![]() ![]() Maintaining the circular economy of Cat Reman products has become a vital part of the Caterpillar business model. The goal, he concludes, is to “minimize the impact on our planet and make remanufacturing even more sustainable than it is today.” ”The remanufacturing process is just like any other manufacturing process in that we have waste streams that are generated… What is exciting about… Cat Reman is that we take those waste streams seriously and are investing in technologies to reduce and eliminate waste, including developing new cleaning practices that either use laser cleaning or new chemicals that the environment.” Kegan Luick notes that Caterpillar is always looking for ways to improve sustainability at every step. He explains, “If it's a core piece of iron, like a casting or a forging, we're just taking it back and we're salvaging it and putting a relatively low amount of energy and work into that product to bring it back to that like new condition.” Jeff Gutzwiller says the whole process uses much less energy and fewer resources than manufacturing a new part, especially for a major component like a Cat engine. Monson explains, “That ensures that the core enters back into our supply chain as quickly as possible.” Around the world, there are Cat Reman processing facilities in Shanghai, China and at international Cat distribution centers.Ĭat dealers are assigned to their nearest facility, which can help reduce turnaround times. The dealer then is going to consolidate the cores from all of customers and return them to regional or local core processing facility.”Ĭaterpillar has two core processing facilities in the United States, one in Corinth, Mississippi and a second in Fargo, North Dakota. “The customer is going to take that core to their dealer where it will be inspected, and the customer will receive payment for the return of that core. “The core return process really starts with the customer,” says Kathy Monson, Commercial Manager for Cat Reman. It’s not visibly cracked, broken or welded.It’s still fully assembled and complete.The end-of-life core is generally eligible for total or partial credit if it meets three criteria: The customer returns the used component - or core -to their Cat dealer in exchange for credit. The remanufacturing process begins when a component nears the end of its life -anything from an alternator to an entire engine or drivetrain. The product is then offered to customers at a lower purchase price with a same-as-new warranty* - and the cycle begins again. This is completed through our state-of-the-art salvage processes and advanced manufacturing systems, all while adhering to strict reuse guidelines and stringent quality control. Using the product’s OEM performance specifications and incorporating Caterpillar’s latest engineering updates, these parts are remanufactured to receive an additional lifecycle. ![]() ![]() ![]() It’s here that Caterpillar determines whether these used parts (also referred to as "core") are ready to be reclaimed. Instead of sending end-of-life components to the scrap yard, a wide range of Cat parts can be returned to Cat dealers to be sent to one of many dedicated remanufacturing facilities. As long as we can plan for, that allows us to have solutions that are more sustainable for our customers.” In the case of Cat Reman products, that means building major components so they can be remanufactured to like new performance specifications, often multiple times.ĭanny Simon, Cat Reman Product Manager, explains, “Sustainability is factored into Cat Reman early on in the design of the new… components. It hinges on designing products that can be remanufactured to begin another product lifecycle after reaching the end of their initial life. The idea of a circular economy is the exact opposite of planned obsolescence. ![]()
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