About Rhinotek Computer Products
Executive Profiles
Jobs at Rhinotek
Customer Endorsements
For more than 20 years, Rhinotek has built a
reputation for being a responsive, well-rounded, customer-conscious company that puts people, integrity and service
first. We're currently among the world's leading manufacturers of
high-quality toner and inkjet cartridges. We are environmentally
conscious with our in-house recycling and business philosophy of
remanufacturing Toner and Inkjet cartridges, keeping them out of
landfills. We support our name sake, the rhinoceros, by donating to
Kenya's LEWA Wildlife Conservancy,
plus donations to the Los Angeles Midnight Mission, where Rhinotek
Founder, Gerald W. Chamales, is on their Board of Directors.
CLARITY DIGITAL IMAGING IS STAR OF NMSDC CONFERENCE
Carson, CA December 21, 2006 - Rhinotek Computer Products, Inc. announces the formation of Clarity Digital Imaging Supplies Inc., a wholly owned, minority owned corporation focused on the distribution of computer accessories products to the corporate market. Clarity received rave reviews during its debut at the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) national conference in San Diego California, October 30 - November 1, 2006. Clarity raffled off three of the prized TMX Elmo's, whose laughing and dancing antics drew continuous crowds. Although Elmo attracted attendees to the booth, it was the energetic Clarity team that kept their attention. According to Ravonya Jackson, Clarity's Team Leader, "...we couldn't have asked for a more successful debut." Clarity offers a selection of over 2500 brand name computer accessory products distributed from the company's 26,000 sq ft distribution center in Carson, California and from 24 partner distribution centers throughout the United States.
Clarity Digital Imaging Supplies Inc. is certified by the Southern California Minority Business Development Council, Inc. as a Minority owned and operated business. The ownership group is made up of Reliant Equity Investors, a Chicago based minority owned and managed private equity firm, Fulcrum Ventures, a Los Angeles based minority owned and managed private equity firm and Albert E. Fontenot Jr., the CEO and President of Rhinotek. According to Fontenot, "What sets Clarity apart from other companies in this niche is that along with traditional office supplies, Clarity also offers its own brand of remanufactured laser toner cartridges. The focus of Clarity will be to provide the corporate customer with high quality products, name brands, outstanding service and excellent value."
Clarity is off to a quick start by investing in its community as a supporter of Food From the
'Hood (FFTH), a Los Angeles, CA, non-profit organization for students from Crenshaw High School. FFTH teaches the students business skills in running their salad dressing business and uses the profits to fund their college assistance program. Besides supplying FFTH with toner and ink, Clarity also provides them with IT training and support. Food From the
'Hood just received a $100,000 grant from Merrill Lynch for its Investing Pays Off program.
Clarity Digital Imaging Supplies Inc. is located at 2301 E. Del Amo Blvd., Carson, CA 90220. (310) 894-7397
For Hewlett-Packard, The Real
competition Doesn't Make Printers (9/25/02)
"Our lifeblood is staying ahead of the large printer
makers, or, at least staying with them." David Neideffer, CEO, Rhinotek.
Industry Week Growing Companies, (9/98) Recycled Life:
From homeless, hopeless addict to business entrepreneur, Chamales'
turnaround certainly is a remarkable American success story. "What
you think and what you act on is what you become." Gerald Chamales,
President
Industry Week Growing Companies, 11/98: America's Most Successful
Manufacturers What distinguishes Carson, Calif. based Omni is the quality of its
service and products. Rhinotek laser-printer cartridge performance
routinely exceeds that of original manufactured models...With Omni,
Chamales not only reformed his own life, he also restored the lives
of many of his workers. Chamales has made a special effort to hire
from halfway houses, work-furlough centers, and recovery
programs..."This is not philanthropy. This is a sound business
principle that started out because it was the right thing to do and
now we realize it's the smart thing to do."
Here's a Businessman Who Knows Value Of a Second Chance.
Gerald Chamales Hires People with Troubled
Pasts - And Gives Them a Future 3/11/98 ...people who are struggling
to lift themselves up from the bottom of society often need more
than just a second chance. You have to "give them a third, fourth
and sometimes fifth chance, too." ..."I know what it's like to be
... at the absolute bottom," say Chamales. "We find people who have
high-energy enthusiasm, they want to rebuild their lives. We give
them a platform and many are successful. Work can be the best
therapy." Gerald Chamales
Moving Past Ruling By Fear Supervisors who fail to take employees'
strengths, interests into account may be hurting the bottom line
(8/14/01)"I started to
see that being a leader means playing off people's strengths instead
of reprimanding them about their weakness... Some people are
motivated by achievement, some by a little fear, others by money and
many by recognition." Gerald Chamales, President
Ex-Cons Find Other Jobs Pay in Labor Pinch (5/12/98) Mr. Chamales says he is willing to be a pioneer because he spent a decade strung out
on drugs and alcohol. Then he got training from a social-services
agency and landed a job cold-selling computers by telephone,
eventually starting his own business...
ADDICTED TO SUCCESS
Jerry Chamales travels a hard road to the top. 6/00
There are several unique aspects of Jerry Chamales'
story that have undoubtedly contributed to the success of Omni. The
first is his hiring practice. About one-third of Omni's 200
employees are, like Chamales himself, recovering substance abusers
recruited from recovery centers and half-way houses. "These are
people who really want to succeed. They're highly
motivated."..."It's not where you start in business, it's where you
finish." Gerold Chamales, President
Enterprise-Companies:
Clean, Sober and Good for Business (3/1/99) Ex-substance abusers power
Omni's telemarketing When he's searching for salespeople, Omni Computer Products
President Gerald W. Chamales turns to some unusual recruiters:
parole and probation officers, social workers, and recovery program
mentors. He knows their referrals will have histories of addiction
and sometimes nonviolent crime, which can punch big holes in a
resume. But to Chamales that represents potential, not problems.
