Am I really coming back?

It has been a long time that things are slow in this blog. I have been very late on getting back to some people who contacted me for materials, discussions etc- I am sorry and I'll get back to them... Also, I will try to get back to my usual pace in updating my blog, which is interrupted by my dissertation and its defense for my committee. Unfortunately, I am still dealing with some scheduling issues on getting my PhD in hand, however, it's happening very very soon.

I want to make a smooth return to blogging by posting on responsible electronics recycling guidelines - nothing controversial or too complicated. If you go over these guidelines, you will notice both reuse and material recovery are emphasized and proper testing for refurbished equipment is urged. So it's actually not about "recycling" as we know it. It's product recovery, which spans remanufacturing, refurbishing, material recovery, material recycling, disposal, incineration.

Take a look at detailed guildelines here.

Mazda opens remanufacturing plant

Please see this link for the article.

Visteon sells remanufacturing facilities

Couple days ago Visteon sold its three facilities, one in US and two in Mexico. Transaction includes automotive reman facilities. There is not much information on the deal, motives etc. However, Visteon keeps its electronics remanufacturing facilities.

Read more here.

Remanufacturing video and an article

Here is an article by Marsha Cohen on the basics of remanufacturing. There is nothing that regular readers of this blog does not know. However, I believe adding these articles once in a while may appeal to beginners who has just got interested in remanufacturing. If you need more of these beginners resources dig the blog deeper, there is more.

I have been looking for a video of a remanufacturing process for a while. I have just found this video. It is engine remanufacturing process at Recon Automotive Remanufacturers, Inc. I think it is informative because you can see inspection, cleaning, remanufacturing, and final assembly and test stages.

A laptop reborn

A couple days ago this article by Liza Porteus Viana was published on portfolio.com. This article analyzes recycling initiatives at major OEMs and discusses how costs of recycling affect OEMs product recovery efforts.

Please read the full article and find my thoughts on this issue in the comments.

Some remanufacturing news

Generally, remanufacturing operations are organized under manufacturing, plant management etc. When a company announces a separate division fo remanufacturing, I believe they are taking a more systematic approach to managing this high-margin, high-growth, environmentally-friendly operation- and express their commitment. Well it happened before with CAT, and now John Deere is reorganizing its remanufacturing operations that has long been going on under the name Phoenix Reman Group. The new name will be Deere Reman – Edmonton. Please read more about Deere Reman here.

Another company, ArvinMeritor, announced that they acquired Mascot Trucks, a remanufacturer of truck parts with six facilities and logistics centers in NA. ArvinMeritor started remanufacturing in 1982 with its axle carrier remanufacturing operations. Now, they consider remanufacturing as a major growth opportunity. Carsten Reinhardt, president of ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Systems business said, "This expansion of our remanufacturing business makes sense for our customers and aligns with our business strategy to grow the aftermarket business."

Happy holidays and a peaceful 2008!

Small businesses can make a big impact

You always tend to think that big corporations has to keep up with environmental initiatives, and should do more to sustain environment than the small and medium sized enterprises. Well, in a way, that's correct, they are the ones, who should have the strictest compliance with regulations, and ambitious initiatives for environment, because their impact will simply be of a huge ordinance.

But... Think about this: 99% of all US companies are small business, says Jim Rise of Greener Computing. This makes more than 25 million small businesses, this time not individually but cumulatively having a huge impact on sustainability. The options to make-it-better are endless in their offices, from recycling paper and using "energy star" office equipment, to choosing OEMs that have end-of-use take back policies (for remanufacturing or recycling) for office equipment purchases.

This is a great article, read the full version "How Small-Office IT Can Make a Big Impact" here.