the database of remanufacturers - boston university remanufacturing database.pdfthe remanufacturing...

the remanufacturing database 1 August 17, 2012

The Database of Remanufacturers1

Robert T. Lund

Professor, Boston University

Caterpillar Inc. remanufactures over $3.5 billion of parts and components for diesel and turbine engines, construction and mining equipment, electric power generators, railroad locomotives, and railcars in North America. Its domestic remanufacturing employment is over five thousand workers, who make like-new products from worn, traded-in, or discarded units. Remanufacturing has become an important global strategy for this $60 billion firm. Nextant Aerospace, a Cleveland, OH company, remanufactures aircraft. Its 200 employees remanufacture and upgrade Beechcraft aircraft, generating over $100 million dollars in sales annually. A.C. Electric Corporation, with plants in Auburn and Bangor, Maine, remanufactures motors, generators, pumps and electrical switchgear. Their 45 employees turn out about $7 million dollars of sales each year. What do these companies have in common? Jobs. Well-paying jobs. Good industrial jobs. Jobs that train people for manufacturing and related middle-income skilled occupations. Jobs that are unlikely to leave the U.S. Jobs that provide incomes for people who are American consumers and taxpayers. The President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness stated last October that “over 80% of manufacturers cannot find people to fill their skilled production jobs. As a result there are over half-a-million jobs open right now.”2 This statement comes at a time when millions of people are out of work. Remanufacturers provide the kind of on-the-job training that can help the U.S. regain its manufacturing capability. Anything else in common? These are “green” companies, producing like-new products with only a fraction of the energy and new materials that would be needed to make equivalent new products. They are conservative in the true sense of the word. These companies are hitting the target for the two top American objectives of this decade – restoring the economy and reducing our impact on the environment. There are over 7000 of these firms in the United States and Canada. They are active in at least 125 different product areas and they are active in every state and province. How do we know this? Our knowledge has been gathered over more than thirty years of research on the remanufacturing industry, research that has produced over twenty-two published studies and student theses. This research has been the first to define remanufacturing as an industry. A key element in this research has been our database of remanufacturing firms. This paper describes some of the insights we have gained from the evolution of the database. It also describes, for people who are interested in such matters, how this database has become a flexible, accessible resource.

1 Copyright © 2012 Robert T. Lund, Boston University. 2 www.jobs-council.com/recommendations.


Finally, we discuss the future for the database at a time when I and my associate, Prof. William Hauser, are leaving the scene. Background

Our 2008 report3 had this definition of remanufacturing: “Remanufacturing is the process of restoring a non-functional, discarded, or traded-in product [at the end of its life] to like-new condition. The key term in this definition is like-new. From the viewpoint of the producer, this represents the remanufacturer’s intent, its claim for the product, and its ability to live up to that claim. Starting with cores that are likely to have a variety of defects, the remanufacturer must produce a flow of products that uniformly meet the like-new standard. From the customer’s viewpoint, the like-new term represents the customer’s expectation for the product sold as remanufactured. Both in performance and appearance, the product must meet at least the specifications of the product when new. It may also incorporate upgrades to reflect improvements that have occurred since the product was originally made. “

This statement stands as a means of distinguishing remanufacturing from other related activities,

such as repair (fixing what is broken or worn), recycling (shredding or disassembling products to recover materials value), or sale of used, perhaps cleaned-up, products.

This industry has fascinated me for many years. Beginning in 1972, while at MIT, I led a series of research projects concerned with efficiency in the use and maintenance of consumer durable products such as refrigerators and washing machines. This evolved into studies of life-cycle costs of durable products and a growing realization that any product that had the prospect of a long lifetime, would, if that lifetime were extended, reduce our claims on new materials, and on the labor and energy needed to make more new products. So the issue became, how do we prolong a product’s useful lifetime? An answer came in an opportunity to study a major automobile parts remanufacturing firm and to share in the enthusiasm of its president in promoting the remanufacturing concept in Washington, D.C.

