2004 Issue 7
Reman E-News

A Bi-Weekly Review For The Remanufacturing Community
A joint effort by The Remanufacturing Institute (TRI)
and the OEM Product-Services Institute (OPI)

Providing news for the $100B global remanufacturing community:
market trends, innovative offerings, government initiatives, acquisitions, expansions,
professional societies, trade groups, legal rulings, financial results, the environment,
productivity improvements, publications and events.

Last call to attend The APICS REMANSP SIG & TRI Conference In Las Vegas On October 30 & 31.  For further details on our conference go to http://www.bigrshow.com/apics.

Trade Groups
Suppliers' Counterfeiting Concerns Being Heard as MEMA and its Members Meet with Leading Government Officials

Executives from several automotive parts manufacturers joined representatives of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) Oct. 21 in a meeting to discuss the seriousness of the industry's counterfeiting issue with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson and other members of his department. These “fake’ parts often under-price remanufactured parts, and in turn often financially devastate many remanufacturers and distributors of remanufactured parts.

Hutchinson, who reports directly to Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge, noted during the meeting that the government will continue to devote resources behind fighting this growing problem and hopes that penalties for counterfeiters and those trafficking and selling counterfeit products will be increased. He also noted that seizures of counterfeit products has increased by more than 80 percent since 9/11 due to his department's increased counter-terrorism efforts which have helped uncover counterfeit operations.

"Getting a meeting with someone as high up in the government as Asa Hutchinson certainly proves that the profile of this issue is increasing and that the industry's voice is being heard loud and clear," said Paul Foley, vice president of MEMA's Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association, who moderated the meeting.

"The Homeland Security Department, its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division and Customs and Border Protection have been extremely helpful in helping educate parts manufacturers how to protect their intellectual property and report violations. It's also up to us to do the same for them; we must educate them about our industry and what we face," Foley added, "We applaud the government for providing the resources for suppliers to do something about counterfeiters. The ball is now in our court to understand and utilize those resources."

Foley and other MEMA staff members were joined by several member companies, including Visteon Corp., Freudenberg-NOK and General Motors Service Parts Organization (GMSPO), who shared their experiences with fake parts and intellectual property violators. Counterfeit parts cost the U.S. automotive industry nearly $3 billion a year and cost the global industry $12 billion each year.

Hutchinson also discussed the Bush administration's recently announced Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP) program and other ways the department can address counterfeit products and intellectual property rights (IPO) violations. MEMA supports the STOP program, a comprehensive initiative which seeks to punish the criminal networks that traffic in fakes, stop trade in pirated and counterfeit goods at America's borders, block counterfeit products around the world and help small businesses secure and enforce their rights in overseas markets.

On Oct. 20, MEMA representatives attended a special invitation-only meeting in Washington, D.C., where U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft unveiled the findings of an anti-counterfeiting report created by a special task force of the U.S. Justice Department. Brian Duggan, director of international affairs for MEMA, and Tony Bol, GMSPO's manager of investigations, were on hand with several leaders of other industries to hear Ashcroft's review of the report that mentioned the auto parts industry several times.


Expansions
New Remanufacturing Center of Excellence Offers Better Service to BOC Customers

Leading manufacturer of vacuum equipment, BOC Edwards, has opened a new European pump remanufacturing facility at Crawley, West Sussex, UK. Part of a company-wide commitment to environmentally-friendly processes, the $1.7M facility includes de-contamination facilities, two flow-lines, a clean-room and an award winning wastewater recycling plant.

Following proven best practice procedures developed by the company’s other remanufacturing facilities in the US, Asia and Japan, Crawley is now the European center of excellence for all semiconductor and scientific pumps. All industrial vacuum pumps are remanufactured at its facility in Bolton, Lancashire, UK.

Although vacuum pumps will typically run for three to five years without a factory service, some processes involving corrosive gases or large amounts of dust require more frequent maintenance such as that undertaken at the new Crawley facility.

The two UK sites, Crawley and Bolton, support BOC Edwards’ European servicing business, which includes service centers in Paris and Munich and satellite facilities at Milan and Avezzano in Italy, and Crolles near Grenoble in France, as well as Qiryat Gat in Israel. In addition to remanufacturing pumps for customers directly, these sites also support BOC Edwards’ on-site servicing teams based in semiconductor fabrication plants across Europe.

Andy Peake, European Remanufacturing Manager comments: “We have some very ambitious targets. The new facility at Crawley employs 120 people and operates seven days a week enabling us to provide our customers with a better service and add value to the business.”


Remanufacturing Innovations
Rogers Wireless of Canada launches national wireless phone remanufacturing program with Phones-for-Food

"Through the Phones-for-Food program, Rogers Wireless provides customers with the opportunity to responsibly dispose of old and unused wireless phones as they upgrade or change to a new wireless device and to assist the Canadian Association of Food Banks to provide food to those who need it most.

Once received at the Phones-for-Food depot, donated wireless phones are sorted, and the phones or their usable parts are then sold to the remanufacturing industry, with proceeds going to the Canadian Association of Food Banks and community food banks across the country. Phones for Food responsibly recycles all remaining wireless phones or unusable parts.

Phones-for-Food is an extension of the successful thINK FOOD program, which was launched in 2001 as a used inkjet printer cartridge recycling fundraiser for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. thINK FOOD later extended across Ontario, then nationally in 2002 through the Canadian Association of Food Banks.

To date over 750,000 lbs of food have been generated for community food banks, and 232,622 printer cartridges and 31,024 wireless phones have been collected.


Awards
EPA Credits Canon With Refurbishing And Remanufacturing More Than 250,000 Products For Resale

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), is among 15 corporate, government, non-profit and education organizations receiving the 2004 WasteWise Program Champion Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for implementing a comprehensive waste reduction program, which includes remanufacturing. This year's award recognizes Canon's waste reduction commitment for the third consecutive year.

WasteWise is a free and voluntary partnership program launched by EPA in 1994. The program provides guidance and recognition to more than 1,300 participating organizations working to find practical methods to reduce municipal solid waste and improve financial performance. Canon U.S.A. has participated since 1994.

The award to Canon U.S.A. will be presented October 14 at the WasteWise Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC. For more information about the program, visit www.epa.gov/wastewise or call 1-800-EPA-WISE (372-9473).
 

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Final Note
We encourage you to forward this newsletter to friends in the remanufacturing community. It is our intent to carry news on all industry sectors. If you have news to share or comments, please contact the Reman E-News editor:
 

Ron Giuntini

rgiuntini@oemservices.org
570.523.0992

Ron Giuntini, Executive Director
PO Box 48
Lewisburg, PA 17837
rgiuntini@reman.org
570.523.0992

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