By bringing together remanufacturing companies and the general public, the first Global Remanufacturing Day has set the standard for the celebration of reman in future years.
There did not seem to be anything particularly special about the second Thursday in April this year. But it’s just possible that we will look back and realise this was the day when remanufacturing started to gain wider public acceptance. The Remanufacturing Industries Council (RIC)’s first Global Remanufacturing Day was about getting the word out to the general public about the benefits of remanufacturing. All over the globe, reman companies held events which celebrated the benefits of remanufactured products – and encouraged the outside world to come in and see what all the fuss was about. If reman is going to gain real traction, then everyone – from schoolchildren to policy makers – must have a clear idea of why it is important: in economic, social and environmental terms. That is why 12 April, 2018 (#REMANDAY2018) was a great chance to put remanufacturing in the spotlight.
Good feedback
The initiative was organised by the RIC and embraced by several industry organisations and companies which hosted their own events. RIC reports that feedback from its members was all good – and that everyone is looking forward to hosting another event next year. “The RIC was proud to collaborate with our partner associations to organise the first ever Global Reman Day,” says John Disharoon, RIC board chair and business development manager at Cat Reman. “This day was an opportunity to acknowledge the work and people who are responsible for the success of this growing industry.”
According to RIC figures, 127 locations registered Reman Day events, and it was celebrated in 17 countries “on all six inhabited continents”. Moreover, in the US, eight states and one city – Augusta, Georgia - issued proclamations declaring that April 12, 2018 was indeed Reman Day. “We were not surprised to see the diversity among reman sectors participating in Reman Day,” the RIC said in a statement. “Our members and our reman association alliance partners were instrumental in bringing together this growing industry to advocate, collaborate, educate and in this case celebrate remanufacturing. We are looking forward to many more participants in next year’s Reman Day on April 11, 2019.”
Local approach
RIC decided that educating those outside the industry would be best executed at a local level, with reman companies hosting students, teachers, parents, job seekers and other local community members at open houses, plant tours and presentations designed to showcase the economic and environmental benefits of remanufacturing. The approach of America’s Remanufacturing Company (ARC) – a reverse logistics and reman solutions firm servicing OEMs, distributors and retailers – was typical. At its corporate office in Augusta, its celebration focused on educating local community members on the value of reman, its importance to the circular economy and the role it plays in environmental stewardship. ARC chief revenue officer Paul Adamson praised RIC for working “diligently to create and promote this first-ever celebration of remanufacturing”.
The many other entities involved included: Golisano Institute of Sustainability, Caterpillar, Nokia Poland, SKF Österreich, Solar Turbines, John Deere and Tureal Steering Solutions. For fun, the ReMaTec team produced a reman-themed Spotify playlist of 36 cover songs ‘that were better than the originals’, and sparked a lot of debate*. Yet however you choose to do it, increasing public awareness of remanufacturing is vital if the industry is to flourish in future. Emphasising the importance of reman for the world’s economy – and for the environment – is a sensible way of ensuring that this will happen. So here’s to next year, when Reman Day takes place on April 11, 2019. Get it in your diary.
*How Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah got on there is a mystery. John Cale’s is much better
