The Recycler Issue 316

FEATURE
on its own products, in response to the
scandal, and that it was expecting
the results soon. “Health, and the
environment, these are too important
for us not to check,” Lentes explained,
but added that if the companies
responsible were to change their
practices, it would be “not only good
for the future, but good for the
environment too.”
“It’s terrifying that these products
are here,” said Turbon’s Christof Frei,
who observed that the recent
revelations “may only be the tip of the
iceberg,” with regards to other possible
contents of the plastic.
“It is very alarming. With these
revelations we feel even more
reassured that only remanufacturing is
the right alternative and sustainable
solution - for man and environment,”
added Frei, explaining that “it
absolutely shows us we are on the
right path.”
Working together for the greater
good
At Remanexpo 2019, a further
recurring suggestion was that of
working together, in various ways,
with teamwork and collaboration top
of the future agenda for a number of
companies. In an extremely wellattended
seminar, ETIRA President
David Connett highlighted the current
market share of the OEMs and the
aftermarket, making the point that
companies should be looking to take a
slice from the OEM’s share, rather than
continually fighting for each other’s
thinner wedge.
This was an idea which was
frequently discussed by both exhibitors
and visitors, who spoke glowingly of
the need to work together against a
common adversary.
TIN Factory’s Milan Banjac
expressed his desire for Remanexpo to
be seen as a starting point for this
collaboration, saying that “we must
make this an exchange of information.
Networking is really important.
“We hope for more networking with
our colleagues in Europe,” he
continued. “We are not so much
competitors, in our profession, as
colleagues, and we all have the same
technical programme, technical
challenges, and challenges from the
OEMs.”
GPI’s Frances Chen echoed this call,
saying that the company was aiming to
gain more market share from the OEM,
rather than from the aftermarket.
“Everybody should focus more on the
OEMs, because they have more than
ninety percent of the market share.
Why are we competing against each
other for less than ten percent? That
way, you’re not making money, we’re
not making money, so who wins? The
OEM.”
“The goal should be to improve, as
companies, and take market share
from the OEMs and not from each
other,” agreed Apex’s Cindy Zhang.
Adele Berionni was also convinced that
collaboration was the way forward,
stating that “in the past, maybe, we
only focussed on the Italian market,
but now, working with other countries
is a really good opportunity, because
you can offer different products to
different markets.”
Armor’s Gerwald Van Der Gijp and
Turbon’s Christof Frei observed the
need for collaboration of a slightly
different kind, both believing that
closer link-up with the OEMs
themselves was necessary for the
future of the industry.
“What I wish is that the OEMs work
closely together with us, to define and
work out how to deal with the issues
that we have in the market, such as
illegal products, and IP issues, and
politics,” said Van Der Gijp. “It’s started
opening up, we have started working
with OEMs, but there must still be more
cooperation.”
“We should work closer, maybe, with
the OEMs,” considered Frei, who
added: ‘An exchange between the
OEMs and the remanufacturers
doesn’t exist, but would maybe be
something to aspire to.” While
conceding this would be an uphill task,
Frei also acknowledged that in the
aftermarket, “there is a higher purpose
than just sales and figures – it is the
fact that we should try to raise
awareness of the environmental
benefits of remanufacturing. We want
to join forces on different activities, to
keep the industry alive.”
This time next year…
As the show drew to a close, many
exhibitors looked the year ahead, and
shared their ambitions for the coming
twelve months with The Recycler. Speed
Infotech’s Benjamin Young shared his
hope that the company would “keep
growing, and get ready – I think the
market will change, we cannot use the
THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 316 • MARCH 2019
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