Sideshaft Remanufacturing – Part 3: Creating a circular economy

At GKN Automotive, our parts remanufacturing programme produces meaningful environmental benefits, with our sideshaft remanufacturing processes in our Carcastillo plant alone leading to:

• 3,780 tonnes of steel saved from sideshaft cores every year

• A reduction in plants’ energy requirements by up to 22,680 megawatt-hours

• 7,144 tonnes CO2 emissions prevented annually

But, for it to make sense for customers, any remanufactured part must meet or exceed the high demands of customers and their quality control expectations. This means that processes need clear input from customers from the start, as well as being transparent around data sharing.

Questions around the precursor parts that are eligible to be recycled, the acceptable conditions for recyclable components, and the quality control process for remanufacturing should all be answered and signed off clearly by the customer.

This agreement creates a framework ensuring everyone is working to a common goal for the finished products and enables an environment in which emissions reduction can be achieved.

However, scale is critical to circular economics as it is at volume that remanufacturing processes can achieve significant savings in raw inputs and energy.

For remanufacturing operations like ours at GKN Automotive, which has been continuously operating since the 1980s, the process represents a long-term commitment and offering. It is also an important part of our sustainability strategy, laddering up to our overall target of being net zero across our entire network by 2045.

With many customers prioritising a move away from single-use products altogether, the remanufacturing process is now often considered as early as the initial design phase of a new product.

All GKN Automotive sideshafts are designed for longevity, durability during the first phase, as well as a second life by enabling refurbishment. By making it possible to break down products after initial usage, we immediately extend the life of the product and therefore reduce the lifecycle emissions of every part.

There are ample opportunities for circular economics in automotive, with parts recycling and remanufacturing offering both environmental and economic benefits.

To see the benefits and compete with new unit production, customers must work with suppliers to determine expectations and needs between all parties, to ensure that outputs are sustainable, safe, and to the required standard, to make a substantial impact.

And in doing so, everyone works to create a cleaner, more sustainable world.

Find part two – the GKN Automotiive sideshaft remanufacturing process – here