Niels Klarenbeek on Rematec Asia

Bridging the gap between east and west in reman was always our aim with Rematec Asia – and that is exactly what we did. We had a significant group of international people with us, and visitors included reman representatives from manufacturers such as BMW, PSA, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, all of whom were interested in the Chinese market. They learned about regulation, about who’s who – and with the excursions we organised to local companies, we were able to get them to places they would never have been able to on their own, such as the Guangzhou core market, which has only been going for six months or so.

At the Rematec Theatre, which has been such an important feature of the Amsterdam editions, many international visitors spoke on stage – and we were also able to get Chinese speakers talking about the industry. It was phenomenal - it literally worked both ways.

Having Rematec Asia co-located with Automotive Aftermarket Guangzhou (AAG) meant that it was very well visited. Remanufacturing in China is still undervalued in terms of acceptance and awareness, and having the two shows combined allows workshops and automotive technicians visiting AAG to become familiar with the reman parts that are available – and their quality. We are supporting the country’s reman industry: an item on the sustainability benefits of remanufacturing even made it onto Chinese TV.

About 60 years ago in Europe, authorised car dealerships were making money through sales of new cars. Over the last few decades, that has shifted as new sales declined and focus was put on vehicle maintenance and aftersales. Different revenue streams had to be found. What does this have to do with reman in China? Well, after exponential growth, new vehicle sales in China are also stabilising: this means that again there must be a shift in dealerships towards maintenance in order to make money. The aftersales channels and return logistics are going to become increasingly important – and that’s where reman comes in.

Rematec Asia succeeded in its ambition to offer insights in Chinese remanufacturing and play an active role in connecting international and Chinese businesses. This was by far the largest reman event in China to date – and the first edition offers a strong foundation to further develop the event in the years to come.

Niels Klarenbeek,
Director of Rematec