``They're coming out of a desperate situation, and that's what we
look for: people who are desperate to change their lives. They tend
to work harder to prove themselves,'' he says.
Gerald W. Chamales, Chairman of Rhinotek Computer Products, receives the
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur
of the Year 2001
Los Angeles Business Journal
Ernst & Young 1998 Entrepreneur of the Year
To retain employees and kep them motivated, Chamales imbues his staff
with a can-do attitude, the same attitude that turned an idea into a
thriving business and encourages people to become all they can be.
Entrepreneur - SNAPSHOT:
Gerald Chamales, Chairman & Founder of Carson, CA based Rhinotek
Computer Products (8/02) At 26, Chamales
kicked an alcohol and substance abuse problem...Self-enrichment audio
tapes and books were extremely influential in his road to recovery and
success... Roughly 33% of Rhinotek's workforce comes from halfway
houses, welfare rolls and drug-treatment programs...Says Chamales: "You
could say we recycle human beings. Instead of giving them a handout, I'm
giving them a hand up."
Entrepreneur - start-up BIZ 101 (9/98) Wake-Up Call
"When I was down to the
proverbial wire, I wised up fast," say Chamales. "I realized I'd better
get my financial act together or I wasn't going to make it." ..."Until
you're generating predictable sales, you'd better be prepared with
flexible money strategies."
TIME digital 9/7/98 EMPOWERING HIS PEOPLE
"If you can focus their energy, they're persistent
people." With such an inspiring leader, it's no surprise that Chamales'
staff is so motivated.
Erasing the Ink Cartel (4/03) IT companies bank on the healthy profit
margins from printer cartridges to boost their bottom lines.
However an EU ruling at the end of last year makes this cash cow
much harder to milk.
Without the huge overheads
of a company like HP and unprofitable divisions to support,
Rhinotek can tolerate a lower profit margin than its colossal
competitors...
FORBES ASAP (6/98) THE
HOMELESS CEO Twenty years ago Gerald
Chamales was homeless and jobless, a college dropout, a former
foster child, "twisted like a pretzel," he says, from alcohol
and drug abuse. Chamales is founder and president of California
based Omni Computer Products, which manufactures printer ribbons
and recycles laser toner cartridges. ...Omni fulfills a double
mission: recycling people and laser cartridges.
CALIFORNIA 5/26/98 Welfare-to-work hiring
starts slowly: PUSH: Omni trains addicts and homeless, Hiring the
down and out. When you get the right people they give you 300 percent because
they're so desperate to rebuild their lives. Gerald Chamales,
President
Selling Saved Their
Lives Positive thinking helped recovering addicts Gerald Chamales and
Joe Hiller build Omni Computer Products. Now their employees,
many of them with troubled pasts, are turning this scrappy
upstart into a telesales powerhouse. My philosophy," Chamales says, "is
that it's not where you start in
business, it's where you finish.
Wild Wild Web: Entrepreneur
Recycles Lives (4/8/99)"We try to
recognize the intrinsic value of every employee," he says. "Being on
the street teaches you survival techniques and entrepreneurial
skills--how to size up situations and jockey for position. A guy
who's had to go out and procure cocaine can figure out how to call a
customer and doesn't easily take no for an answer. Once [people
have] made a decision to get sober, they work harder, as if to make
up for the five or 10 years that they lost."
THE ROAD TO SUCCESS All success stories begin with one thing:
determination! Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking)
said it best: "The world is which you live is not primarily
determined by outward conditions and circumstances, but by thoughts
that habitually occupy your mind." For Gerald Chamales, this meant
believing in himself, having a vision of what could be, and then
exercising the self-control necessary to make it happen. ...As
Gandhi, Gerald Chamales, Tom Hicks, and so many others have shown us
over the ages, an idea takes on enormous power when implemented by a
determined person.
Cathay Pacific and Omni Computers Fly to the Rescue of the Black Rhino
Jerry Chamales, CEO of Omni Computer Products, (Rhinotek
Computer Products) was flying home to LA aboard a Cathay
Pacific Boeing 747, when he read an article in Discovery about
McIntosh's efforts to save the rhino. "I was deeply moved by what I
read," says Chamales, "but also excited because I could see there
was a unique opportunity for Omni to help save the rhino and develop
our own business. Omni had already created the Rhinotek brand, and I
was looking for a partner to share a portion of our profits with."
Omni's new brand of computer products are heavy-duty, recyclable
toner cartridges and the rhino has been chosen to symbolize
ruggedness, strength and long life.
The Midnight Mission - Golden Heart Awards 2001
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Presented to Omni Computer Products
Gerald W. Chamales
Crime Prevention Program of the Year
California Crime Prevention Officers Association
Presented to OMNI COMPUTER PRODUCTS
Carson, CA Annual Conference, September 2001
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice award.
Preserving and Protecting Wildlife
There's a special place in our hearts for our corporate namesake,
the rhino. Each year, we donate a portion of our profits to help
preserve and protect their dwindling numbers. The Rhino donations go to
Kenya's Lewa Wildlife Conservancy,
a non-profit organization dedicated to saving this unique and noble species.