The European Remanufacturing Network.
An Oakdene Hollins-led, pan-European project to understand the shape of remanufacturing in the EU.

Case Study Tool

Find out how remanufacturing can help your organisation by using our remanufacturing case study tool. The tool will show relevant examples of companies that have achieved benefits of remanufacturing within the selected industries.

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Aerospace

Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance - Aircraft components and frames

Part of Air France KLM Group, the company maintains, repairs and overhauls airframes, aircraft components and engines, servicing the needs of Airbus, Boeing as well as regional Aircraft (e.g. Bombardier, Embraer).

Automotive

ax-lightness composites GmbH & Co.KG

The products and the components for bicycles are manufactured in smaller and mid size batches, for medicine and motor sports they are predominant custom made.

ATP – Automatic dual clutch transmissions

ATP is the major remanufacturing partner to a world-wide portfolio of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s). ATP wins ReMaTec Remanufacturer of the Year 2013 which recognises the company’s achievements in the remanufacturing field. ATP currently has contracts with most of the OEMs: Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, Ford Turkey, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Colt Cars, Unipart Jaguar and Unipart, London Taxi International, Aston Martin, Proton, Mobis Hyundai and Mobis Kia.

Autoelectro – Starter Motors and Alternators

Autoelectro is a remanufacturer of starter motors and alternators for cars and light commercial vehicles. The Autoelectro remanufactures a large variety of starter motors and alternators which can fit various automotive brands such as Audi, BMW, etc. and is now the largest independent remanufacturer and supplier of Rotating Electrics in the UK.

Borg Automotive – Steering racks

Borg Automotive (BA) is primarily serving the European aftermarket through the major Warehouse Distributors (WD) and buying groups, but has also some OES contracts with major OEM suppliers.

Carwood – Diesel Fuel Injection Pumps and Injectors

Business Model Carwood Motor Units Ltd was established as a local automotive parts business based in Coventry in August 1966, since then it has grown steadily both organically and by strategic acquisition into one of the European leaders in its specialised fields. The company’s expertise areas are remanufacturing, technical services and logistics. The company focuses on diesel fuel injection, electrical, electronic, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) and turbocharger systems for all types of vehicles, ranging from passenger cars to cable cars, from trucks to trains, from earth movers to people carriers and from battle tanks to buses.

PSS – Power steering boxes

PSS – Steering & Hydraulics Division is a leading supplier (remanufacturer and manufacturer) of power steering and hydraulic products and is the UK’s largest independent remanufacturer of truck and bus power steering products. The applications of PSS products cover trucks, buses, off-highway vehicles, military vehicles, tractors, forklifts and more.

Schmitz + Krieger – Engines

Benefits for customers are a lower price, increased availability of products (although some remanufactured products are not always available), and an image about environmental sustainability. The main driver for Schmitz + Krieger is economic, which is followed by environmental sustainability and customer demands. There are neither customer groups nor sales channels specifically for remanufactured products.

SCM Turbomotive – Turbochargers

Business Model SCM Turbomotive is a major distributor, remanufacturer and repairer of turbochargers to the independent aftermarket. SCM supplies all makes and model of new and remanufactured turbochargers for service passenger car, CV, bus, marine and industrial applications. The main customer of SCM remanufactured product is the motor factors which supply spare parts to garages.

UBD Cleantech – Brake calipers

UBD Cleantech AB is performing remanufacturing on brake calipers on many different models. The brake calipers are bought from different sources e.g. car workshops, car dismantlers and core traders. The used brake calipers come in different conditions and volumes depending on how easy they are to retrieve from the market.

UBD Cleantech – Diesel particle filters

UBD Cleantech AB is performing a remanufacturing service for European car manufactures aftermarket who are conducting supply to the dealer network. In order keep diesel cars running in a safe and comfortable manner they need to be maintained after a certain number of mileages or after a certain time. The diesel particle filters clean themselves if the car is running longer distances but still they need to changed and cleaned properly in a remanufacturing process in order to be safely used again.

