Remanufacturing: evidence of environmentally conscious business practice in the UK

Remanufacture is the process of bringing a nonfunctioning complex assembly to "like-new" functional state by replacing and rebuilding its component parts. Because remanufacturing recovers a substantial fraction of the materials and value added to a product in its first manufacture, and because it can do this at low additional cost, the resulting products can be obtained at reduced price. This paper clearly defines the term "remanufacturing" by differentiating it from alternative green production initiatives. It presents the initial findings of a series of industrial case studies which have been undertaken in the UK. The focus of these studies has been primarily to investigate current operational practices in the UK remanufacturing industry. In so doing the study has sought to establish a blueprint of the remanufacturing approach and also to quantify the main areas of risk and uncertainty in the remanufacturing process.