In the early 1970’s the United States had experienced its first energy shock. The oil producing

nations curtailed oil shipments, long lines formed at gas stations, and the country realized its vulnerability to energy sources outside its borders. Energy and materials conservation became a major consideration for many American research and policy agencies.

So our efforts to attract attention in Washington, DC met with a sense of need on the part of

agencies such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation. We assembled the very first database as a list of possible invitees to a conference that would introduce the concept of remanufacturing to interested officials. The conference was a success. The interest generated among the hundred attendees, half from government, half from industry, resulted in a number of research and development programs over the next three decades. The database expanded at MIT and became an essential element in some fourteen research projects and eight student theses there and at Boston University.4 The database gradually became more refined and more extensive, up to its present 7000 American and Canadian companies.

3 Hauser and Lund, Remanufacturing: Operating Practices and Strategies, Boston University, May 2008. [modification] 4 During this period, work also began at Rochester Institute of Technology, under Prof. Nabil Nasr, which became their National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery.


The Database of Remanufacturers is the most comprehensive collection of firm identities and

product types for the remanufacturing industry in the United States and Canada. One reason we can make this claim is that remanufacturing has not been officially recognized by either country as a distinct industrial activity, and, as a consequence, there are no official government statistics about the industry. Further, the members of the industry have been slow to recognize the common links that exist among product sectors. Although there are many product-specific trade associations, none has attempted an all-inclusive registry.

Uses for the Database

From its beginning as a list of firms to be invited to a remanufacturers’ conference, the database has become a versatile tool for research and for communication. Among the uses to which the database can be put are these:

1. As evidence of the size and importance of remanufacturing in our economy. One of the first major research efforts on the remanufacturing industry resulted in a report, “The Remanufacturing Industry: Hidden Giant”5 Although the quantitative findings, which were widely quoted, were inflated by overly optimistic estimators in the industry and by loose definitions of remanufacturing, the report called attention to the activity as an industry in its own right. It emphasized the breadth of product areas involved, and urged further study of the industry, particularly in the area of resource conservation and recommended greater efforts toward public recognition. The specific recommendations of that report (now out of pint) are worth noting:

• The Remanufacturing Industries Council (formed in November 1995) should be encouraged to

continue its efforts to tie together the various sectors of the industry, so that it can engage in a campaign of education and information dissemination to increase public recognition of remanufacturing.

• The database established by this study should be kept up-to-date and expanded, and further use should be made of the information in it.

• Sector-by-sector studies should be made to determine the net amount of energy, labor, and

materials savings that are being made in the various product areas. • Case studies of remanufacturers who have successfully introduced "best practices" should be

prepared for dissemination within the industry. • The concept of benchmarking -- comparing process results among non-competing firms --

should be encouraged as a means of providing actual operating goals for companies seeking ways to improve performance.

• Public funding should be directed toward research institutions and universities to stimulate

development of new remanufacturing technology that meets specific needs of the industry.

5 Robert T. Lund, Boston University, January 1996.


Trade associations and larger independent remanufacturers should be prepared to participate cooperatively in such efforts.

• Because the industry is so diverse and so widely distributed, members of the industry must

become proficient in the latest means of communication, so they can stay up-to-date. Electronic information technology will have a significant role for remanufacturing companies of the future. Every firm that intends to thrive should be exploring how this new medium can be exploited.

2. As a basis for studies of the nature and operating characteristics of firms in the industry.

A large sample of firms in six major sectors responded to a written questionnaire regarding a wide range of subjects. Their answers provided insight into the inner workings of remanufacturers, from engineering and manufacturing to sales and public relations. The analysis of survey results6 led us to describe the industry as:

• Diverse. A wide range of products. • Multifaceted. Firms were also active in other business activities. • Independent. There were many small independent firms and a relatively small number of

large independents or original equipment manufacturers. • Labor intensive. The work involved required human judgment at all steps. • Responsible in their communities. Reflected in warranted work, community participation. • “American”. A well-established activity in the United States. • Income source. Income for workers, suppliers, for proprietors. (Taxes for the

government.) • Threatened. By rapid product change, by OEM countermeasures. • Growing. In revenue growth, if not by numbers of firms.