WAT Direcciones - Power steering pumps and racks

The company was estabilished in the latest 70’s and widened their business to the reman industry in 1994. Back to these days, the reman products represented only the 10% of their production and nowadays it has grown up to the 70%.

Nayco Motor - Engines

Nayco Motor has been remanufacturing engines since 2007. Their main market is in Spain although in the last years they have been working in France, Belgium and Cuba.

Lizarte - Steering, power steering and air conditioning

Lizarte has been remanufacturing automotive spares since 1973, when they became the first company in Europe to remanufacture mechanical steering racks.

Sercore Tech - Power steering

Sercore Tech was created in 1979 and started in the reman business in 1982. They started remanufacturing power steering in 2007 (approx.) and now export to more than 20 countries.

FARAL - Engines, turbos and gearboxes

FARAL remanufactures automotive parts (around 2000 engines per year, 6000 turbos, 1200 gear boxes and 2000 cylinder heads). The company has developed its own patented remanufacturing process for cylinder heads. More than 300 types of engines, cylinder heads and turbos can be remanufactured by the company.

Continental AG - Instrument clusters

In Babenhausen in Germany, the Continental AG has a plant to produce and remanufacture instrument clusters for cars. To provide the remanufacturing process with cores, the company can use its well developed network to automotive manufacturers and its service stations.

Bosch Service Lehner - Diesel engine components

The products for the remanufacturing process are components from the diesel engine fuel feed like injectors, fuel pumps and injection nozzles.

BORG Automotive - Electro-mechanical components

Under diverse brands, BORG Automotive can meet the customers demands for commercial vehicles and passenger cars as well as marine, construction, agricultural and industrial applications. Examples of the company’s remanufactured products are EGR valves, A/C compressors, alternators, starters, electric and hydraulic steering racks/columns, electric and mechanic servo pumps and calipers.

Fuel Cell Recovery (FCR) Project - Fuel cells

This project has two key drivers: the opportunities of a CE and the future impact that HFC technologies will have on the automotive landscape. Due to European and national policies set to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions, vehicle propulsion systems are moving away from traditional combustion engines, towards low carbon hybrid and electric powertrains. As a result, many automotive manufacturers are developing new HFC vehicle technologies. With the increased production and consumption of these new technologies, come new challenges around how to optimally recover the components and materials within them at the end of life.

Electrical and Electronic Equipment

KYOCERA Document Solutions

Resource efficiency has been a strategic focus on KYOCERA for many years, underpinned by the company’s philosophy. It is part of a holistic approach that aims to reduce product environmental impacts at every stage in the lifecycle.

ARP suppliers - Toner cartridges

An empty laser toner does have some value. Brokers collect these empty laser toners, ARP buys these empty toners and disassemble them. Components that can be reused are cleaned like screws. Key components will be replaced to guarantee quality. Aluminium and iron parts are collected and brought to a metal and iron trader who will recycle the material. Besides this 99% of all the plastics cannot be reused and becomes a waste stream.

Büroservice Hübner GmbH – Printers and copiers

Büroservice Hübner GmbH gets used IT products such as printers and copiers for remarketing, usually with compensation for the products depending on their condition, and focuses on selling used products.

Inrego – Computers & Smart phones

IInrego buys used professional IT-equipment from private and public organisations, reconditions it, data wipes all information and resells or leases it to the next user. Inrego pays the seller for the product value and charges for the asset disposition services handling, data wiping and transportation.

IT-Lyftet – Computers

Business Model Value chain The company collects used computer-equipment from private and public organisations, reconditions it, data wipes all information and resells it to new customers. As part of its business, the company also teaches people how to remanufacture computer-equipment. All profits are donated to Barncancerfonden – The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation – a non-profit organisation dedicated to preventing and combating cancer in children.

Leapp – Macbooks

Leapp’s business model is based on the difference between economic redemption and technical redemption of a Macbook. The biggest sourcing stream comes from collector companies that focus on businesses customers in Europe. Most of the Macbooks are collected in Germany and the United Kingdom. Leapp has a long-term contract with these collector companies to buy MacBooks after three years of usage, then the economic value is written off while the lifetime of a Macbook is much longer.

