First in Asia: Singapore builds remanufacturing R&D centre

The Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre will develop cutting-edge R&D technologies with six top corporations.

Government research agency A*STAR said the new remanufacturing centre will "drive value-added manufacturing activities here through private-public R&D collaborations" and will "develop technologies for remanufacturing that can be readily adopted by industry."

"These technologies will enable companies and businesses to translate end-of-life products into “good as new” ones for the market through a sustainable process, contributing to greater cost and materials savings and, potentially, higher profit margins," it added.

"Six industry leaders, namely Boeing, Rolls-Royce plc, Siemens Industry Software, ABB, FUCHS Lubricants and Carl Zeiss, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre to look into collaborative R&D to bridge technological gaps in remanufacturing for the aerospace, oil & gas, marine, energy, automotive and engineering industries," said A*STAR.

"Eight local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have also joined the Centre to co-develop technologies along with leading multinational corporations (MNCs). By engaging local SMEs and MNCs, ARTC is encouraging leading companies to develop new high value manufacturing activities in Singapore while cultivating the local supply chain in this new growth area," it said.

Said Dr Raj Thampuran, Executive Director of the Science and Engineering Research Council, A*STAR, “The Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre will help industries realise remanufacturing’s economic and environmental potential through public-private collaborative R&D. Member companies can leverage on our spectrum of relevant capabilities, advanced infrastructure and high quality talent, while at the same time contribute to value-added manufacturing activities here. The Centre also represents the way in which high value manufacturing is advancing globally.”

A*STAR said the remanufacturing centre is modelled after successful models in the United Kingdom, and will provide a platform for local SMEs to work with global leading MNC’s to develop their capabilities even in the early stages of product development.

It will also enable them to seize business opportunities in remanufacturing, which is defined as a sustainable process that involves transforming a recovered part or product through disassembly, cleaning, testing and other operations into like-new products to be reintroduced to the markets.

"Remanufactured products are tested and certified to meet technical and safety specifications of new products, and are therefore sometimes sold with warranties comparable to the original. The process is more efficient than recycling because it conserves not only the raw material content, but also retains much of the value added during the manufacturing of the product," said A*STAR.

"Remanufacturing is already commonly applied in the aerospace, marine, automotive and engineering industries. A report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts that the global automotive remanufacturing market is expected to reach US$104.8 billion by 2015. In the USA, the remanufacturing industry constitutes US$53 billion employing 480,000 workers," it added.

The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology and local universities such as Nanyang Technological University will also lend their expertise to the endeavor, said A*STAR.