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REMANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL
December 2019/January 2020
NETWORK | KNOWLEDGE | BUSINESS
SHAKEN TO THE CORE How to protect the industry’s lifeblood
Also Farewell 2019 – been nice knowing you! RIC-RIT World Remanufacturing Conference: full report What would happen if Keanu Reeves promoted reman?
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EDITORIAL
‘It was a vibrant 2019 with two Rematec shows and new branding: now step into 2020 with Rematec News’
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ores. For remanufacturers, they are the heart of it all - but the landscape for dealers is complex and challenging. New research from TUDelft, which held a workshop at Rematec Amsterdam on the subject, explains how logistics might be improved (p8). The findings could end up benefiting everyone and are well worth a read. In this issue of Rematec News, you will also find a full report on the RIC-RIT World Remanufacturing Conference from the US (p16). The lieutenant governor of New York told delegates: “What you’re doing has the potential to really impact our world.” Her quote
just about sums it up: remanufacturers do indeed have the capacity to help save the planet. That’s a cheery thought as we enter a new year. Yet while the big picture is important, reman is closer to home than we sometimes think. To see what I mean, turn to page p23 for a look at what Nigel Ramsden, one of the foremost robotics engineers in Europe, has been doing in his off-duty moments. There is no Rematec Amsterdam in 2020 – but the second Rematec Asia show will take place in October. Bridging the gap between east and west in reman, the new initiative reflects the potentially boundless opportunities in China. Exciting times. It’s been quite a year for reman, as you can see in our review of the last 12 months on p14. There’s also plenty to look forward to – because it’s worth reiterating that nothing stands still. As we go forward, you will have already noticed the alteration in the Rematec News branding to reflect remanufacturing’s place in the circular economy: the industry changes and so must we. Transformation is a given. In particular, Rematec will expand its digital reach this year and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with you online through various channels during 2020 and beyond. As ever, thank you all for your input and support. Finally, Keanu Reeves promoting reman? Well, it’s an idle thought at present (p7). But far stranger things have happened – and reman is becoming cooler. Let’s not forget that George Clooney advertised coffee machines. Who knows what the future may bring?
Published by RAI Amsterdam B.V. P.O. Box 77777, 1070 MS Amsterdam The Netherlands In association with Route2Market Editor Adam Hill: ahill@ropl.com Phone: +44 (0)7931 502947 US correspondent Denise Rondini: drondini@gmail.com Route One Publishing Managing Director Andrew Barriball: abarriball@ropl.com Rematec News: advertising manager Sara Clark Phone: +44 (0)1732 445302 sara.clark@talkmediasales.co.uk Contributors in this issue Andrew Bardin Williams, John Chalifoux, Sonja van Dam, Premila Glover, Daniel Koehler, Nigel Ramsden, Volker Schittenhelm Marketing Communications & PR Evelien Feijen: e.feijen@rai.nl Phone: +31 (0)20 54915 81 Rematec & Rematec Asia: sales manager Yorien de Ruijter Phone: +31 (0)20 5493075 Fax: +31 (0)20 5491889 advertising@rematecnews.com Publisher Evelien Feijen: (responsible under Dutch Press Law) e.feijen@rai.nl Design, Production & Printing Route One Publishing Ltd Copyright RAI Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Reproduction No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, RAI Amsterdam B.V. Subscription magazine & eNewsletter www.rematec.com Change of address info@rematecnews.com Rematec News online www.rematec.com/news Circulation Approx. 12,000 readers per edition. The magazine is delivered on a controlled circulation basis to recipients in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Asia.
Adam Hill, Editor ahill@ropl.com
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Rematec News
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CONTENTS
Review of the Year
“What you’re doing has the potential to really impact our world”
The 2019 has passed by - now let’s get on with 2020, which includes the second Rematec Asia among other things... ww
Quite right: a full report from the RIC-RIT World Remanufacturing Conference in Rochester, NY
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HOW CAN (H REMAN E THE P LP) SAVE LANET UN res earch sec hig tor’s s ustain hlights able ro le
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Continen RTSORIAL VEHT LIG tal: ‘W20EV AD GH EN haHITSve TEcC e19 MERA an MAte to explai REma Re dR n reman Netflix an IC-RIT conferen ever y da ce report y’ d Spotif s y are ch anging re manufac turing
D ON TISE IUMROBO ING S R 9 O MP & TU 01 SY ATED UFAC21, 2 DE M AN 20- INSI O T AU REM archETAILS
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COVER STORY Shaken to the core How dealers can navigate an increasingly complex landscape and improve return logistics
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test a e r g e Th
SHOW
unity ring comm w pages, nufactu er the next fe aring… rld’s rema a sh t. Ov w the wo’s premier even or king and ide sa 19 tw try ne c 20 Remate m for the indus three days of m ghts fro Amsterda flock to up some highli d we roun
On your bike
Robotics expert Nigel Ramsden demonstrates that reman begins at home
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Pitch perfect If you want an original answer to reman’s challenges - ask a student. But what’s Keanu Reeves got to do with it?
Viewpoint “Europe has to decide what it is prepared to do to defend its nascent circular economy”
Don’t miss out Remanufacturers and their customers truly have a compelling story – great news to share about saving our planet, says MERA
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Of cores, we know Reman relies on cores: APRA Europe explains what it is doing for companies working in this vital sector
Diary So much to see, so many places to go...Let us help you plan your work time
Think engine reman Materials recycling isn’t resource-efficient - but product recycling (or reman) is, says FIRM
© Starstock | Dreamstime.com
Rematec News
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NEWS DIGEST
© Yevhenii Strebkov | Dreamstime.com
The European Union (EU) will need to put its money where its mouth is on trade if it is to transition to a circular economy (CE) model, says a thinktank. The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) report EU circular economy and trade: Improving policy coherence for sustainable development suggests it should champion trade incentives for CE goods within EU free trade agreements (FTAs), so as to “make circular economyrelated technologies and services an explicit part of the EU’s definition for environmental goods and services in order to facilitate trade in them”. The EU should also “improve general enforcement of FTA sustainability provisions” and standardise definitions and standards when it comes to developing sustainable international trade in environmental goods.
Daimler stresses Design4Reman importance A senior Daimler executive has stressed the importance of Design4Reman as the German manufacturer goes forward. “The more we succeed in reusing components, the less energy and resources we will consume during the entire process,” says Andreas Jörg, responsible for remanufacturing and value parts & services, in an interview on Daimler’s website. “Our priority is therefore a high remanufacturing quota. To achieve this, it is important
Gene Avallone
EU TRADE POLICY MUST REFLECT CE: THINKTANK
Andreas Jörg, Daimler for us to be involved in the early development phases of a vehicle so that our requirements are taken
into account. Designing a new part so that it can be remanufactured is easier than subsequently adapting a finished product.” He says that independent testing organisation TÜV Süd has found that reconditioning a single remanufactured G281 truck transmission saves 445 kg of carbon dioxide and 7300 megajoules of energy compared with production of a new unit. “In other words: 11 trees would take 10 years to convert the CO2 saved by remanufacturing,” Jörg says. www.daimler.com/sustainability
Cummins unveils sustainability goals Cummins has announced what it calls “bold new environmental sustainability goals” for 2030, and some environmental “longer-term aspirations” to 2050. CEO Tom Linebarger said the company’s PLANET 2050 strategy includes science-based goals for products and facilities in 2030 aligned to the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – but that it is also a “business imperative”. The goals address emissions and more sustainable use of resources. By 2030 Cummins, which has a substantial engine reman
operation, wants to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from facilities and operations by 50% and cut ‘absolute lifetime’ GHG emissions from new products by 25%. It says it will also partner with customers to reduce GHG emissions from products in the field by 55 million metric tonnes. It also wants to create a circular lifecycle plan for every part “to use less, use better, use again”, as well as reducing waste and water consumption, and recycling plastic. Cummins says it will report on progress in its annual Sustainability Progress Report.