RDC – IT Equipment

Business Model RDC was formed in 1991, sourcing second hand computer equipment for sale at auctions just as used computers first became available in numbers. A new IT asset management services business modeldeveloped for used and unwanted IT equipment. The driver for this business model is to mitigate customers’ risks associated with value recovery from sales of used IT equipment with value recovery from sales of used IT equipment with secure deletion of data and responsible recycling of unusable and obsolete items.

Scandi-Toner AB – Toner cartridges

The remanufactured toner cartridges are sold through retailors (around 300) who also retrieve empty cartridges from the market. Return-boxes are distributed by Scandi-Toner. Upon arrival to the remanufacturing facility the empty cartridges are sorted, disassembled, cleaned, refilled, reassembled, and tested. Different toner cartridge remanufacturers collaborate in Europe about technology improvements but also when buying and selling cores to each other.

Stone Computers – IT equipment

Stone Group is established in 1991 and is a leading provider of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to education and the public sectors. They are one of the only UK IT hardware configurators to operate its own in-house IT recycling and refurbishment facility (fully licensed by the Environment Agency). The company also follows and maintains a zero landfill policy.

Ricoh Company Ltd. - Photocopiers

In 1997, Ricoh launched the first remanufactured black and white colour Multi-Function-Printer (MFP) in Japan, and since then it has widened its products portfolio of remanufactured MFPs.

ARMOR - Toner cartridges

In Europe each year, around 350 million cartridges are sold, 70% of which are not properly processed at the end-of-life. Just 20% of cartridges are in fact collected by OEMs to be remanufactured and/or recycled. At EU level, the CE is being promoted in directives and new standards. Organizations which use printing solutions are engaged with environmental management systems and report their corporate social responsibility engagements. Armor provides these organizations with a range of remanufactured cartridges which meet the sustainability expectations of their customers.

Continental AG - Instrument clusters

In Babenhausen in Germany, the Continental AG has a plant to produce and remanufacture instrument clusters for cars. To provide the remanufacturing process with cores, the company can use its well developed network to automotive manufacturers and its service stations.

Recover-E - Laptops

Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste sector globally. In 2015, more than 245 million laptops were sold worldwide. There is huge potential to optimise value that currently isn’t being valorised. Materials embedded in these products can be recaptured and re-used to create a whole new value chain after the first life.

Ace Re-use Technology BV - Electric motors and drives

Ace Re-use Technology specialises in electromechanical engine drives, ranging from small DC motors to larger, complex AC drives. It focuses on re-engineering, modifications, and remanufacturing, resulting in a drive that is equivalent or even better than comparable new products.

APD International

APDI remanufactures electro-mechanical modules for OEMs in the printing industry. APDI has a wealth of experience in remanufacturing, who for many years have been implementing the strategies and principles of the Circular Economy. The company specialise in partnerships with Blue Chip OEM’s developing remanufacturing programs by working closely with product engineering and Field Service / Support organisations including the Supply Chain.

Furniture

Orangebox - Office furniture

Orangebox see a range of benefits of remanufacturing, from benefits to brand value through environmental stewardship to financial revenue generated through sale of remanufactured products. Material costs constitute 45% of Orangebox’s total annual spend and therefore remanufacturing presents a great opportunity for cost savings as well as benefiting the environment.

DESKO – Office desks

Desko is an office furniture provider, selling and renting both their own and other brands. For their own Duo Slinger table, Desko employs a three-tier buy-back scheme and usually remanufacture cores twice during their life-time. Desko buys newly manufactured products back from customers at roughly 10% of the product’s initial price. After in-house remanufacturing at Desko’s headquarters, desks are sold to a different market segment at roughly 50% of the initial product price.

Martela - Office furniture

Martela is one of the Nordic leaders in the office interior industry. It aims to create the best workplace environments, which mission has guided the company for seventy years. In 2014 Martela received about 3000 t of used furniture. More than 20,000 pieces were sold to new users after cleaning, reupholstering and/or refurbishment.

