlink is another major step in getting a firm foothold in the regional market. It is important that we join hands with experienced and reputed companies like Netlink in our regional growth strategy to gain from their local expertise.

“More importantly, there is a synergy in the views of Nelink and Printronix, that the region holds tremendous potential for RFID solutions and services. It is our confident belief that in the next few years, the market for these cutting-edge solutions will increase and an early presence in the region will work to our advantage in effective market penetration and support to RFID deployments,” he said

Mr. Hinge said Printronix is a global leader in enabling enterprise printing solutions for the industrial marketplace and distribution supply chain, and it offers the next-generation RFID printers and services. “We are in the process of expanding our reach in the regional market through forging strong partnerships with local companies ever since we opened our Middle East office in Dubai last year,” he added.

“Dubai, being a dynamic business hub, is a strategic home base for us in the region, serving as a vantage point for our expansion. Being in Dubai will allow us to be closer to our customers in the region supporting timely deliveries and servicing by our team,” Mr. Hinge added.

Printronix, a NASDAQ-listed company is known as one of the pioneers which has supported RFID pilot adoptions for retail, consumer goods and defence suppliers in North America, when it shipped the world’s first RFID, UHF 915 MHz, Class I commercial printer in September 2003. The newest additions to its RFID range is the Printronix 5r Multi-Technology Printing Platform, which enhances Printronix's thermal bar code and RFID smart label printer families.