To better serve the customers in the Western Hemisphere, SM ENGINEERING USA was formed in 1987 with its Headquarters located in Franklin, Tennessee. SME introduced the first re-manufacturing machine for printer ribbons in 1987. Continuing to lead the way, in 1992, the first ink jet cartridge recycling machine was brought to market. The product line was continually expanded for the next 4 years. By 1996 SME had customers re-manufacturing ink jet cartridges around the world in over 40 countries and was generally regarded as the leading equipment supplier.

In 1997, SME officially changed its name to FAES USA, Inc. First as a service and sales center, later as a manufacturing facility, FAES USA, Inc.  today owns a 10,000 sq. ft. (1,000 m2) plant with state-of-the-art mechanical engineering design equipment and machine tools.

CBR was formed in 1990 in Basel, Switzerland, primarily remanufacturing printer ribbons and selling printer supplies.   With the emergence of the ink jet recycling market, CBR, well advanced in their re-manufacturing know-how, firmly set the industry standard. 1993, CBR developed the first machines for recycling ink jet cartridges. Following in 1994 the first cleaning systems based on the hot flushing principle were introduced. CBR continued to round out the equipment program by developing auxiliary devices necessary for an efficient ink jet cartridge  recycling operation.

Initially, the machines were used in CBR’s own production.  It was not until later that they were sold to customers worldwide. Their intricate knowledge of recycling along with a complete line of supplies as well as courses for process know-how, helped to establish CBR as one of the leaders in the ink jet industry.Today, CBR continues to expand its process knowledge by re-manufacturing over 30,000 ink jet cartridges per month.

Recognizing the strengths each company had to offer, CBR and SME embarked on a joint venture. This partnership has taken the ink jet industry one step further. SME’s strengths combined with CBR’s process know-how ensures technological advancements in the design and conception of new recycling systems.

Serving two locations, this joint venture brings forth competitively priced equipment and an increased product line. CBR-SME has over 2,000 installed machines and devices worldwide in over 50 countries. Recognized as the indisputable leader in its field CBR-SME has by far the largest product line, enabling us to offer the customers what they really need. OEM’s such as Samsung, Eastman Kodak, NCR, Ricoh and Olivetti as well as large aftermarket manufacturers such as JetFill, Nukote, Dataproducts and GRC, to name a few, rely on CBR-SME equipment to recycle ink jet cartridges as well as to fill new, compatible cartridges. Our customers continue to profit from the daily experiences of CBR's large ink jet cartridge recycling production in the form of efficiency and process improvements, quality enhancement of the supplies and effective service and support. CBR-SME offers a comprehensive line of machines, a complete assortment of ink jet recycling supplies, compatible cartridges and professional training courses.