In 2019 Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems remanufactured 2.7 million components, finding new life for 6,900 tons of raw materials and preventing 24,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. The parts include foundation drum brake shoes, valves, air dryers, compressors, steering gears, and electronics.
The equipment vendor of active safety, air management, and braking solutions for commercial vehicles and trucks made the announcement to mark the third Global Reman Day on April 9, created by the Remanufacturing Industries Council to showcase the sector’s progress via webinars. Since 2017, Bendix has remanufactured 7.2 million parts, saved 20,300 tons of material and reduced their carbon footprint by 71,000 equivalent tons of CO2.
“Of course, we’ve been remanufacturing for over 40 years now, so the impact is really far greater,” said Maria Gutierrez, director of corporate responsibility and sustainability. “Celebrating Global Reman Day may be relatively new, but remanufacturing has been a key part of Bendix’s operations and sustainability commitment for more than a generation.”
Henry Foxx, Bendix director of remanufactured products, noted that one shouldn’t confuse remanned and rebuilt parts, which are low-cost alternatives that may get only slight improvements, such as new friction on a brake shoe, before reentering service. They do not keep the engineered geometry, which may lead to sub-optimal performance and a shorter life span. Bendix puts its remanned brake shoes through a coining process to reverse time and remove imperfections caused by thousands of brake events. Each shoe is coated and cured to prevent rust-jacking and friction cracking.
Then, technicians dyno-test the friction to ensure quality, which could be crucial to avoid unnecessary downtime or issues with CSA inspections.
“A genuine remanufactured component has to be rebuilt by the original equipment manufacturer — an OEM, such as Bendix — using a mix of reconditioned components and brand-new components from the very same suppliers the OEM uses for original equipment,” Foxx said. “Components such as gaskets and bushings, which exhibit high levels of wear during normal operation, must be replaced with original spec components identical to the ones you’d find on a brand-new product.”
He said choosing remanned parts will ultimately extend vehicle life and reduce total cost of ownership.