3. As a basis for further studies of the industry. We have used it for three major studies. In the first

two studies, we used random samples of firms in the database to establish populations that we surveyed by phone in one case and by written questionnaire in the second. In the third study, which looked at the variety of practices and strategies used by companies in the industry, we used the database to locate possible candidates for case studies that were included in the report and to search websites for information such as warranty terms.

4. As a basis for establishing associations, conferences, or means of communicating among firms

with disparate product areas but common interests as remanufacturers. Many trade associations exist, but each tends to specialize in a given product sector. There would be economic and political advantages if remanufacturing were to present itself across a broad front, in numbers and geographically.7

5. As a source of access to the industry, by suppliers, by public agencies, by customers, by investors.

6 W. Hauser and R.T. Lund, The Remanufacturing Industry: Anatomy of a Giant, Boston University, Jan. 1966. 7 The Remanufacturing Industries Council, coordinated largely by the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association and the Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery at Rochester Institute of Technology, has emerged as this type of organization.


Identifying Remanufacturers

Finding candidate firms and determining that they are, indeed, remanufacturers has not been an exact science. Our early efforts were given a great impetus through access to membership lists of trade associations, such as the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA), the Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA), the Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association (AERA), the Tire Industry Association (TIA), the Valve Repair Council (VRC), and early laser toner cartridge associations. In all, we found 104 different trade or business associations in which part of their membership, at least, were remanufacturers. We accumulated names from all sources. The database swelled to almost 14,000 records.

These membership lists gave us a great start – they also presented a major credentialing problem.

Not all the active members of these associations were, in fact, remanufacturers. There were used equipment dealers in some cases, and there were firms that were service and repair shops that did not go to the extent of making like-new products. The associations did a good job of keeping separate the suppliers of goods and services to their part of the industry. But their qualifications for membership as remanufacturers tended to be broader than the “make like-new” qualification for remanufacture we were establishing.

The task of certifying which firms were truly remanufacturers became a major undertaking. Over

the years a number of student assistants were employed in making phone calls to the firms. As the number of companies with websites increased, the process of certification shifted largely to the Internet, where we were able to scan what a company said about its products and services. These websites became a principal source of information. Other sources of information included search engines such as Google, online telephone directory yellow pages, and online business-listing firms8 that describe activities carried on by companies. Google has become an especially useful means of locating firms in unusual product areas.

As we developed the database, we grouped companies according to the product families or

sectors in which they operated. For many years we applied the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, with its grouping of related products, such as Industrial Valves, Machine Tools, Motors and Generators, Motor Vehicle Parts, Laboratory Apparatus, or Tire Retreading. The SIC classification system has been superseded by a somewhat more detailed North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), adopted by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. Essentially all of the database records now carry both designations.

Remanufacturing takes place in 139 product categories, according to the NAICS classification, in

contrast to the 125 SIC categories. In both systems there is no separate designation for remanufacturing, with the exception of Tire Retreading and Motor Rewinding. Instead, the products remanufactured have to be classified by their manufacturing code. Appendix A9 lists the SIC product categories that are found in the database and the number of remanufacturers in each category. Because some firms operate in more

8Manta Media Inc., www.Manta.com, is one such firm that has been particularly useful. 9 Appendix A counts establishments primarily in the U.S., and Canada, but with a sprinkling from other countries.

http://www.manta.com/


than one product sector, the sum of the establishments in Appendix A is larger than the number of individual establishments in the database.

Over the years, the process of winnowing out non-remanufacturers and adding new discoveries

has produced a database of slightly over 7000 firms (6600 in the United States and 491 in Canada), all certified as to their remanufacturing activity, and verified within the past two years as to their continuing existence as going concerns. It is this database that has been used to locate and describe firms that perform remanufacturing operations, either independently or in connection with other parts of their business. It has become the means by which we can define the scope or breadth of this activity in North America. And it is this documentation that is the basis for defining an industry not previously recognized. Remanufacturing Equivalents