ACE Awards: the winners Remanufacturing Industries Council’s ACE (Advocate, Collaborate and Educate) Awards were announced at the RIC-RIT World Remanufacturing Conference. Don Bigler (Advocate - pictured left) founded BBB Industries over 30 years ago and has grown the company to become a leader in the remanufacturing of starters, alternators, hydraulic and air disc brake calipers, power steering products, and turbochargers for the OEM, personal and commercial vehicle aftermarket industries. Jena Holtberg-Benge (Collaborate centre), general manager of John Deere Reman, provides strategic direction for
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the global remanufacturing business within Deere. She is also RIC board secretary and chairman of the first-ever Remanufacturing Association Alliance, playing a key role in global Reman Day.
Bill Davies (Educate - right), founder of Davies Office, is recognised as a leader in green remanufacturing and an expert in sustainable office furniture solutions. A long-standing member of the RIC and chairman emeritus, he “exemplifies professionalism and dedication to the industry”, the judges said. One scholarship was given to each winner to award within their communities, “encouraging future industry leaders to become more engaged with remanufacturing before graduation”. • RIC-RIT World Reman Conference report, p16
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MARKETING
Rogier Bos
Reeves: reman promoter?
© Starstock | Dreamstime.com
Pitch perfect Getting people interested in buying reman auto parts is a problem that the industry has long wrestled with – but some bright students have provided a new direction, says Adam Hill. Maybe Keanu Reeves could be persuaded…
Rematec Innovation Challenge: the presentations Julia den Heuvel – Frame it, claim it Stefania Albarosa – Roll sustainably
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f you want a fresh perspective, then ask a student. That was Rematec’s approach with the Innovation Challenge, which aimed to find new ideas on improving value delivery in Europe's remanufactured auto parts industry, raising visibility and driving sales. Jingshu Du (pictured, third from right), assistant professor of strategic management and innovation at VU Amsterdam, hosted the student presentations and a variety of intriguing ideas was on display at Rematec Amsterdam. The winner was Maëlle Le Rudulier from Canada, who impressed the jury with the simplicity of her solution, which involved putting stickers on reman parts to increase their visibility with consumers. The pitch from Ferdinand de Mol (pictured, centre) was themed around generational marketing, which is the idea of influencing specific age groups by using methods they would best respond to, rather than taking a blanket approach. “It can be utilised to optimise demand for reman parts,” he insisted. “The problem is the majority of European car owners don’t know the term ‘remanufacturing’.” He adds that, before researching the topic, “I didn’t know the term ‘reman’ and thought of it as second-hand products, inferior.” So the industry has to get to the point of transforming reman
parts “from an option that doesn’t exist to one of the best options out there”. So not enough people have heard of it – and if you want to influence people, you need to go to where they go. Mol ran through the various groups that marketers break demographics down into: baby boomers (born between 1946-64), Generation X (1965-80) and Generation Y (the ‘millennials’ 1981-99). Baby boomers are willing to read marketing material, Mol explained, so are open to direct marketing and watch 50 hours or more of TV a week. Meanwhile, 80% of Generation X is on social media and email is their preferred medium. Generation Y is also active on social media (about 85%) but they tend to be more diverse in their usage, e.g. not just Facebook. They also like watching short video clips. “Get a famous YouTuber on board and get them to review how much they like the product,” Mol suggested. However, there is also a need to influence the buyers of the future. “To create future demand we need to attract Generation Z, born post-2000,” Mol says. This may not be so easy because “they are desensitised by information overflow”. With that in mind, he explained how US fast food chain Wendy’s – not the most obviously exciting brand - built its Twitter following rapidly to 3.4 million by being smart, funny, and engaging in banter with its rivals and customers. “The younger
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Sangyung Choi – Sell it with nature! Theo Symonds – Re-Part it Ferdinand de Mol – Generational marketing Maëlle Le Rudulier – A sticky solution (winner)
generation wants to rebel and likes companies that don’t take themselves too seriously,” says Mol. Wendy’s command of Twitter and other channels has made the brand seem fun and relevant. “Influencing culture is not new,” Mol told the audience. “It’s difficult to uphold your image but if you are constantly painted in a good light, they will adore you.” Mol enjoyed the Rematec experience: “The opportunity to speak at the event was amazing, and both the organisation and the jury were very kind and thoughtful in their feedback. Also, the chance of networking with industry leaders after the event proved invaluable to me.” He finished his Rematec presentation by suggesting that a famous Canadian movie actor, star of the Matrix and John Wick franchises, would be a good frontman for a remanufacturing industry marketing campaign. “Hire Keanu Reeves,” he laughed. Maybe Keanu is just what reman needs: watch this space… Rematec News
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CORE LOGISTICS
Research gets to the core of the issue A workshop at Rematec Amsterdam helped to develop practical new ideas around the challenges faced by core brokers. TUDelft’s Sonja van Dam explains how the insights gathered will help remanufacturers to improve logistics…
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successful circular economic business models, a good understanding of customer needs and experiences is critical. The new product-service systems and accompanying business models are therefore being co-created together with end users and other relevant stakeholders along the value chain.
eCiPSS is a research project co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme and includes four research partners and nine industrial partners from eight countries. The objective is to establish the first industrydriven large-scale demonstrators of resource-efficient circular product service systems (ReCiPSS) in two key industries with a strong potential for closing the loop: white goods and automotive spare parts. To be able to develop value-adding services for both demonstrators with
Design process The Faculty of Industrial Design at the Delft University of Technology (TUDelft) is leading this process by hosting a series of co-creation sessions with stakeholders and end users. Co-creation
methods enable users and other relevant stakeholders to participate in the design process. The aim is to ensure that the resulting services and products fit the way they will actually be used by people within a company or at home, thus vastly increasing their chance of success in the market. The results from the research are being used to inspire and inform the ReCiPSS project teams throughout the project in the development of ICT platforms and product-service systems. Within the white goods demonstrator, a new circular product-
Reverse logistics and supply chain of core brokers
Remanufacturers
Customers = Whoever is interested
Sending wrong cores can be an expensive mistake
Pick-up is arranged by remanufacturer
Core brokers
Service they provide to customers:
<1% rejection rate
Selection by extensive trial period
Results in low rejection rates
Core bank
Price is very sensitive to supply and demand Remanufacturers have stable partner portfolio
Limited partners with extensive experise
Quality grades OE numbers
Goods are sent by supplier or picked up by core broker • Buying right part is more important than logistics of getting the part • Amount of parts varies: 5-200 parts in one go.
