Remanufacturing—the process of reusing and upgrading products—is gaining ground in the Netherlands. Companies in various sectors are increasingly recognizing the benefits of a circular economy. Remanufacturing not only offers economic benefits but also contributes to sustainability. This is evident in the Circular Value Center report ‘The route to remanufacturing in 7 steps’.
The report outlines how companies can implement a remanufacturing roadmap in seven steps. The conclusions are based on the experiences of nineteen Brabant, Gelderland, and Overijssel companies. TNO has built a pilot remanufacturing facility at Brainport Industries Campus. “This could be the beginning of a pilot line as a shared facility to test out (returning) machine parts,” says Jan Westra on behalf of the province of Brabant. “What parts are broken, how to repair or upgrade them, and quality control. The principle of ‘Test before invest.'”
Why is this important?
Remanufacturing is important because it reuses valuable raw materials and products, contributing to a sustainable economy and reducing waste. Moreover, it extends the lifespan of products and creates new economic opportunities for companies. TNO is setting up a separate pilot lab for this at Brainport Industries Campus helps in the acceptance of this principle for the whole industry.
Sam Helmer of TNO: “In our open Remanufacturing Lab at BIC, we want to define and test remanufacturing revenue models in the coming years, including the necessary ICT architectures and standards such as the digital product passport. We will do this for individual companies and groups of companies in a supply chain.”
The power of remanufacturing
Remanufacturing, also known as remanufacturing, is more than a trend; it is an essential step toward a circular economy, according to the Circular Value Center. Companies such as ASML, ATD Machinery, and Vanderlande show that remanufacturing not only generates economic value but also positively impacts the environment. Richard Peters of ASML: “We learn from what breaks down to improve our new products. Remanufacturing helps to avoid production delays. We can’t live without it anymore.”
At ATD Machinery, the focus is shifting from new construction to a broader range of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. Johan Barth, after-sales manager, emphasizes, “The focus is shifting from only new construction to all machines around and in the field. Insights into the functioning of the machines give us information for improving new construction.” This symbiotic process, where old and new reinforce each other, is a recurring theme at many companies doing remanufacturing.
Learning by doing
Many companies stress the importance of “just starting” with remanufacturing and learning by experience. Ad Keeris, director at Hapert Aanhangwagenbouw, describes the value of experimentation: “We started by doing: with an enthusiastic project group, we started thinking about remanufacturing. What this has brought, no research or brainstorming can match.” By starting small and running pilots with committed customers, a market for remanufactured products organically emerges.
Vanderlande takes a similar approach. Bart van Dartel, sustainability lead BU Technology: “Together with an important customer, we are now conducting a remanufacturing pilot. Just do it and see what you find. The first proposition towards a client can also be: take up the challenge together and carry out an exploration.”
New business opportunities
Remanufacturing is not only a way to produce sustainably; it also creates new business models. WEMO Netherlands BV saw an opportunity to develop a second-hand market by offering remanufactured systems with the same warranties as new ones. Koen Boot, COO of WEMO: “It’s good business for us, too; our margins are similar to selling new.” This makes the company less sensitive to economic fluctuations and allows them to respond to market demand.
IRS Robotics also sees remanufacturing as a new, attractive market. “This is how robotic technology becomes accessible, affordable, and sustainable not only for all SMEs and start-ups but also increasingly for multinationals,” said Patrick Waltmans, managing director. Remanufacturing offers clients an opportunity to find affordable solutions while operating sustainably.
Customer needs and value creation
Companies such as Hapert Aanhangwagenbouw and Bluetron underline the importance of customer needs in remanufacturing. Ruud van den Doel, key account manager at Bluetron: “We aim to deliver everything working back to the customer. The biggest gain for those companies is not necessarily the value of that part of the contribution to a new life, but that they can deliver to customers again at all.”
Hapert Trailer Construction has learned that remanufacturing can create value for different customer groups. “For one customer group, the value is in competitive pricing; for another, in a reduced carbon footprint,” says Keeris. This insight has helped them serve an additional market and offer a total solution.
Internal structure and specialization
Many companies emphasize the need for a clear internal structure for remanufacturing. ASML chose to separate new buildings and remanufacture them to optimize focus and skills. Peters: “We chose to separate them largely, partly because repairing something requires different skills than building something new anyway.”
Other companies, such as Hencon and VMI Group, focus on modular design and digitizing processes to facilitate remanufacturing. Tim van der Linde, Technical Director at Hencon, sees this as an opportunity for the future: “Moving toward a structural embedding of remanufacturing in the processes will bring the necessary challenges, but it also offers opportunities.”
Tips for successful remanufacturing
Five lessons can be distilled from the experiences of the nineteen companies from Overijssel, Gelderland and Brabant:
- Start with Pilots: Many companies emphasize that remanufacturing starts with experimentation. Start small, test, and learn from the results.
- Build an Internal Structure: Separating new builds and remanufacturing, as ASML has done, can help ensure the necessary skills and focus.
- Customer-Focused Proposition: Listen to the customer’s needs. This helps identify which parts or machines can be reused and what is needed.
- Data and Monitoring: ATD Machinery and others demonstrate that collecting data from the customer environment is crucial to understanding machine performance and needs.
- Modular Design: As Hencon and VMI Group point out, a modular approach makes it easier to disassemble, repair and upgrade machines.
Collaboration
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