In 2020, STS in Sweden strengthened its position as a globally leading remanufacturing partner for the heavy and light vehicle industries. The Swedish company STS – Scandinavian Transmission Service AB – has a strong market position as a world leader in the remanufacture of transmissions and other powertrain components for passenger cars and the heavy goods vehicle sector. In STS’ facility in Stenungsund, on the west coast of Sweden just north of Gothenburg, the company has established state-of-the-art industrial operations with several remanufacturing lines for various powertrain components. In 2020, several investments were made in response to the increased demand from the heavy vehicle industry.
STS started its operations in 1969 and in the beginning, the aim was to remanufacture components for passenger cars. Five years ago, STS took the initiative to establish the company as a complete remanufacturing partner also to the heavy goods vehicle industry. Shortly thereafter, long-term cooperation was initiated with the truck manufacturer Scania, which has an exchange system for remanufactured powertrain components. This cooperation expanded in 2020, when STS was put in charge of the remanufacturing of an entirely new product category. Over the year, the production capacity on the existing production line doubled, and STS also increased its workforce.
2020 was a challenging year for the world’s vehicle manufacturers due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For STS, however, it was a year of continued investments and an increase in capacity for the remanufacture of components for heavy vehicles. Despite the global downturn for passenger car manufacturers, STS experienced stable demand from this segment, which remains a very important part of the company’s operations.
The transition to a green industry increases the need for remanufacturing
Ola Stålebo, CEO of STS, is now looking back on a year with several joyous moments, and he is highly optimistic about the future. A reason for this is the increasing part of the global vehicle industry that is transitioning towards a circular economy and attaches importance to becoming a green industry. The remanufacture of various powertrain components form a central part of this transition.
“It is no exaggeration to say that we are a full-service remanufacturing partner at present, also for manufacturers of heavy vehicles that are investing in sustainability. Naturally, we are incredibly pleased with our gradually increasing and expanding cooperation with Scania. The main gearbox have been added as a new product category, and in 2020, we also had to double the capacity in one of the existing production lines.”
With more than 50,000 employees and operations in 100 countries, Scania is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and engines. The company’s exchange system entails taking apart and remanufacturing used and worn powertrain components. Several of these components are remanufactured by STS. All worn wear parts are switched to new parts. The components are remanufactured according to the original specifications or replaced with new ones. They are then tested in the same way as entirely new spare parts.
STS Logistics Centre – an important success factor
While Ola Stålebo is delighted about the increased cooperation with Scania, he believes there are excellent opportunities to establish similar partnerships with other truck manufacturers.
“It is incredibly pleasing that we are now regarded as an important partner in Scania’s investment in a sustainable solution for protecting the environment. Nevertheless, our facility has the capacity to assist additional heavy goods vehicle manufacturers that are seeking to introduce similar exchange systems. We have all the technology required to create efficient remanufacturing flows for heavy components; we can quickly customise new production lines, and we also have employees with cutting-edge expertise. The investment we made in the STS Logistic Centre roughly five years ago has turned into an important success factor. This allows us to can offer a complete concept for customised component logistics, including return systems, freight solutions and warehousing.”
The investments and additional recruitments made by STS in 2020 also have significance for the service offered to Europe’s passenger car manufacturers, and the company is well equipped for an expansion.
“The entire vehicle industry is in transition. Now that the market accelerates again as the pandemic is dwindling, major changes are being introduced as a result of investments in the circular economy, but also with regard to the speedy development of electric passenger cars. These vehicles also contain powertrain components, which will need remanufacturing eventually. We will cover this need as well, while continuing our development into a strong remanufacturing partner for the heavy goods vehicle industry,” Ola Stålebo concludes.