Goods are bought through physical meet-ups (and later from stock-lists) • Physical meet-ups help to create a personal relationship with the supplier • To ensure quality • Also to educate suppliers on what the criteria are
Suppliers Service points
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Scrapyards
Occasionally whole batches are rejected • This leads to a closer selection of suppliers
Core brokers communicate remanufacturer’s criteria and OE numbers to their suppliers
Personal relationship, built up over a long time • Creates the opportunity to discuss criteria
= Wherever there is interesting material Trading companies
Other core brokers
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CORE LOGISTICS
Rematec co-creation
service system is being co-created with end users from scratch: shifting from an ownership to a service-based model, with newly-designed washing machines supporting several life cycles with minimum repair/remanufacturing requirements and effort. Gorenje is implementing this innovative, circular pay-per-wash scheme for washing machines in four European countries. The automotive parts demonstrator is improving an already-existing circular product-service system and aims to simplify the complexity of reverse logistics of cores together with aftermarket stakeholders. Co-creation workshops with stakeholders, including wholesalers, core brokers and remanufacturers, aim to ensure that the processes surrounding transportation, identification and acceptance of cores are optimally aligned with the needs of all parties involved and that the new platform has benefits for all.
products that are reused, remanufactured and/or recycled in an economically viable way through cost reduction in reverse logistics, the creation of new value streams and building greater business resilience. The project runs until 1 June 2022 with the following partners: KTH, TUDelft, MU, Fraunhofer, Gorenje, C-ECO GmbH, Bosch, Homie, CirBes, Striebig Logistique, Signifikant, PDSVision and Siveco. The project is co-funded by the European Commission’s research and innovation programme. www.recipss.eu
The most recent co-creation session was held at the Rematec show in Amsterdam together with five core brokers from England and Germany, a purchasing core broker (from a remanufacturer) and a reverse logistics service provider. The fruitful discussion gave insights into core brokers’ experiences and strength, as well as the challenges they are facing and the landscape they are operating in. These insights were then visualised in two posters (see below) showing: 1) the landscape in which core brokers are operating with the opportunities and challenges they are facing; and
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sonja van Dam is a researcher in design for sustainability/circular product design at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at TUDelft S.S.vanDam@tudelft.nl
2) the reverse logistics processes core brokers are dealing with C-ECO aims to implement the results of the sessions within the project for their service brand CoremanNet. Through the demonstrators, the project aims to increase the number of discarded
The challenging market of core brokers Core brokers Safe keeping of cores
OE numbers and Quality grades
Bought cores go into the warehouse of the core brokers, until they can be sold to the remanufacturers
Core broker = big bank for cores
Legend = Core
Core broker = re ry
= Opportunity
= Skilled professional partner • •
Selecting E numbers and quality grades for customers • • •
= Threat
= Professional gambler
Identifying correct OE numbers is a challenge
• Buying the right core that customers want or might start to want in the future
Changing quality criteria and strictness are challenging
= Treasure hunter
Trying to buy gold for the price of scrap
Very close relationship towards customers Trust and dependability are paramount
= Risk bearer • •
Select Identify Concentrate Sort
•
Investing money, space, time and people in cores Uncertainty of copies entering the market Stock might lose value overnight Uncertainty of future demand
= Storage •
Based on OE numbers and quality grades Criteria might change
Re-check Re-identify Re-sort
(5x)
+/- 80%
of incoming cores comes from surcharge system
Suppliers Remanufacturers
Urban miners / scavengers
• Less knowledgable on quality assessment • Varying ethical standards
Chinese copies Volatile threat
to remanufacturing industry: Chinese copies used as cheaper fluctuating quality
To strengthen the remanufacturing industry
of incoming cores comes from core brokers
Chinese OE numbers
Opportunity:
CO2 tax
+/- 20%
Remanufacturers are very stringent on OE numbers, because other OE
If remanufactured part is more expensive
are therefore not remanufacturable.
Opportunity:
of OE numbers
To strengthen the remanufacturing industry
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Quality criteria remanufacturing processes.
Volatile threat to remanufacturing industry: Chinese copies used as fluctuating
Rematec News
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NOTES & COMMENT
VIEWPOINT
“Europe has to decide what it is prepared to do to defend its nascent circular economy”
David Fitzsimons “
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here is a great deal of talk about policies to favour remanufacturing at the global level – but the day-to-day experience of doing business in the circular economy might tell a different story. When German politician Ursula von der Leyen, president-elect of the European Commission, voiced her support in the European Parliament for the introduction of carbon border taxes she was also acknowledging that Europe’s circular economy is under a renewed threat. I say ‘renewed’ because the threat is hardly a new one - the open import of products designed for a single and short life, which are also incapable of being remanufactured or refurbished.
This was the clear message from Michael Cardone, President and owner of the world’s largest privately-owned remanufacturer, Cardone Industries, in a speech to the International Federation of Automotive Afterma rket Distributors, FIGIEFA’s annual conferen ce in Lisbon on May 28.
“Remanufacturing is the right thing to do for the vehicle owner, the mechan ic, the environment and for the future of the independent afterma rket in Europe,” Michael Cardone told the conferen ce, adding “Success doesn’t come easy but success is easier when an entire industry unites and works together towards a common goal.”
In a wide-ranging presentation on challenges and opportu nities for remanu facturers, Cardone question ed whether the new Block Exemption regulati ons are sufficien t to keep the independent aftermarket healthy and prosperous. “The aftermarket needs more than access, it needs parts and information to sell and service the vehicle park,” Cardone emphasised. “More partnering is needed so that the high-tech electron ic and mechatr onic parts will be available to the independent aftermarket to repair the vehicles.” Earlier this year, Cardone Industrie entered into such s a partnership with Delphi.
Michael Cardone pointed out that yet another challeng e to the remanu facturing sector is increasin g fuel prices. This means that more of the disposab le income of vehicle owners goes on fuel and not on repairin g cars. Consequently, Cardone believes the aftermarket must focus on keeping repair costs as low as possible and keeping vehicles on the road longer.
MICHAEL CARD ONE – STRONG PROSPECTS FOR EUROPEAN REMANUFACTURI NG “As the value of vehicles decrease s, pressure for lower cost repairs become s more important. The sooner the cost of repairs exceeds the value of the vehicle, the sooner vehicles will be scrapped , making our market disappear. Remanu factured parts keep repair costs lower,” Cardone said.
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Remanufacturin g can have the same positive impa aftermarket in Europ ct on the e as it has had in There are big oppo the United State s. rtunities for rema nufacturers in Europ independent after market. e’s
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Cardone: a brig European rem ht future for anufacturing
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David Fitzsimons Director European Remanufacturing Council
No less a figure than Michael Cardone – after whom MERA’s leadership awards are named – was highlighting reman opportunities in Europe 15 years ago in Rematec News. In a speech in Portugal to the International Federation of Automotive Aftermarket Distributors, he said: “Remanufacturing is the right thing to do for the vehicle owner, the mechanic, the environment and for the future of the independent aftermarket in Europe.”