A number of terms have come into usage in the

various product sectors in which remanufacturing takes place. For example, in the aircraft industry, overhaul is the typical term used, while in the industrial valve sector, repair is commonly applied to the restoration of a valve to like-new condition. The essential concept in remanufacturing is that the product, from both the producer’s viewpoint and the purchaser’s viewpoint, performs like new and is expected to have a new lifetime. This latter criterion requires that a firm use terms commonly understood in that sector to connote remanufacturing as the descriptor of its processes. Some of the terms that are equivalent to remanufacturing in particular industries are listed in Table 1.10

(Please note, there are a few instances where the

term remanufacturing does not mean restoring a product to a new life. One is the process of cutting new lumber to specific dimensions as components supplied to a variety of wood product manufacturers. Firms in this line of work call themselves remanufacturers. A second application of the term has come into use in the electronics products area, where there is a high initial rate of return of products because of defects or perceived defects at start-up. Companies have grown up that test, repair, and refurbish these new product returns. Their processes produce like-new products, but these products can hardly be said to have had a first lifetime.)

In many sectors, repair is a term that is used for activities where only the immediate cause of failure is found and fixed or replaced. There is no attempt to fully restore the product to like-new condition or to a new life. Similarly, refurbish generally means to make a product look better, even like-new, but the product has not been restored to a new lifetime.

The sum of these concepts has been essential in deciding which companies are to be included in the database. 10 Source: Hauser and Lund, Remanufacturing: Operating Practices and Strategies, Boston University, May 2008.

Term Where Used Overhaul Aircraft engines Rebuild Automotive parts Recap Tires Recharge Laser toner cartridges Recondition Wrestling mats Remanufacture Generic term Repair Industrial valves Re-refine Motor oil

Restore Furniture/Musical Instruments

Retread Tires Reset Military equipment

Table 1. Terms Equivalent to Remanufacturing


Database Description

This overview of the database describes, first, the records that are the basic data-keeping forms used in the database. Following that, we look at some of the ways aggregate information can be obtained from the records. We describe some findings from the records not before published. Finally, we describe what needs to be done now to preserve and expand the database and the information contained in it. The Database Elements

Although it began as a simple listing of firms and their addresses, the database has evolved into a sophisticated set of Microsoft Access records, data input techniques, and means of analyzing product and geographic sectors. A number of computer-competent people have contributed to the evolution of its design. The present Access-based system has been fifteen years in the making. It has been the product of one man’s work. Professor William Hauser, colleague and partner in remanufacturing research at Boston University, has used his considerable talents in computer systems to create a highly flexible, easy-to-use medium. By designing a series of queries, Bill has used product classifications, external demographic data, and individual company records to produce a variety of reports. The Company Record: The basic element in the database is the record for each individual remanufacturing establishment. We consider each remanufacturing plant location as an establishment, so there may be two or more records for the same company. Exhibit 1 is a filled-out record for a hypothetical company that remanufactures automotive transmissions. This is the form that presents vital statistics about each establishment.

The black bordered heading of the record contains the “operating controls” for the record. On the left is an identifying code number, called a REFTO, unique for each establishment -- either an independent firm or each separate remanufacturing subsidiary or division of a larger firm. Next is the Company Name, which also identifies the firm, but several companies may have a common name. Each of these boxes provides pull-down lists by which one can move to different records within the group of records being examined. To the right of these two boxes are a series of arrows that facilitate movement between records. The Add New button opens a blank data entry form that is an efficient means of creating a new record, especially if one can cut and paste company information from a website, for example.

On the right in the header are four buttons that permit navigation in and out of the database and to a Reports domain where a series of report generators can provide analyses of database records in various combinations.

The data inputs required for much of the balance of the form are obvious. In the programmed background of the database, each box for information is uniquely named, so the corresponding part of each record can be processed by query to answer a variety of questions. (COMPNAME, for instance, is the identifier for company name.)

Near the top of the record are two boxes, Last Verified and Last Attempted, which indicate how recently the company’s existence has been ascertained. Because companies can close, consolidate under new names, move, or simply disappear, the verification of a company’s existence is critical to keeping the database up-to-date.


