Rematec goes east

A brand new ReMaTec show – Rematec Asia – has been announced. The exhibition will take place annually from September 2019 in partnership with Chinese company Sinomachint and the CPRA

Rematec is the biggest remanufacturing show in the world. But from next year it will welcome another member to the family. Rematec will still be held every two years in the Netherlands – but from September 2019 there will be an annual ReMaTec in Guangzhou, too. Aimed at remanufacturers in China and South-east Asia, Rematec Asia is a brand new exhibition for the industry.

Rematec organiser RAI Amsterdam has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese reman trade association CPRA and Sinomachint, organiser of the Auto Aftermarket Guangzhou (AAG) exhibition. RAI’s reman director Niels Klarenbeek says Rematec Asia will offer a demand-driven concept to international exhibitors. “ Via RAI’s China office we will interview local reman companies and trace their needs in terms of know-how, equipment, cores, et cetera,” he explains. “Based on the outcomes, we invite individual companies to join and coordinate matchmaking. International exhibitors will get a comprehensive package including a turnkey booth, prearranged matchmaking appointments, translation service and a networking dinner and bus tour to remanufacturers in Guangzhou area. This targeted approach enables international companies a soft landing in the Chinese market.”

Zhao Lizhi, general manager of Sinomachint, believes ReMaTec Asia will introduce new ideas, communicate the right business directions and allow delegates to discuss strategies with other remanufacturing industry players. “I can see exhibitors paying high attention to the launch of this show as many of them want to announce their new achievements at the fair.”

Significant sales

The new show reflects that fact that the remanufacture aftermarket in Asia is growing rapidly. There are significant sales of new cars in China – but the warranty period is just two years so there is plenty of opportunity for remanufacturing. Currently, it is estimated that 93.2 million passenger cars are out of warranty in China.

Rematec Asia will provide “a main platform to promote remanufacturing in China to the world outside China”, says academic and reman expert Dr. Yan Wang from the UK’s Brighton University. “The Chinese remanufacturing industry could benefit from remanufacturing operation and shopfloor management from international companies and the sale of products that are remanufactured in China to outside China. International companies could benefit from the mass scale and relative cheaper labour cost for remanufacturing - and the massive market in China.”

Legal barriers and reverse logistics are the biggest obstacles for Chinese reman to emerge - but both are expected to be tackled in less than five years. “This trade fair is a great opportunity for exhibitors to meet new suppliers and to talk face to face with current suppliers,” says Xie Jianjun, secretary general of CPRA. “This will be the first remanufacturing fair in China and is the place where everyone comes to distribute to big and small companies.”

Promoting maturity

Professor Zhang Wei, ex-director of China’s National Key Lab for Remanufacturing, welcomes the news. “We wish the success of the ReMaTec Asia,” he says. “We believe it will promote the maturity and further development of the industry in China and a main vehicle for collaboration between China and outside China.”

Guo Yuyue, deputy secretary general of Guangzhou Municipal Government, visited RAI Amsterdam as part of a delegation last month. “China is currently the world’s largest automotive producer, while Guangzhou is the major automobile production base and export base in China, and has obvious advantages of industry cluster,” he says. “The remanufacturing of auto parts is an important part of promoting the circular economy in China, and has already become an industry with a promising future. We need a comprehensive international platform to see what’s going on in the industry.”

He is pleased that RAI is holding a reman exhibition in Guangzhou: “Rematec Asia is such a show at the right time in the right place. We hope it can closely combine the industrial advantages of Guangzhou and promotion this industry.”

Interested to join