Ha
But when combined with a price based on the marginal costs of over-production and non-compliance with CE markings, the certain outcome is the closure of businesses that are providing the much-praised quality of product value retention. Javier Martinez, the new president of ETIRA, a printer cartridge trade association, said in Barcelona recently that Europe had to decide what it is prepared to do to defend its nascent circular economy. His evidence was a screenshot of a wholesale price list in which an OEM-branded product priced at €80 was compared to a remanufactured version at €55 and a budget product at €15. The budget product displayed a CE marking to indicate that it complied with all European regulatory requirements. The rules of international trade are now being redrawn in the cause of “making America great again”. Ursula von der Leyen’s response is: “Let’s make the environment great again” - but the proposal of carbon border taxes is so complex it will tie up officials for years and delay the application of more pragmatic policies. For example, if CE markings are being abused, there are existing rules that can be enforced by European Union member states. Enforce them. If product is being priced at marginal cost there are existing World Trade Organisation rules to be applied and enforced. Use them. And whilst this pragmatic work is being done to defend remanufacturers who are central to the circular economy there is also a much larger task to do of redrafting our global trading rules - which have so successfully driven down consumer prices at the expense of so much else”.
Revisits...
This emphasis on the green benefits of reman was not quite so prevalent in the industry as it is now. He also urged companies to work towards a common goal, saying in particular: “More partnering is needed so that the high-tech electronic and mechatronic parts will be available to the independent aftermarket to repair the vehicles.” Cardone also put his finger on another issue with which the sector is wrestling: “As the value of vehicles decreases, pressure for lower cost repairs becomes more important. The sooner the cost of repairs exceeds the value of the vehicle, the sooner vehicles will be scrapped, making our market disappear. Remanufactured parts keep repair costs lower.”
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NOTES & COMMENT
Ideas for growth Automotive remanufacturers and government need to work together to unlock the sector’s potential and make the circular economy a reality, suggests Premila Glover of UK motor trade organisation SMMT
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t’s estimated that the current UK remanufacturing industry is worth £2.4 billion - with automotive one of the most established sectors, utilising parts from all vehicle systems, from engines and gearboxes, to fuel components and electronics. The potential for growth is significant, but barriers such as uniform quality control and building trust to unlock procurement investment persist. The findings of the UK’s all-party Parliamentary Group for Sustainable Resources and Manufacturing are well known in the sector and zero in on the challenges ahead if the UK is to fully
embrace the considerable potential of remanufacturing. Clearer guidelines for public procurement, advice on how companies can incorporate circular economy analysis, and increased awareness of remanufactured goods are key to unlocking what this group thinks has the potential to become a £5.6 billion industry. An essential step in realising this is by connecting policymakers with industry. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) works closely with its members to understand the latest trends and developments in the automotive remanufacturing space. SMMT’s Remanufacturing Committee, made up of member businesses working in the sector, is one avenue for this.
“The UK has the capability to make more of its remanufacturing potential”
© Oleg Gapeenko | Dreamstime.com
Government involvement Most recently, SMMT has been working with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and nongovernmental organisation Policy Connect. We have arranged one-toone meetings for members with policy experts in order to best advise the government on how to improve market conditions for remanufacturers of components, while meetings with MPs and cabinet ministers help to boost engagement with policymakers. The UK has the capability to make more of its remanufacturing potential, with the opportunity to boost the economy, increase skills and create jobs as well as ensure a more sustainable future. Typically, remanufacturing can consume 85% less energy than manufacturing because the process uses material from the original product
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rather than all-fresh raw materials. This means a reduction in CO2 emissions and waste during production, helping the automotive sector and customers lower their environmental impact. By reducing emissions, energy, water and raw material use, the remanufacturing sector can support the global commitment to net zero.
Circular growth Boosting remanufacturing growth is vital for meeting the UK’s ambition to move towards a circular economy and, as an industry, automotive is committed to reducing its environmental impact. Remanufacturing plays a crucial role in this, something which is recognised each year in SMMT’s longrunning Sustainability Report - yet its true potential is still to be realised. Widespread knowledge is currently low, so SMMT continues to work at highlighting the many benefits a larger sector can bring. With the UK government engaged in exciting new projects to reduce waste and improve efficiency, notably in the Resources and Waste Strategy, it is an opportune time to promote the valuable contribution that remanufacturing makes. Among other benefits, our members have the opportunity to participate in roundtables with key stakeholders, network with other businesses and participate in remanufacturing showcases organised to raise the profile of a promising sector. If you are interested in becoming a member of SMMT, please contact membership@smmt.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Premila Glover is SMMT automotive components section and remanufacturing manager
Rematec News
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Don’t miss the opportunity John Chalifoux, president of MERA - The Association for Sustainable Manufacturing, urges reman players to shout about the green benefits of their businesses
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ERA and its members are always looking for opportunities to raise awareness and acceptance of remanufactured goods. Improving the perception of the remanufacturing industry is also a key objective. Using the term ‘sustainable manufacturing’ to describe the work of remanufacturing companies is an important step. To paraphrase Merriam-Webster, “sustainable” is harvesting, using a resource without completely using it up. This is what companies in our industry do with cores. “Manufacture” is the process of making something, systematically, by hand or by machine. That is a standardised industrial process. Put the two words together and that’s a contemporary way to say “remanufacturing”.
So why does it matter? 'Remanufacture’ is not a popular word. Merriam-Webster shows on their website that its popularity of look-up is in the bottom 20-30% of all word look-ups. Whereas, ‘sustainable’ – a word that’s been around for nearly 100 years – is in the top 10%. (‘Manufacture’, of course, is a popular and well-understood term.) Take this in context, knowing the perception of our industry does not match the reality, and it becomes clear that there is a better way for us to communicate.
Don’t miss the opportunity to present your company in a more favourable light. Recently, a MERA member decided to take this approach in their recruiting process. When meeting with candidates, management described the organisation as a sustainable manufacturing company. During interviews, staff focused on excellence in manufacturing and the environmental benefits of sustainable manufacturing. They reported that – as compared to past interviews when they focused on the term remanufacturing – candidates were more engaged and expressed greater interest in joining the company. They are now using the narrative with their current employees. Don’t miss the opportunity to elevate your remanufactured goods. Another member company has been using an advanced narrative when comparing new products – side by side – to their remanufactured products: “This product was made using a traditional manufacturing process. [Note the absence of the word “new”.] And this second product was made using our sustainable manufacturing process. The second one has quality on par with the first, and it costs less. Which one would you choose?” They
are pleased to report that the product associated with sustainable manufacturing is the perennial winner. Don’t miss the opportunity to record your contributions in a sustainability report. Many companies do an excellent job capturing the economic, environmental and social impacts of their operations and other activities. Any practices related to corporate social responsibility should be highlighted, especially the benefits of your remanufacturing operations. Include how your company reduces its impact on the environment, benefits your workers, and increases participation in the community, including your celebration of Earth Day. Remanufacturers and their customers truly have a compelling story – great news to share about saving our planet. Don’t miss the opportunity to mainstream your messaging within your community. During an early meeting of the MERA board of directors, a new board member stated: “I’m here because I want my neighbours to understand and appreciate what we do.” He joined MERA because he believed in the cause, and he believed there is strength in numbers. His words have grown to be more than a statement. They are a rallying cry – a challenge for all in our industry. Sustainable manufacturing is the new era of manufacturing. In today’s world – as we move closer to a circular economy – all manufacturing will be driven to reuse as much as possible. Let the world know that sustainable manufacturing companies are leading the way!