Below the company address and website information are boxes bounded by dark gray. These identify the products being remanufactured, by name and by SIC and NAICS codes. A lookup table behind the record can be exercised that provides suggestions, in terms of SIC and NAICS codes, for product designations that have been entered. Multiple product categories may be entered if a company remanufactures products in different areas. A firm remanufacturing motors and generators, for instance, is likely to remanufacture pumps, as well.

Exhibit 1. Sample Record


There are features of the record form that should be highlighted. Just under the black heading, on the left, is a box labeled “Record Status.” Record Status has given us a mechanism for discriminating among the records on the basis of information we have about a firm and the terms the firm uses to define its participation in remanufacturing. A list of the product status categories is shown in Table 2. The records are classified from explicit remanufacturers (Category 7) to firms to be deleted from the database (Category 109). Establishments in categories 15 and lower are all considered to be part of the remanufacturing population. The current number of establishments in each category is also given.

Category Definition Establishments 7 Explicit – Company uses remanufacturing

term appropriately 2080

8 Certified – Description of activities equivalent to remanufacturing

2074

12 Engine rebuilder – Term used by gas and diesel engine remanufacturers.

1017

13 Motor rewinder – Term used by motor and generator remanufacturers.

1553

14 Toner recharger – Firms remanufacturing ink or laser toner cartridges

49

15 Rebuilder -other – Firms that use the rebuilding term for remanufacturing

322

16 Need Info – Firms likely to be remanufacturers, but lack confirmation

356

17 Association, consultant, supplier 137 19 & 99 Status uncertain 260

109 Purge record 0 Table 2: List of Record Status Categories

Below the products section is a section for names of people, their titles, phone numbers, and

email addresses for use if we were to want to contact the company for any reason. Below that is provision for a history of our knowledge of the firm – name changes, status changes, address or phone changes, etc.

In the lower left of the record are blanks for entry of various items of information about the firm and the date on which we obtained that information. As a general rule, we do not attempt to get sales and employment data about most firms – this information is often considered confidential. When we conduct telephone interviews or send out paper questionnaires as part of a specific research project, however, we enter the information we obtain. We consider this information as privileged, and do not divulge it, except in aggregate form, combined with data from other firms.

This section also contains entries about the Type of Enterprise. This information, like the Record Status entry, is critical to the sorting of records. Type of Enterprise is a designation that permits us to classify remanufacturers according to the kind of business they do. Some firms buy or obtain cores as trade-ins and sell the remanufactured products to whomever wishes to buy. These we call Conventional remanufacturers. If, in contrast, a firm remanufactures a product for someone who retains ownership of the product, we classify such firms as Contract remanufacturers. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who also remanufacture their products (or, in some cases, the products of other OEMs), are classified separately as OEMs. The database contains 3108 Contract, 3726 Conventional and 261 OEM


remanufacturers in the U.S. and Canada. Other classifications identify non-remanufacturers, such as suppliers, trade associations, consultants, and the like. Table 2 lists the categories used.

Designation Explanation Contract Firm remanufactures item(s) owned by others Conventional Firm takes possession, remanufactures, and sells items OEM Firm is a manufacturer, that also remanufactures items Supplier Supplies goods and services to remanufacturers Broker Specializes in collecting and selling remanufacturable items Association Trade association related to remanufacturing Consultant Specialists in services to the industry