Heavy-duty and Off-road Equipment

Liebherr-Ettlingen GmbH

The products in the remanufacturing process have very different sizes, geometries, weights and degrees of contamination. They range from small hydraulic components to large V12 diesel engines.

MBS Motoreninstandsetzung und Baumaschinenservice GmbH

The range of products are predominantly diesel engines form agricultural and construction machines, in almost all sizes including older series. To generate further growth of sales and to develop new strategic business units, the company also focuses on engines from classic cars, private boats and biogas power plants.

Linde – Forklift trucks

Linde Material Handling GmbH carries out thorough refurbishment and provides Approved Used Trucks to meet market demands, especially from users with a medium or low utilization level. The main advantage of the Approved Used Trucks is Linde quality at lower prices (approximately half of the price of new trucks), while the main disadvantage is shorter remaining lifetimes. During the refurbishment process only genuine Linde parts are fitted.

Part Tracker – Transistors

PartTracker is a mediator for remanufacturing activities of industrial electronics. In order to change the image of the industrial electronics which can be characterized as slow and introvert, PartTracker uses five types of services; selling new parts, selling overstock, a refurbishing and repair service by a third party, recycling and tracing obsolete parts

Toyota Material Handling Sweden – Forklift trucks

Most of the forklift trucks are deriving from the market from different kinds of rental models. These rental contracts run from one month up till 10 years. Usually the newly manufactured forklift trucks are sold on a long-term rental contract and then sold several times on short-term rental until sold as used forklift truck or for being scrapped and then only the material value is returned.

AGCO Power - Engines and components

AGCO reman engines and components are engineered and remanufactured to provide maximum value and increase uptime in the field for all AGCO customer equipment needs. They are upgraded to the latest OEM engineering specifications, fully tested and ready to install. AGCO Reman parts eliminate uncertainty and prevent complications during rebuilds. AGCO Reman parts are superior to both "rebuilt" and aftermarket alternatives.

Herrenknecht AG - Pumps and motors

The products in the remanufacturing process are originally produced by Herrenknecht. Due to individual project requirements such as the tunnel diameter, most of the machine components are individual designed. For bought- in components like hydraulic pumps or electronic motors, Herrenknecht reduces the number of variants.

Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems - Brakes, compressors and electronics.

The range of remanufactured products includes spring brakes, one-cylinder as well as two-cylinder compressors, electronic clutch actuator, electronic air control and modules of the electronic braking systems. These products are for commercial vehicles like trucks and trailers.

BORG Automotive - Electro-mechanical components

Under diverse brands, BORG Automotive can meet the customers demands for commercial vehicles and passenger cars as well as marine, construction, agricultural and industrial applications. Examples of the company’s remanufactured products are EGR valves, A/C compressors, alternators, starters, electric and hydraulic steering racks/columns, electric and mechanic servo pumps and calipers.

Machinery

ES Power AB – Wind Turbines

Business Model Value chain ES Power contacts or is contacted by Swedish wind turbine owners with turbines that are 15 years or older. The first step is to contact a new owner and negotiate. This step is followed by, or is in parallel with, inspection and planning for the remanufacturing of the wind turbine structure, disassembly and transport to the new owner.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe – Pumps

Business Model HCME’s remanufacturing business model is based on the knowledge and craftsmanship of its employees, the economic and environmental advantage of remanufacturing cores, and the availability of used cores. This case focuses on hydraulic main pumps of construction machinery.

Part Tracker – Transistors

PartTracker is a mediator for remanufacturing activities of industrial electronics. In order to change the image of the industrial electronics which can be characterized as slow and introvert, PartTracker uses five types of services; selling new parts, selling overstock, a refurbishing and repair service by a third party, recycling and tracing obsolete parts

Polyplank – Core plugs

Polyplank were founded on a process technology for the production of its own unique composite. The recipe for the composite, used in their products, includes two main ingredients. The first is recycled wood fibres, a waste material from sawmills. But wood requires painting, maintenance and must sometimes be replaced when used outdoors, for instance when in contact with the ground.