Remanufacturers and their customers truly have a compelling story – great news to share about saving our planet © Pogonici | Dreamstime.com
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Bridging East and West in Remanufacturing
连接东西方再制造行 业的桥梁
Join us in Guangzhou for the second edition of Rematec Asia: Reasons to participate: There are an estimated 93.2 million passenger vehicles in China that are out of warranty.
Rematec Asia is located in the heart of the automotive industry: Guangzhou.
Meet new business partners and find out the latest trends in the Chinese reman market.
Benefit from value added services such as pre-arranged matchmaking appointments, an industry dinner, translation services and excursions to local remanufacturing companies.
Find out more on our website: www.rematec.com/asia
Organised by:
Co-located with:
www.rematec.com/asia AD_RematecAsia2020_A4.indd 1
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REVIEW OF THE YEAR
www.rematec.com October/November
REMANUFACTUR
was nice knowing you…
2019
ING INTERNATIO
NAL NETWORK | KNOW LEDGE | BUSINESS
The 10th edition of the Rematec show in Amsterdam – and a successful expansion into China. The RotY Awards. The loss of a valued colleague. Increasing consolidation in reman. It’s been quite a year. Adam Hill looks back…and forward
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emanufacturing can save the planet – it’s official. The United Nations International Resources Panel report (which, alright, yes, actually came out at the back end of 2018) highlighted the importance of reman when it comes to advancing the world’s sustainability agenda. We all know that’s the case – but this report, authored by revered industry authority Dr. Nabil Nasr, gave figures to back the argument up. A great way for Rematec News to kick off the year, anyway. Global Reman Day and Earth Day will give us more opportunities in 2020 to put the message across. 2019 will be remembered as the date when Rematec expanded into China. It’s
a massive step which reflects the myriad opportunities available in that vast market. The southern city of Guangzhou is near the epicentre of the Chinese government’s strenuous efforts to make reman work. Yes, there are still challenges for European and North American remanufacturers when it comes to China – but ignoring them will not make these go away; and greater understanding may throw up new ideas. This new show is a good start. Corks were popped in Amsterdam, as Rematec’s Remanufacturer of the Year (RotY) Awards threw up three worthy winners, in Fernand Weiland, venerable sage of the reman industry, www.rematec.com August/September
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Tec.com
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Hello Guangzhou!
It's here: the fir st
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2019
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REVIEW OF THE YEAR
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current practices. Almost more important than what he said was the fact that Cruslock was there – it is the first time that a major auto maker has taken to the platform at the show. Rematec’s OEMReman Network, launched in Amsterdam, is onto something. What else? Well, the first International Forum on Wind Turbine Remanufacturing took place at Rematec, to see what the wind energy sector could learn from automotive – a reminder that many sectors could benefit from remanufacturing expertise. Also, RotY winner Dr. Daniel Koehler, in the guise of America’s old recruiting sergeant Uncle Sam, urged APRA members to come forward to be volunteer ambassadors for the organisation. And finally…Brexit. Still. Three years on. We seem to have been talking about it forever. Oh well. At least it’s nothing important. Roll on 2020…
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plus Knorr-Bremse and US firm CRP Industries. The end of the year is traditionally a time for taking stock and there was certainly some sad news for the industry. Salvador Munoz Zarate, boss of Wabco Reman Solutions, died in February at the young age of 46. Rematec News was honoured to report on the many fond tributes to this tireless friend of reman – a former RotY Award winner himself - who was, more importantly, a likeable and decent human being. Elsewhere, the trend for consolidation continued with several big acquisitions: for example, Stanadyne snapping up Pure Power, while US group ATC Drivetrain bought UK reman stalwart ATP. And there was another interesting development too: for the first time, automotive original equipment manufacturers began to be a little more open about their remanufacturing activities. Of course, OEMs have been into reman for decades – but it felt like there was a shift in attitude this year. This makes sense: environmental concerns, legislation prioritising sustainable manufacturing and a growing acceptance by customers that not everything has to be bought new are three good reasons why OEMs do not need to be ‘shrinking violets’. In his Rematec 2019 keynote address, Dick Cruslock, Volvo Cars strategy and programme manager, global customer service, outlined Volvo’s long reman history and offered some insight into
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RIC-RIT WORLD REMANUFACTURING CONFERENCE: REPORT
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“What you’re doing has the potential to really impact our world” Recognition from leading politicians suggests reman is on an upward curve – and there are many other developments too… Andrew Bardin Williams reports from the RIC-RIT World Remanufacturing Conference in Rochester, NY… Pictures: Alex Tong (AT) and Gene Avallone (GA)
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emanufacturing leaders from segments as diverse as automotive, healthcare, office furniture and heavy machinery gathered in Rochester, NY, for the annual World Remanufacturing Conference. Jointly hosted by the Remanufacturing Industries Council (RIC) and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the conference boasted more than 300 delegates who heard from industry leaders, learned best practices and joined sometimes lively discussions about the future direction of the industry. “What you’re doing has the potential to really impact our world,” declared lieutenant governor of New York Kathy Hochul in her welcoming address to conference attendees. “You’re able to take past materials and bring them back to life and put them back in the same environment. This has long-lasting benefits for our environment and our planet.” Warming to that idea, Philippe Colpron, fleet solutions global business leader at Wabco, told delegates: “Automotive remanufacturing has an important role to play in enabling the commercial vehicle industry to operate in a leaner, greener and safer manner.” The official theme of the conference was Disruptive Innovation, intended to challenge the industry to radically change how the world operates - both on the manufacturing and the consumer side. Key to this, according to several speakers, is to educate the rest of the world on what remanufacturing entails and how it compares to new and used goods. A good portion of the conference centered on standardising the language around remanufacturing in an effort to differentiate the industry from reuse, repair, recycle and other processes that make up the circular economy. Attendees discussed what is - and what isn’t - remanufacturing based on existing language from various industry councils, government agencies and standards bodies. The goal, some argued, is to set agreed-upon standards in the US that could then be used around the world. Fresh off his work establishing common language and standard definition of remanufacturing at the United Nations, RIC board member Dr. Nabil Nasir announced that RIC will be soon offering three certification levels based on the American National ➤
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Standards Institute (ANSI) standard established in 2017. Several RIC members, including John Deere and Davies Furniture, have begun the ANSI accreditation process to help optimise workflows and get it ready for RIC members to begin certification in the first quarter of 2020.
Serial disruptor Kevin Surace gave a rousing keynote address that encouraged attendees to dare to take risks and not be afraid to fail. A Silicon Valley veteran with more than 84 patents worldwide, Surace recalled how he recently led a project to replace 6,514 windows in New York’s Empire State Building with 26,000 energy-efficient remanufactured panes. While most window manufacturers insisted he couldn’t remanufacture glass, Surace pushed his team to find a way, he said. They built a temporary plant on the building’s fifth floor that took in, remanufactured and replaced the windows each night - and the project was completed in less than eight months with better than expected energy and cost savings. “As long as you aren’t breaking the laws of physics, you can do anything,” he explained. While general sessions at the conference focused on broad initiatives, break-out sessions were more granular.