Table 3. Type of Enterprise

The lower right hand section of the form allows us to list all subsidiaries, divisions, or branches of a company that are engaged in remanufacture. This information is gathered and presented automatically by indicating the parent company REFTO on the parent company’s form and on each of the records of the subsidiaries. The key is the entry box to the left immediately above the gray product area. Entering the parent company REFTO code in that box on each related record causes the name and REFTO or each entity to show up in the lower section. We have 142 parent companies listed in the database. Search and Data Acquisition Form. A major part of every data record is the evidence that confirms that the company exists and is, indeed, a remanufacturer. This calls for a multi-faceted approach, and the database has its own search form to facilitate this. In the upper right hand corner of the company record form (Exhibit 1) are two buttons. The upper button opens the company’s website, if it has been entered on the record. The lower button opens a Search and Data Entry Form, shown in Exhibit 211. The program behind this page does several things automatically. It will try to verify the company’s existence by checking the firm name and address against a listing in telephone Yellow Pages. If that produces a match with the phone number in the record, the verification date is entered on the search form and on the company record. There is a significant turnover of firms, as would be expected in an industry that comprises many small firms. If the attempt at automatic verification fails, the form becomes an interactive assistant to the investigator. Sometimes the name of the company does not match the name in the Yellow Pages. If the attempt at automatic verification fails, the investigator may attempt to find the company by its telephone number. If this fails, the company’s website, which has been opened by the program, can be scanned for name change, location, and telephone number. Once into the website, the investigator can also determine if the company continues to warrant a remanufacturing classification, and check the contact names, address, and other useful information. Entry of information on the search form is automatically transferred to the company record. The search protocol will also open the Google search engine to the company name and location. By the time an investigator has checked out all of these information sources, it is virtually certain that the status of the firm and the type of enterprise will have been ascertained. Where the computer-available information is inadequate, the firm’s status becomes 16 – Need Info. A phone call is the last resort.

11 EASA is an actual organization and part of its home website is shown. It is the trade association to which many electrical motor, generator, pump and transformer remanufacturers belong.


Record Selection. A portal into the database is provided by the form (Filter Selection Form) shown as Exhibit 3. This is the principal organizer of records. A number of different record assemblages can be made. In the upper left-hand section is a list of various filters, by product type, that have been designed to assemble and present records according by product categories. One can choose a single SIC product category or an aggregation of categories. The filter for Machinery, All Types, for example, aggregates 35 different SIC product categories. A mechanism for creating new filters, or editing existing filters, is provided just below the filter list.

On the right side of the form, provision is made for selecting records according to status and/or country or state location. The first two selection blocks pertain to verification. Firms failing automated verification are placed in a holding category that removes them, at least temporarily, from the number of valid remanufacturers. We also provide access to records of Non-remanufacturers--suppliers, trade associations, and other entities that provide goods or services to remanufacturers. We have not tried to make this part of the database comprehensive, but have entered supplier information when we come across it. “Go to Record Browser” activates the sorting and presentation of all records in the database that satisfy the criteria selected.

Use of these categories permits selection among database records with some degree of specificity. It is possible, for example, to open just those records of explicit remanufacturers (category 7s). The 2073 firms in this category include all firms who state explicitly that they remanufacture their products. (This explains why only 49 laser toner cartridge remanufacturers are listed in Table 1 as Category 14 -- Rechargers. The majority are explicit remanufacturers.) The number of records to be accessed can be increased by choosing a higher Record Status number.


Exhibit 2. Search and Data Entry Form


Exhibit 3. Database portal: Filter Selection Form


A geographic sort can be accomplished by using the lower right hand section, labeled “3 (optional)”. Individual states can be selected. Pennsylvania, for example, has 338 firms considered remanufacturers (categories 7 through 15) in the database.

By clicking on the box labeled Go to Record Browser after indicating what group of records of establishments at what status level is desired, one enters the collection of records itself.

The database window contains one other feature. On the left edge is a “Navigation Pane,” which can be opened to reveal dozens of queries that have been constructed over the years, and that can be opened for information on the present status of the database. It also provides the mechanism for generating new queries, the range of which is limited only by the information in the records and the imagination and skill of the investigator. What Can Be Learned from the Database

Because the database has been organized as a relational database, information in the records can be manipulated in various ways. We can, for example, prepare a report of the number of remanufacturers by state or province, as was done in preparing Appendix B. California has the largest number of establishments (567) in the database, Ohio is next at 379. Ontario is the province with the most companies in Canada (169). Each record for a given state can be reviewed in alphabetical order by company name. A sort by product category and state is also possible. Over one-fourth (100) of Ohio remanufacturers, for example, are engaged in some form of automotive parts remanufacturing (SIC 3714).

