Remanufacturing with BORG Automotive
According to BORG Automotive, remanufactured parts offer quality equal to that of OE
Published: 05 January, 2021
When it comes to replacing car parts, many people consider two options: OE parts or the traditional aftermarket component. But there is a third option: Remanufacturing.
For more than 45 years, BORG Automotive has delivered remanufactured automotive parts for the European aftermarket. Today, the organisation remanufactures starters, alternators, brake calipers, AC compressors and EGR valves at its Polish production sites, and steering products – which include racks, pumps and electric columns – in the UK. In addition, the company has recently acquired the Spanish turbocharger company, TMI, which has added a ninth product group to the portfolio.
To remanufacture automotive parts, used products, namely cores, should be retrieved. BORG Automotive sells their remanufactured units with a deposit, which is returned to the customers if they send BORG the unit they are replacing.
The core BORG is getting in exchange for a remanufactured unit is sent to their core warehouse in Poland the largest core warehouse in Europe with more than one million units – ready for remanufacturing.
As a remanufacturer, BORG Automotive controls the entire remanufacturing process from parts and production to sales and service. This total control of every process gives BORG Automotive an advantage when it comes to quality control and testing. All units are individually tested according to BORG’s remanufacturing and factory standards and the production has been certified according to ISO standards 9001:2015 and 14001:2015.
The remanufacturing process is carefully executed, and thus needs special attention throughout the entire process. This is due to the advanced and challenging remanufacturing process, which each product demands.
Process
The remanufacturing process takes place in BORG’s own production sites in Poland and the UK and consists of six steps:
- Disassembly: Defective units undergo a complete disassembly process and parts that cannot be reconditioned are
disposed of
- Cleaning: The individual parts are given a thorough cleaning with several cleaning treatments, such as hot water and sand blasting, ultrasonic cleaning, etc.
- Inspection and sorting: Cleaned components are subject to an intensive inspection to determine if they are in a reuseable condition. This is done both visually and with test equipment measuring if the tolerances are within the acceptable limit
- Reconditioning and replacement: At this stage reuseable parts are reconditioned, e.g. through galvanising and grinding of the parts. Parts that in the previous stages have been disposed are replaced with new parts
- Reassembly: The remanufactured units are reassembled
- Final testing: Each remanufactured unit undergoes a 100% performance test to ensure that the unit match OE standards
Quality
Every unit is tested both at high and low pressure. This is because different errors show and occur at different pressure levels. “Our products must be able to last in a stressful environment,” said Edin Elezovic, Product Manager at BORG Automotive. “Quality is therefore very important for us and is our primary focus through-out all the different, often challenging, remanufacturing steps.”
Only OE cores are remanufactured and all critical components are fully replaced. During the quality check, all cores and parts are visually examined. After dismantling, the parts will undergo the multi-stage washing process to ensure the cleanliness of all internal and external parts. After assembly, the units are subject to our electronic end-of-line testing using real-world simulation to ensure their func-tional performance is at OE level.
Furthermore, the company established its own research and development department in 2015.
“For us, a remanufactured product must have the same characteristics and meet the same customer requirements as a new original product; that is why we can confidently offer a two-year warranty period for all our products,” added Edin.
In addition to this, the energy used for remanufacturing is reduced by up to 80% compared to manufacturing of a new part, and the environmental impact of scrapping is also significantly reduced. This makes remanufacturing an important part of the circular economy. BORG Automotive remanufactures more than 2 million units per year and sells its products throughout most of Europe.
- Borg Automotive
BORG Automotive supply a very wide range of remanufactured automotive parts, offering extensive car parc coverage. The company has more than 12,000 part numbers across eight different product groups in its range – including both popular and rare units. The reman products are individually tested to ensure a uniform high-quality level. The company says its many years of experience means it can deploy in-depth reverse engineering skills in order to improve on weaknesses identified in OE parts. Choosing remanufactured components from BORG Automotive also saves up to 79 % energy consumption compared to a new OE or copy unit.
www.borgautomotive.com
- Buyer beware: Fake car parts
The automotive sector faces huge volumes of counterfeit vehicle parts. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) estimates that more than €2 billion is lost each year due to counterfeit tires and batteries being sold and offered for sale inside the EU. Particularly alarming is the recurrence of counterfeit airbags within the top search results. Research by Incopro revealed that one website selling counterfeit Honda airbags received 61.24% of its traffic from organic search and placed on the first page of results.
Risks posed by fake parts
Fake automotive parts do not adhere to stringent safety regulations and put people at great risk. Counterfeit airbags, brake pads, seatbelts and tires all increase the risk of serious injury or death if the vehicle outfitted with them is involved in an accident.