Topics ranged from how to develop a manufacturing workforce for 21st century challenges to best practices for optimising core takeback. Members also networked throughout the conference - both in common areas between sessions and at special events during the evenings. Attendees were also able to take a tour of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, a leading sustainability research, development, and technology deployment unit within RIT, and celebrated RIC ACE Award recipients at a dinner.
GA
Change is coming Big data, core takeback and rising consumer demands are changing the reman industry, according to representatives from SRC Holdings, GE Healthcare, BBB Industries and Wabco who all participated in an executive panel on the show’s first morning. According to Michael Schmidt, GE Healthcare has embraced Big Data strategies for its reman operations, using the processing power of the cloud and machine learning to better understand the journey a piece of core has undergone over its lifetime. Where an MRI machine has been deployed, how many scans a tube has undertaken and how often a part has been replaced all contribute to the company being able to build a digital twin of the product to help predict when it will fail and to put a value on the core that is being returned. These insights allow GE Healthcare to optimise its reman processes and drive value back to the customer. Jeff Stukenborg talked about how new technologies are making Wabco a more agile business. Products are
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RIC-RIT WORLD REMANUFACTURING CONFERENCE: REPORT
Jeff Stukenborg, Wabco (left) and Michael Schmidt, GE Healthcare often operating 24/7 and break down more quickly, contributing to a shorter product lifecycle. In response, Wabco has introduced remanufacturing requirements into the engineering process so products can be designed with reman processes in mind. The result, Stukenborg said, are products that are safer and more sustainable. BBB Industries, a car part
remanufacturer that partners with major automotive companies, also designs for reman, according to senior director of strategy and business development Mark Nugent. Design principles that may streamline a process or save costs downstream can be implemented at the beginning of a product’s lifecycle, ensuring that remanufacturing continues to make sense economically.
Email your comments and stories to editorial@rematecnews.com
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RIC-RIT WORLD REMANUFACTURING CONFERENCE: REPORT
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ANSI certification released streamline and optimise the accreditation process.
Workforce management
Kevin Surace, Appvance.ai
Jena Holtberg-Benge, John Deere Reman
“You’re able to take past materials and bring them back to life and put them back in the same environment - this has long-lasting benefits for our environment and our planet” Kathy Hochul, lieutenant governor of New York
“Automotive remanufacturing has an important role to play in enabling the commercial vehicle industry to operate in a leaner, greener and safer manner” Philippe Colpron, Wabco
RIC members will now have an opportunity to certify their remanufacturing prowess with a new three-tier accreditation process tied to the ANSI standard that was passed in 2017. The first tier (Level 1 Compliant) is free for any RIC member and requires self-regulation. Level 2 Verified requires a desktop-level certification process completed remotely by a third party. Applicants must present the proper documentation that shows their reman programmes are following the ANSI standard. The top tier (Level 3 Certified) includes an on-site visit from a thirdparty validator who will review reman processes to make sure they follow ANSI guidelines throughout the entire product lifecycle. Once certified at this level, RIC members can prove to customers that they meet the same quality and safety standards as OEMs. RIC members can apply for Level 1 Compliant today. Level 2 Verified and Level 3 Certified will be available by January 2020. Jena Holtberg-Benge, general manager of John Deere Reman, said that her company is currently going through the process for Level 2 Verified - while Bill Davies of Davies Office will start Level 3 Certified soon. Both companies hope to share their experiences with RIC to help
A growing industry, remanufacturing in the US is adding jobs at an incredible rate. Yet the highly-skilled engineers required for remanufacturing are ageing out and are not being replaced by younger workers. According to the Remade Institute, the number of engineers employed in remanufacturing increased 90,000 in the past seven years to 1.16 million in the US - but 25% of those workers are within 10 years of retirement age. This creates a pressing need to hire and train a new generation of remanufacturing wizards. Three organisations shared their workforce development efforts with conference attendees in a special breakout section. Mike White, general manager of SRC Logistics, talked about his company’s new apprenticeship programme. It aims to give local high school students the hard skills and experience they need to start a career in remanufacturing without student debt. A paid three-year programme for students results in 2,740 work and 750 education hours through on-site training. Students are paired with a mentor and they are guaranteed a fulltime position upon completion. According to Casey Blevins, president of National Switchgear, his company also partners with the local high school to offer on-the-job apprenticeships and electrical craft certificates while the Bill Davies
Email your comments and stories to editorial@rematecnews.com
GA
“As long as you aren’t breaking the laws of physics, you can do anything”
Rematec News
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➤
RIC-RIT WORLD REMANUFACTURING CONFERENCE: REPORT
➤ local trade school, Texas State Technical
AT
College, donates equipment and instructors. The Anniston Army Depot - a remanufacturing operation under the US Army Material Command - has training initiatives for both high school and college students. Established in 1999 to serve as a pipeline through which future employees receive training, education and on-the-job experience, the Pathways programme has graduated more than 600 students - 300 of whom are currently employed at the depot.
New technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. New ways to leverage big data and cloud computing. New manufacturing methods and principles like generative design. It’s clear that the way people make things is changing, and the remanufacturing industry is going to need to adapt to these changes to continue to make an impact in the circular economy. Two companies at the forefront of these changes sent representatives to this year’s RIC-RIT conference to encourage attendees to take advantage of new technology and methods to make remanufacturing more agile and adaptive to today’s needs. Vikram Vedantham, senior manager in business strategy and marketing for Autodesk talked about how traditional manufacturing processes create disruptive bottlenecks. Each handover
AT
Luke Kelly, Carbon
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between the design, engineering, testing and manufacturing teams results in a loss of intellectual capital and delays time to market as a result of data silos, varying experience levels and disparate tools. In fact, Vedantham estimates that 30% of engineers’ time is spent on hand-offs and getting around these bottlenecks rather than on designing innovative products. Technology is the key to streamlining the manufacturing process, he said, pointing to the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, Big Data and blockchain as examples. As the global economy enters the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), design will be done by computers powered by AI and machine learning, using generative design to quickly create thousands of design options, narrow them down to a select few based on specific criteria (such as sustainability, cost, density and aesthetics), and allow a human to validate them and choose the best option. This will be huge for the remanufacturing industry, he said, allowing engineers to use these new technologies and design principles to optimise product design for remanufacturing. Vedantham was followed by Luke Kelly from Carbon, a company that offers manufacturing-as-a-service to big brands. Donning the first commerciallyavailable 3D printed shoe, Kelly walked conference attendees through Carbon’s digital manufacturing platform that makes real parts, fast and with quality surface finish. Carbon’s manufacturing-as-a-service allows companies to shorten the product
AT
Making things: the future
Vikram Vedantham, Autodesk
lifecycle so they can keep up with emerging trends. He cited Adidas as an example, showing how 3D printing services from Carbon allowed the shoe company to design and prototype dozens of variations of its new sneaker and test them out with real athletes. Traditionally, it only makes financial sense for Adidas to prototype and test two or three variations (and only in a standard size 10 UK) - and even then, the design will have to stay on the market for five to six years for the company to make a profit. The cheaper design, prototype, testing and manufacturing services provided by Carbon make it more cost effective, allowing a new sneaker model to make a profit with a shorter shelf life - perhaps as short as a six-month season. Without these financial constraints, Adidas can churn out more shoe models and keep up with rapidly changing trends. And, perhaps one day, we’ll get to a point where remanufactured shoes will be a reality. • News, p6 RIC ACE Awards winners
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RIC-RIT WORLD REMANUFACTURING CONFERENCE: REPORT
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Certification panel
Take the circular economy definition quiz Misunderstandings about how remanufacturing compares to other parts of the circular economy is one of the greatest challenges facing the industry today - especially when it comes to exporting products through customs. RICRIT conference participants tested their knowledge of remanufacturing and the circular economy by matching these definitions taken from various customs forms, standards documents and legislation to the following terms. How did you do? Recondition Overhaul Refurbish Repair Reuse
• The modification of a product to increase or restore its performance and/or functionality or to meet applicable technical standards or regulatory requirements, with the result of making a fully functional product to be used for a purpose that is at least the one that was originally intended.