Ståthöga – Pumps and smoke channels

The business concept is to find and upgrade existing pumps at their customers. The value for the customer is that they can prolong the use of their old equipment and also reduce the down time period since the remanufacturing time is quite short in comparison with replacing it with new pumps. The cost for remanufacturing is also significantly lower than the option of replacing with a new pump.

Storebro Industrier AB – Machines

Storebro has a close collaboration with their customers in order to provide them with a good remanufacturing service of their customers’ machines. In general the remanufacturing process is including the steps; Inspection and test run at customer Transport to Storebro Disassembly Cleaning of parts Part reprocessing or replacing Reassembly Testing Transport to customer Installation.

Siemens - Industrial Turbomachinery

Business Model Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB carries out overhaul and repair of gas turbines for its customers (i.e. users) by using new, repaired or refurbished parts in sectors such as power generation and oil & gas, contributing to extending the lifetime of existing equipment. Overhaul options focus on operational demands through in-situ or factory-based overhauls, and/or by service exchange or leased engines (for the duration of the overhaul period).

Neopost - Franking machines

Neopost offers mail management (mailing solutions, franking machines) services to corporate clients, predominantly SMEs (80%) within the public and private sectors. It designs and manufactures a variety of products to facilitate mail management including the IS-350 seen in Fig 11. In 2011, it undertook a pilot remanufacturing activity, which led to an ambitious remanufacturing strategy which was deployed in 2012.

robotIF - Industrial robots

The best way for the customers of robotIf to keep their industrial robots working is to have them remanufactured. If the industrial robots are not remanufactured emergency repairs are needed and this is not economic over time. Another option would be to buy a new industrial robot with all new installation costs that comes with it.

Ricoh Company Ltd. - Photocopiers

In 1997, Ricoh launched the first remanufactured black and white colour Multi-Function-Printer (MFP) in Japan, and since then it has widened its products portfolio of remanufactured MFPs.

Herrenknecht AG - Pumps and motors

The products in the remanufacturing process are originally produced by Herrenknecht. Due to individual project requirements such as the tunnel diameter, most of the machine components are individual designed. For bought- in components like hydraulic pumps or electronic motors, Herrenknecht reduces the number of variants.

Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum GmbH - Vacuum equipment

Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum is a manufacturer and full-line supplier of vacuum solutions including repair and remanufacturing. Its main driver for remanufacturing is a profitable contribution to sustainability. The major benefits for customers are lower prices for the same quality as newly manufactured products (a 12-month warranty is always granted and 3-year warranty is optional).

Advanced Compressor Engineering Services Ltd (ACES) - Compressors

ACES is one of the largest compressor remanufacturing companies in the UK, supplying remanufactured compressors to contractors in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.

Marine

Liebherr-Ettlingen GmbH

The products in the remanufacturing process have very different sizes, geometries, weights and degrees of contamination. They range from small hydraulic components to large V12 diesel engines.

Medical Devices

ax-lightness composites GmbH & Co.KG

The products and the components for bicycles are manufactured in smaller and mid size batches, for medicine and motor sports they are predominant custom made.

Philips Healthcare - Medical devices

Due to the financial effects of healthcare reform, maintaining profitability is a top concern. One solution is to differentiate from competitors with advanced systems and thus increase market share. Doing so can, enhance reputation, and keep patients close to home. But this comes with a price. Today’s mandates to manage healthcare costs make total cost of ownership and return-on-investment top concerns. Philips’ Diamond Select program meets these requirements, giving you advanced refurbished medical systems at an affordable price. Refurbishment is a win-win across the whole value chain.

Rail

MBS Motoreninstandsetzung und Baumaschinenservice GmbH

The range of products are predominantly diesel engines form agricultural and construction machines, in almost all sizes including older series. To generate further growth of sales and to develop new strategic business units, the company also focuses on engines from classic cars, private boats and biogas power plants.

Sports Goods

Replay Golf - Golf balls

Replay Golf is Europe’s leading remanufacturer and recycler of golf balls. They provide their customers with a wide range of products: new, recycled and refurbished balls.