Geographic Distribution. A similar search by postal zip code is possible, but a more interesting question is the degree to which remanufacturers concentrate in metropolitan areas, each of which may involve several telephone area codes. Do remanufacturers tend to set up shop in areas of high population density (where labor is more available), or do they seek smaller cities or rural areas?

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has divided the country into 325 Metropolitan

Statistical Areas (MSAs), each of which incorporates one or two large cities and the surrounding areas that are economically tied to them by trade and labor supply. Of these MSAs, 73 of the very largest have been classed as Primary MSAs (PMSAs). The areas of the country excluded from any of the MASAs are rural or areas of low population density. About 20% of the U.S. population lives outside MSAs.

Figure 1 uses the MSA criteria to answer the above question. Remanufacturers tend to establish

locations that parallel the population distribution in this country. They tend to locate where labor is available, and where their markets are.

Use of Websites. Even though remanufacturers tend to be small to medium in size, most have

found it helpful to utilize websites as a means of connecting with the public. Our records for the 7065 confirmed remanufacturers in the database include 3882 websites or 55% of total establishments. Websites perform a number of useful functions, ranging from product and company information, history and philosophy to catalogs, contact information, and warranty terms. It is clear that many firms are using their websites to broaden their market reach.


Figure 112 Management Gender. Women are under-represented in top management positions in these

establishments. Of the 682 U.S. and Canadian firms for which we have the names of owners, presidents, or CEOs, only 29, or 4%, have women in one of these positions. This situation may represent opportunities for women. It certainly represents a challenge.

Other questions can be posed to the database and answered easily: Who are the engine

rebuilders in Missouri? Where are medical/surgical equipment remanufacturers located? Who can I contact in Company X? Is there a motor rewinder in Helena, MT? Whom do we invite to join a remanufacturers’ conference? Many answers lurk in the database – to questions that one might want to ask.

12 Data combined from the database, U.S. Census tables, and a commercial MSA database, ZipList 5 MSA (C D Light LLC, d.b.a. Zipinfo.com)


Future of the Database

It has been a satisfying part of my research activities to shepherd the database and to exploit it to gain greater insight on remanufacturing as an industry. Increasingly this work has attracted attention in this country and from individuals and companies in other countries who have become aware of the opportunities in remanufacturing

It is time, however, for someone else – a person or organization – to take over and manage the database for the future. At 87, it is time for me to retire. Bill Hauser’s career is now entirely focused on his expanding teaching responsibilities. What has been a pro bono effort in on our part in recent years cannot continue.

Because this work relates directly to a unique part of the American and Canadian economy, a part

that provides good jobs and conserves materials and energy, it needs to continue. It can be expanded. There are more companies to be discovered and recorded, and there is more information about presently known firms that can be gathered. The commitment of time and effort to maintain it is modest; commitment is the important ingredient.

We have found the most appropriate home for the database, at Rochester Institute of Technology. Nabil Z. Nasr, Caterpillar Professor and Director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, has initiated and developed a major remanufacturing program, the RIT Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery (C3R). This has become the premier technical support arm of the remanufacturing industry in this country. As described in its introduction on the RIT website (http://www.reman.rit.edu/), the Center “is internationally recognized as the leading center for research and development in the remanufacturing field. The Center was established as a partnership between industry, academia and the government to support industry advancement.

“Since 1991, C3R has worked to develop, test and implement efficient and cost-effective remanufacturing processes while also promoting the design of products that have minimal negative environmental impacts.

“The Center conducts independent research on remanufacturing technologies, design for remanufacturing, logistics and policy, and business operations. The Center is closely tied and aligned with the Remanufacturing Industries Council and functions as its research and development arm, both nationally and internationally.”