• The collection, inspection and testing, cleaning, and redistribution of a product back into the market under controlled conditions (e.g. a formal business undertaking).
• The process of ensuring that a system continually performs its intended functions at its original level of reliability and safety. • The process of returning equipment to safe and reliable operation condition while extending the service life of the product. • Return the device or component to original specifications including replacing non-working components or parts outside of routine or periodic upkeep for the current owner of the device.
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(Answers in order: 1,5,3,2,4)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Rematec News
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The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s #1 remanufacturing trade event
Book your stand at early bird rates before 31 March! Located in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, Rematec brings together the global supply chain for automotive remanufacturing. With reman buyers from over 77 countries, Rematec is the ideal platform for creating high-quality leads and building long-lasting business relations. Interested? Contact Yorien de Ruijter at y.d.ruijter@rai.nl or book directly at www.rematec.com/book and benefit from a global presence within the remanufacturing industry.
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PROJECTS
Reman comes home Remanufacturing doesn’t have to involve an industrial scale or a grand project – it can be something closer to everyone’s doorstep, as Nigel Ramsden, robotics expert with Fanuc Europe, has found…
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s we all become more and more concerned about environmental issues, we start to take small individual actions prompted by our own consciences. In the case of my family, we stopped using plastic one-use bottles and straws, we built raised beds to start growing our own vegetables. We still go to the supermarket, but we bought net bags for fruit and veg, so we reduce further our plastic consumption. The nearest supermarket is about 5km away, and the nearest bakery about 2km. So both are near enough to cycle, you would say, instead of taking the car. But unfortunately for my legs, there are significant hills in each direction - fun to come down but a struggle even for the Lycra brigade to get up – and never mind with a load of shopping! So I became interested in the idea of cargo bikes (either pedal models or pedal + motor-powered). Some impressive products are on offer (albeit at some impressive prices). But I thought: what's the point of being an engineer if you can't make things yourself ? So from the internet I purchased an old bakers/butchers factory bike - with a normal-size rear wheel and a small front wheel. It has a sturdy frame and heavy wheel rims/tyres for carrying loads, as well as a front frame to support a large basket. The frame itself was rather shabby but in fairly good condition - the wheels and tyres too - but other parts like the seat and pedals were not. But after a little welding and sanding, the frame was powder-coated in glossy black - probably better than new. The chrome handlebars and rear luggage rack were polished up and reused without issue. Repainting the wheel rims required disassembly of the wheels - and unfortunately the rear hub could not be used with the mid-drive motor which requires a freewheel system which was incompatible with the backwards-pedal braking system in the existing hub. Fortunately I found that the longestablished company Sturmey Archer
still makes hubs with internal gears and cable-operated brakes, so I was able to find just the hub I needed - and although not strictly necessary I purchased a matching front hub too. The re-laced wheels look superb and provide great braking and four-speed gearing - helpful for the aforementioned hills ! Fitting the Bafang mid-drive motor was relatively easy - it is designed to fit through the existing bottom bracket where the pedals and axle usually go.
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For some modern bikes with lightweight frames this could be an issue, but not on a 50-year-old steel framed cargo bike. Similarly there was little problem fitting battery and other 'pedelec' parts. I did get a bit carried away with the 'classic' parts - wholly unnecessary expenditure on superb 'made in Germany' real leather saddle, saddlebag, handlebar grips - all eventually fully biodegradable, although hopefully not for the next 50 years. Overall cost was much the same as the cost of a new standard e-bike - and for that I have a unique remanufactured vehicle. I haven't quite finished tinkering with it, and I suspect I never will. One idea is to add one of those signs that butchers and bakers bikes used to have - with the name of their company - but in this case I might go with a slogan like 'Made New Again'.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nigel Ramsden is chief engineer robots Europe, Fanuc Europe Corporation
Rematec News
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Of cores, we know Cores are crucial to the success of the reman industry. Dr. Daniel C. F. Koehler, chairman of APRA Europe, explains what the association is doing for companies working in this vital sector We all know that our remanufacturing business consists in large part of the remanufacturing process itself. However, without further crucial market players the business could not flourish. When going upstream in the supply chain of a remanufacturer, it is very clear that cores are an integral part of the process – and therefore so is the business of our core suppliers (also known as core brokers, core dealers, core experts or core specialists). Cores are the lifeblood of remanufacturing and core suppliers must be the heart of remanufacturing that keeps the lifeblood in motion - to be consumed wherever it is needed. Core suppliers are as vital for remanufacturing business as banks are for the general economy. They collect money and cores, aggregate and bundle them for the customer who needs them. They keep the business running. As APRA Europe we are representing the whole automotive remanufacturing industry. Did you know that our membership base incorporates 10% core suppliers? And did you know that this share is also reflected by the composition of the board of directors of APRA Europe? One out of 10 directors is a core supplier - Andrea Gobbi of AG Cores - which is proof of the relevance of your business.
Support activities There are many very good reasons for the core suppliers to take an active part in the ‘Voice of Remanufacturing’. We undertake many activities for supporting their business.
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We advocate for free trade and a reliable legal framework for the whole remanufacturing industry and particularly for core suppliers. The reason is that international trading of cores is special. They must not be classified as waste, nor hazardous waste, but as a defective product or raw material that has a high value. Therefore, with our membership base as a strong support and together with other associations, we have got to the point where the Basel Convention defines cores as non-waste. Having reached this goal, our engagement, of course, does not end. We will keep on defending the core market. Cores must remain fluid and freely tradable and for the future we even stand up for VAT exemption for the circulation of cores.
