Reman key to circular strategy
Remanufacturing is set to be one of the key circular strategies which automotive manufacturers will have to adopt if they want to meet future changes in customer demand. That was the message from David Kemps of ABN AMRO, speaking at a workshop hosted by the European Remanufacturing Network (ERN) during Automechanika Frankfurt.
ABN AMRO’s report On the Road to the Circular Car, published in collaboration with Circle Economy, predicts that reman will play a major role as OEMs rethink production processes. Consumer trends towards wanting access to cars rather than owning them will mean that business models will need to change. The ‘reman bootcamp’ workshop also identified some of the main barriers that prevent reman from taking place on a large scale.
These were:
- Mindset of OEMs
- Benefits of reman are not understood and accepted
- Reman firms are not visible
- Market simply demands cheaper products and parts
- Gaining access to cores is difficult
- Trade barriers
- Companies need to reverse engineer as suppliers do not share engineering info about products
Reman will form part of a new standard of circular strategies, which also include modular design, use of used and recyclable materials, life-time extension, smart take-back schemes, and high value recycling, said Thijs Jasink of car electronic component remanufacturer, ACtronics.
