ZF "Remanufacturing Plan" helps sustainable development

ZF is the initiator of the "remanufacturing plan". ZF emphasized its continuous commitment to remanufacturing and the positive significance of remanufacturing to the environment, economy and product life cycle. ZF has been committed to sustainable development for a long time, and our emphasis on remanufacturing is exemplary in the automotive industry.

Remanufacturing is a controllable, renewable and sustainable industrial process. From the perspective of quality and performance, the used products or components can be comparable to or exceed the level of new components after remanufacturing. Compared with manufacturing completely new substitutes from scratch, remanufacturing allows older products to have a longer life cycle and greatly saves time, materials and costs. Compared with new product manufacturing, ZF aftermarket remanufacturing can reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy consumption by up to 90%.

With the shortage of supply and the rising price of raw materials posing continuous challenges to almost all industries, remanufacturing also plays an increasingly important role in supplying necessary parts to maintain the operation of the supply chain. The remanufacturing industry committee said that other advantages of remanufacturing include saving raw materials, reducing energy use and waste, and reducing costs and prices. From the perspective of employment, remanufacturing is also crucial in the global economy. The committee estimates that there are nearly 500000 remanufacturing jobs in the world, employing various kinds of engineers, technicians, scientists, designers and other professionals.

ZF's remanufacturing business covers 25 locations around the world. The remanufactured product portfolio includes the remanufacture of traditional parts of ZF, such as clutches or transmissions, and electromechanical integration components such as EBS bridge modules or transmission actuators. The remanufacturing business of ZF is widely used in the fields of passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and off-highway vehicles, helping customers reduce operating costs and improve their overall profitability.

In 2013, the Asia-Pacific remanufacturing center of ZF after-sales service was established in Shanghai. The center operates according to the global standards of ZF Group, and its remanufacturing process, equipment configuration and technical standards are in the leading position in the industry. The remanufacturing business of the center is mainly passenger car products, supplemented by commercial and non-highway products. The remanufacturing capacity of commercial vehicle products will be further strengthened in the future. The existing core remanufactured products include the 6-gear, 8-gear and 9-gear transmissions and related control valve bodies of ZF passenger cars, as well as some commercial vehicle components.

In addition to providing multiple fields of ZF product remanufacturing services for leading mainframe customers, ZF Asia Pacific Remanufacturing Center also continues to expand the remanufacturing business of non-ZF products. In 2021, ZF After-sales took the lead in obtaining non-ZF product frame orders from mainframe customers in China to remanufacture the transfer case. This is a major breakthrough in ZF's remanufacturing business in China and a positive sign that remanufactured products are widely accepted. In order to meet the demand for remanufactured products in the era of electric drive, experts from ZF after-sales service have begun to actively prepare relevant remanufactured solutions to meet the diversified needs of different fields in the Chinese market.

Jeff Stukenberg said that in 2020, through the remanufacturing process, ZF reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 12444 tons worldwide and saved nearly 8.74 million kWh. "Remanufacturing is an important thrust of circular economy, which gives products a longer life cycle and multiple uses. Through remanufacturing and other technologies, ZF is making every effort to protect the precious resources, environment and economy of the earth and benefit future generations."