Member service APRA also offers a unique service to members which helps source rare cores in an efficient way. The APRA Core Finder programme is an online tool which connects you quickly and easily with more than 60 leading core suppliers worldwide. How does it work? Members provide detailed information about the cores they need. We distribute this request to the participating core supplier members. Then the suppliers review the requests and directly get in contact with you in case they can supply or have a solution ready for you. Whenever you have a specific request try out the APRA Core Finder which is fast and easy to use: www.apra.org/page/CoreFinderNA
Please note that this is a ‘members only’ service. Core dealers wishing to participate in the programme and remanufacturers wishing to join the association in order to take advantage of this service, please send a message to europe@apra.org Without cores there would not be any remanufacturing. That is why it is clear for us to advance our support to this branch so that it will remain stable even in times of heavy competition and disruptive changes. Core suppliers, join the association and let us grow our Voice - we care about your business.
APRA European Symposium 2020: Register now! Registration is now open for the APRA European Symposium 2020 in Prague (24-26 March 2020). Do not miss the opportunity to learn about latest business trends and technology developments. Visit the benchmark remanufacturing plants of KnorrBremse (Rematec Remanufacturer of the Year 2019) and ZF. Connect with leading industry experts and find business partners, suppliers and customers. Members are invited to join the annual General Assembly of APRA Europe. For more information visit www.apra.org/euro_symp
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MARKETPLACE
Balancing Machines
Schenck RoTec GmbH Landwehrstr. 55, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany P +49 6151 32 2311 E rotec@schenck.net W www.schenck-rotec.com
Turbo Flow Benches
STP-Parts GmbH Otto-Hahn-Str. 7, D-40721, Hilden, Germany P +49 (0) 2103 978 66 10 E info@stp-parts.de W www.stp-parts.de
CONSORZIO ARMEC Via Ruvo, Km. 1 9, 70033, Corato, Italy P +39 (0) 80 872 44 17 E support@turbo.it W www.turbo.it
Diagnostic Equipment and Special Repair Tools
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CONSORZIO ARMEC
18 Biolohichna str, Kharkiv, Ukraine P +38 05 7728 0171 E sales@servicems.eu W www.servicems.eu
Via Ruvo, Km. 1 9, 70033, Corato, Italy P +39 (0) 80 872 44 17 E support@turbo.it W www.turbo.it
CONSORZIO ARMEC Via Ruvo, Km. 1 9, 70033, Corato, Italy P +39 (0) 80 872 44 17 E support@turbo.it W www.turbo.it
Cores
Transmission Parts RS Automotive Core Unit 3, Brunel Road, Manor Trading Estate, Benfleet, Essex SS7 4PS P +44 (0) 1277 822806 E enquiries@rsautocore.co.uk W www.rsautomotivecore.co.uk
EXEDY Clutch Europe Limited Unit 2, Rokeby Court, Manor Park, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK, WA7 1RW P +44 (0) 1928 571850 E enquiries@exedy.co.uk W www.exedy.co.uk
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DIARY
January 2020 27.Jan - 30.Jan
HEAVY DUTY AFTERMARKET WEEK Grapevine, TX, USA
March 2020
April 2020 09.Apr
REMAN DAY Global day to advance the remanufacturing industry through remanufacturerhosted events and workforce development initiatives
03.Mar - 04.Mar
WORLD REMAN SUMMIT Milan, Italy 24.Mar - 27.Mar
APRA EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM Prague, Czech Republic
22.Apr
EARTH DAY International event to demonstrate and promote environmental awareness and calls for the protection of the planet
June 2020 07.Jun - 09.Jun
AUTOMECHANIKA DUBAI
September 2020 08.Sep - 12.Sep
AUTOMECHANIKA FRANKFURT
Meet the Rematec team! Contact us to make an appointment. rematec@rai.nl
Frankfurt Am Main, Germany 23.Sep - 24.Sep
RIC-RIT WORLD REMANUFACTURING CONFERENCE
October 2020 11.Oct - 13.Oct
REMATEC ASIA
Rochester, NY, USA
Guangzhou, China
October 2020
June 2021
11.Oct - 13.Oct
REMATEC ASIA Guangzhou, China Second edition of RAI’s expansion of the Rematec event into China
June 2021
Dubai, UAE 22.Jun - 24.Jun
REMATEC AMSTERDAM
22.Jun - 24.Jun
REMATEC AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Yorien de Ruijter Exhibition manager Rematec
Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Consider engine reman first Materials recycling is well-established, but not necessarily resource-efficient. Volker Schittenhelm makes the case for product recycling – otherwise known as remanufacturing - as a much greener alternative Recycling has become a recognised factor in the world of economy and politics. Recycling is regarded as positive, as it impacts environmental protection (…it’s better than throwing away). But recycled products do not show the ultimate form of environmental protection or carbon footprint savings at the end of their first life cycle! It is important to differentiate between materials recycling and product recycling. The former – and best-known at the public and political levels - is the process whereby used, worn-out or damaged products are disassembled, materials are sorted and elements such as copper, steel and aluminium are returned to the next production cycle. From there, new products – different from the previous determination – are manufactured.
Valuable process So far, so good. But why not disassemble a product (e.g. an engine), exchange worn parts such as gaskets and bearings, and machine worn-out parts such as cylinders and shafts to genuine manufacturers’ repair specifications – and then assemble, test and sell it for another life of thousands of kilometres?
Recycling of products – i.e. engine remanufacturing - on the other hand, is an even more valuable process – and one that’s less demanding in terms of energy consumption. Through a high level of know-how, product remanufacturers make optimal use of parts and components so they can be returned to the market place as new products. Unfortunately, this ultimate form of recycling has not yet achieved the status it deserves – in spite of the fact that engines have been remanufactured or rebuilt for more than 75 years, thus providing an important contribution to the development of an environmentally sound economies. For the European engine rebuilder the ‘green’ industry has already a long tradition – and they come very close to meeting demands for ‘almost no waste’. So consider engine reman first! That is FIRM’s message to the public, to politicians, political parties and all organisations and associations which talk about environmental protection and resource efficiency. Waste management and recycling of material is without question a contribution to reduce pollution and CO2 emissions! But leading an engine to a second life cycle is much, much better! The environmental benefits have already
"Let’s do our work and promote us and our industry at any time and at any place"
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been quantified in a study that the German association of engine remanufacturers, VMI, has made together with the University of Trier.
Cost saving And please take into consideration that buying a remanufactured engine is not at all a compromise, but good for your budget and for the environment. PR slogans from industry participants (OEM as well as independent aftermarket) even indicate that reman engines are as good as new or even better. Actual studies about people’s environmental interests reveal their general mentality: environmental protection, yes but without any extra cost! So buying and using remanufactured engines saves money and protects the environment – what do you want more? And the engine reman industry moves: definitions and quality standards from high-ranking associations and independent guideline-establishing organisations have been, or will be, published in the future. That will lead to a high transparency and thus acceptance and confidence on customer’s side. Nationwide product (not process) quality labels and certification processes (already established in engine reman associations in France and Turkey) will certainly also contribute to the knowledge, confidence and acceptance of our still-hidden, resource-efficient industry. Let’s do our work and promote us and our industry at any time and at any place. Today FIRM – the international umbrella association of engine rebuilders - has about 850 members in Austria, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey and UK. Through hard work and expertise these companies are making a strong contribution to a greener environment, job enhancement and economic advances. For more information: www.FIRM-org.eu
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