manutan

The paper: Primagreen 23.5 lbs

Manutan SA is a subsidiary of the Manutan International Group, a French family business that was founded in 1966. Manutan has marketed and sold industrial and office equipment and supplies for businesses and collectives through its catalogs for 40 years and is now also a major player in B-to-B e-commerce.

Offering businesses 80,000 product solutions to meet all their equipment needs, Manutan represents a unique solution by offering companies the opportunity to purchase all their equipment and supplies through one resource, thus saving those companies time and money while optimizing order and delivery management and reducing related costs.

To do this effectively for its nearly 600,000 customers, Manutan produces over 200 different catalogs a year, a sizable commitment of human and natural resources.

Since the end of 2008, Manutan has committed itself to going “green,” establishing strong environmental values and responding to the growing requests of customers in terms of ecological consideration.

To accomplish this, Manutan initiated a radical change in its rules for selecting products that would be included in its offerings. It established a charter to favor eco-designed products and environmentally sustainable approaches. By 2010, just 2 short years later, 40% of Manutan’s offering is comprised of products that satisfy their new “green” criteria.

This commitment is not limited to product selection; it is a full-fledged internal policy. It is why Manutan is building a new European center for its future efforts that is High Environmental Quality (HEQ). And why Manutan also applies this “green” commitment to the design chain for its catalogs in an on-going and progressive search for improvements to minimize the environmental impact of its business. Including the paper it uses for its catalogs.

Manutan has been working closely with the Bolloré Thin Papers teams for more than 10 years to reduce the weight of its general catalog while at the same time continuing to increase the number of pages as its offers expands.

The Bolloré teams listened to Manutan’s requirements and worked with the company to test alternatives, initially moving from a 54 g/m² LWC (Light Weight Coated) to a 40 g/m² thin paper. Bolloré Thin Papers’ involvement was very strong, with a technician always present for press proofs.

With the help of Bolloré Thin Papers, Manutan established a partnership with all the players in the graphic chain and, with their printers, evolved toward smaller catalog formats, taking into account the changes in the machinery and optimized widths that would result in less paper waste. Ultimately arriving at the 35 gsm paper that the company now uses.

Working in a holistic manner, Bolloré Thin Papers was able to help Manutan reduce the weight of its catalogs while at the same time maintaining a large page volume and good print results to enhance the presentation of the products that are featured.

In September 2009, in their “Everything for the Office” catalog, Manutan was the first catalog seller to use Bolloré Thin Papers’ new “Primagreen” paper, the first paper that is thin, eco-designed, FSC certified and composed of 50% recycled fibers..

And when the company launched “Manutan Health,” its new offer for health care professionals, it seemed natural to continue the approach of reducing the environmental impact of its catalogs. Which is why Manutan again chose Bolloré Thin Papers’ Primagreen paper.

With Bolloré Thin Papers, Manutan is not only saving money on paper usage, it is saving the resources of the planet.