I would like to call your attention to two new articles that have been produced by our Senior Associate Editor, Mary Gannon on the subject of reman. The first appears in our April 2009 issue and it focuses on a comparison of new and remanufactured components. In this very thoughtful feature article, Mary presents input from several remanufacturers who all make very good points.
At the end of this article, there is a link to our web only article from P.K. Guha of Attica Hydraulic Exchange. P.K. does a very good job of presenting a case for the use of reman components.
It has come to my attention that this market seems to have grown from necessity. There are many machines in operation that use components that are no longer manufactured. The machine is still good but it needs a new pump, motor, cylinder, or valve.
This presents the operator of the machine with very few options. One, they can build a new machine with new components. Two, they can opt for retrofitting with new components. Or, three, they can use remanufactured components that are direct replacements for the ones no longer functioning. Often, the cores for these components that are not working are returned, reworked, and returned to service in a condition that is very close to new.
The next step in this business of remanufacturing involves using rebuilt components in place of new components in new designs. These reman components are often specified for time savings or cost savings. In either case, a market niche has been created for reman components.
This is a very interesting part of fluid power technology and I think that it makes a very strong statement for the quality and functionality of fluid power components. They keep on working.