Counterfeit airbags have been linked to fatal car accidents. In 2017, a female driver crashed a Kia vehicle into a tree in Highland Park, Dallas Texas, and lost their life after their airbag failed to deploy. It was only two years later that investigators discovered that the airbag module was counterfeit – it was poorly constructed, did not contain a firing mechanism and the main inflatable airbag that should have been present was, instead, replaced by rags.
Fake brake pads have also been found to be made of all manner of unsuitable materials, including dried grass dyed to look like rubber.
A test conducted by Mercedes-Benz that compared real and fake brake pads showed that cars driving at 100km/h on a dry surface travelled a further 25 metres to come to a complete halt, potentially changing a minor accident into a major collision where human life is put at risk. BMW conducted another test in 2017 where fake brake pads started to smoke and disintegrate almost immediately, indicating that they would completely fail to bring a vehicle to a halt.
Identifying dangerous websites within search results
Fakes may be easy to identify in person, but it can be harder to do so when purchasing online. Buyers are lulled into a false sense of security when seeing automotive parts displayed on the first page of Google (Fig.1) or other large search engines, reducing the level of scrutiny these products receive.
In the research, which was conducted using keyword searches for airbags with and without the names of popular car brand names, showed the first 10 results of a keyword search on Yandex, the Russian search engine, using the term “купить airbag дешево” (English translation: “buy airbag cheap”).
The website in seventh position was identified as a harmful website. This website generates 61.24% of its traffic from organic search.
A product page for a Honda branded airbag on the airbag-master.ru website is shown (Fig.2). The website is advertising a Honda passenger airbag for 7,000 Russian Rubles, equivalent to approximately £89. The retail price of official Honda airbags is closer to £800. The site also offers a discount of 10% for those customers who buy two or more.
Furthermore, the product is described in Russian as “Характеристики: неоригинал” which translates to indicate it is not an original manufactured product, despite their claims that they are working directly with the manufacturers. Add to that, the site claims to sell high-quality products, but on closer inspection, the airbag in the photo is, in fact, ripped.
Another recent investigation undertaken by Incopro on behalf of a leading car manufacturer revealed that a website offering over 64,871 ‘branded’ parts, the majority priced below 50% RRP, was easily accessible through search engines. The low price and the fact that the items were stated to be shipped without the original packaging indicates this site was likely selling fakes and was therefore harmful to end users.
Counterfeits infiltrating the supply chain
In another upcoming piece of Incopro research that asked US and UK consumers to indicate the fake products that pose the biggest threat to society, alarmingly, only 6% of US and UK consumers said fake car parts. This is despite the danger to life from fakes such as tires and brake pads. This figure likely reflects the fact that consumers are rarely part of the purchasing process for car parts; mechanics and garages determine the replacement parts needed and will place the order.
It is most likely that consumers will take their vehicle to a mechanic to source and fit an airbag. In the ever-competitive motor trade, some garages are known to source parts from various suppliers, including online sites such as the example highlighted above, ‘Airbag-Master.ru’.
While the mechanic sourcing the airbag will have greater knowledge than the average user, there is still a risk that they may buy sub-standard or counterfeit parts, especially from wholesale sites offering parts at a discount. If counterfeits are bought in large quantities from these sites, there are widespread implications for drivers.
What must search engines do to rectify the issue?
It is brand owners and their representatives who are best placed to verify the authenticity of their branded car parts. However, there are currently no scalable solutions available to them to notify search engines and have infringing pages removed from results.
By providing a scalable solution for the removal of illicit results, search engines would have a lasting impact on this problem, especially where sites rely on organic traffic to survive. Every stakeholder should welcome the ability for rights holders and their representatives to be able to take action against indexed pages or websites which directly lead to trademark infringing content.
By taking the lead, search engines can together set the standard for protecting everyone online.
- Bring it on: ECP launches Ben partnership with national challenge
Euro Car Parts has announced the launch of a year-long partnership with automotive industry charity Ben, through a massive national relay challenge covering 2,500km across the country in just five days.
- A/C season: Trust Nissens
The complete Nissens A/C programme includes compressors, condensers, interior blowers, evaporators, receiver-driers, fans and most recently, thermal expansion valves (TXV) and is in constant growth with more than 200 new to range additions introduced each year. The compressor range consists of almost 600 part numbers, supplemented by close to 1,200 condensers, which cater for 79% and 94% of the European car parc respectively. Another notable distinction is that in excess of 200 components in the range fit the most popular hybrid and electric vehicle applications.
- LKQ Euro Car Parts adds engine oil to MPM product range
LKQ Euro Car Parts has enhanced its product offering for independent garages with the addition of MPM Engine Oil to its range. Customers gain exclusive access to MPM Engine Oil, a move that follows the rollout of MPM Gear Oil across LKQ Euro Car Parts’ branch network at the end of last year.
