IIMAK

IIMAK (International Imaging Materials, Inc.) is North America’s leading manufacturer of thermal transfer ribbons. IIMAK’s ribbons are used to print bar codes and other variable information on tags and labels used in the auto ID market. IIMAK-compatible cartridges and ribbon refills are also used in plain paper fax machines such as Brother, Sharp, and Panasonic. IIMAK has 550 employees in the U.S., Mexico, and Belgium, and a plant that runs 24/7 to produce 900,000 ribbons per month from 4,700 possible SKUs.

“We needed to establish a unified front to the outside world.”
— Sal Iannello, Technical Services Manager, IIMAK.

IIMAK’s existing 3Com infrastructure, built on a shared-hub architecture, was no longer sufficient to keep up with its global workforce and round-the-clock production schedule; both performance and reliability were rapidly deteriorating. The company sought an IP-based unified communications system that would tie all of its sites together, create a unified front to the outside world, and allow all moves, adds, and changes to be done in-house. Implementing such a system would require a new network infrastructure capable of supporting it.

“We used to have to call on an outside party to make changes with our old Mitel system — for anything and everything.”
— Sal Iannello, Technical Services Manager, IIMAK.

To find an Ethernet solution that would increase bandwidth and processing efficiency as well as support VoIP, IIMAK vetted numerous vendors. They ultimately selected an Extreme Networks^® Gigabit Ethernet switching solution, including BlackDiamond^® and Summit^® switches.  ShoreTel provided IIMAK with a unified communications solution that included ShoreTel Voice Switches and ShoreTel Director. The ShoreTel IP Phone System offers powerful call management features to employees worldwide, streamlines management of the system into a single interface, and transforms the company’s global offices into a unified presence. Other benefits include:

• Efficiency-enhancing tools of ShoreTel Call Manager enable colleagues to connect to each other faster. Powerful presence feature ensures that the current status of each person is indicated on the screen.
• Tight integration with Microsoft^® Outlook^® on users’ desktops creates a multimedia communications center with directory dialing, contact screen pop, and calendar integration.
• Cost of company growth and expansion is lowered. ShoreTel Director streamlines administration into a Web-based interface. With all moves, adds, and changes done in-house, the need for expensive outside service is eliminated.
• With the ShoreTel system, IIMAK is saving at least $500 per month in toll charges.

“Because ShoreTel’s solution is software-based and modular, it doesn’t matter if a site is 100 miles or one mile away from another building — as long as it’s connected with Ethernet, they have the same experience as employees at our headquarters. We get full and consistent functionality from any site.”
— Sal Iannello, Technical Services Manager, IIMAK