According to John Chalifoux, President and COO of the Motor and Equipment Remanufacturers Association (MERA), "Remanufacturing is the future of manufacturing."
Based in Southfield, Michigan, MERA is the remanufacturing and sustainability division of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and is a network of remanufacturers, suppliers and professional firms, both large and small, promoting the environmental, economic and product performance benefits of remanufactured components and assemblies.
In a media meeting held during AAPEX this week, Chalifoux explained his reasoning saying, "If you visited a remanufacturer's facilites and started at the end of the line, you would feel as if you were in a new manufacturing facility. That's because both are standardized industrial processes."
Remanufacturing is often used in the same light as the term rebuilding, but Chalifoux stresses that they are not the same. In the rebuilding process, the parts and components of the system being rebuilt remain with that system while in a remanufacturing facility, components are stripped and their individual parts are separated into line items that may find new life in many different remanufactured systems. Additionally, the same standards and specifications used in the original manufacture are used in the remanufacturing process with individual parts that no longer have a serviceable life recycled for reuse, or remachined to restore them to original quality.
"Remanufactured parts and components are as good as the new, but cost less to produce and reduce environmental impact", added Chalifoux. He reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had issued a ruling earlier this year stating that "remanufactured is different from rebuilt", redefining the term's use in the Used Auto Parts guide and reflecting the fact that remanufacturing has more in common with new manufacturing than it does any other process (i.e. rebuilding, refurbishing, recycling or repairing). The FTC also ruled that the term "remanufactured" should not be used unless the product had been remanufactured in a factory setting.
"Put it all together and here's the message", Chalifoux said in closing. "Remanufacturing is sustainable manufacturing by definition, remanufacturing is responsible by design, remanufacturing is the future of manufacturing."