Transfer of the database to RIT took place on May 24. With the assurance that the future of the database and its contribution to the understanding of the remanufacturing industry has been assured, my retirement is both appropriate and welcome. To the many friends and acquaintances I have made in this extraordinary industry over the past thirty-five years, I say thank you and best wishes for the future. To Bill Hauser, colleague and comrade for fifteen years, I offer my appreciation for his contributions, skills, insights and friendship. It has been a remarkably productive relationship.

http://www.reman.rit.edu/


Appendix A. Populated SICs: Ordered by SIC Number

DESCRIPTION SIC Establishments 1 Sawmills and Planing Mills, General 2421 1 2 Hardwood Dimension and Flooring Mills 2426 5 3 Wood Pallets and Skids 2448 7 4 Wood Office Furniture 2521 2 5 Office Furniture, Except Wood 2522 88 6 Office and Store Fixtures, Partitions, Shelving, and Lockers, Except-Wood 2542 1 7 Paper Mills 2621 1 8 Industrial Organic Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified 2869 7 9 Printing Ink 2893 11 10 Chemicals and Chemical Preparations, Not Elsewhere Classified 2899 2 11 Lubricating Oils and Greases 2992 12 12 Molded, Extruded, and Lathe-Cut Mechanical Rubber Goods 3061 2 13 Steel Works, Blast Furnaces (Including Coke Ovens), and Rolling Mills 3312 1 14 Primary Metal Products, Not Elsewhere Classified 3399 1 15 Metal Shipping Barrels, Drums, Kegs, and Pails 3412 7 16 Heating Equipment, Except Electric and Warm Air Furnaces 3433 1 17 Fabricated Plate Work (Boiler Shops) 3443 26 18 Electroplating, Plating, Polishing, Anodizing, and Coloring 3471 3 19 Small Arms Ammunition 3482 8 20 Small Arms 3484 1 21 Ordnance and Accessories, Not Elsewhere Classified 3489 4 22 Industrial Valves 3491 176 23 Fluid Power Valves and Hose Fittings 3492 3 24 Steam, Gas, and Hydraulic Turbines, and Turbine Generator Set Units 3511 44 25 Internal Combustion Engines, Not Elsewhere Classified 3519 196 26 Farm Machinery and Equipment 3523 12 27 Construction Machinery and Equipment 3531 56 28 Mining Machinery and Equipment, Except Oil and Gas Field Machinery 3532 36 29 Oil and Gas Field Machinery and Equipment 3533 53 30 Conveyors and Conveying Equipment 3535 15 31 Overhead Traveling Cranes, Hoists, and Monorail Systems 3536 42 32 Industrial Trucks, Tractors, Trailers, and Stackers 3537 30 33 Machine Tools, Metal Cutting Types 3541 188 34 Machine Tools, Metal Forming Types 3542 39 35 Special Dies and Tools, Die Sets, Jigs and Fixtures, and Industrial 3544 2 36 Cutting Tools, Machine Tool Accessories, and Machinists' Precision 3545 2 37 Power-Driven Handtools 3546 5 38 Rolling Mill Machinery and Equipment 3547 4 39 Electric and Gas Welding and Soldering Equipment 3548 11 40 Metalworking Machinery, Not Elsewhere Classified 3549 5

Status <= 15 ALL PRODUCTS [Remans Only]


DESCRIPTION SIC Establishments 41 Textile Machinery 3552 12 42 Woodworking Machinery 3553 7 43 Paper Industries Machinery 3554 5 44 Printing Trades Machinery and Equipment 3555 18 45 Food Products Machinery 3556 32 46 Special Industry Machinery, Not Elsewhere Classified 3559 79 47 Pumps and Pumping Equipment 3561 417 48 Ball and Roller Bearings 3562 15 49 Air and Gas Compressors 3563 56 50 Industrial and Commercial Fans and Blowers and Air Purification Equipment 3564 17 51 Packaging Machinery 3565 13 52 Speed Changers, Industrial High-Speed Drives, and Gears 3566 31 53 Industrial Process Furnaces and Ovens 3567 9 54 Mechanical Power Transmission Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified 3568 24 55 General Industrial Machinery and Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified 3569 23 56 Electronic Computers 3571 15 57 Computer Terminals 3575 1 58 Computer Peripheral Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified 3577 27 59 Calculating and Accounting Machines, Except Electronic Computers 3578 1 60 Office Machines, Not Elsewhere Classified 3579 7 61 Automatic Vending Machines 3581 10 62 Commercial Laundry, Drycleaning, and Pressing Machines 3582 3 63 Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial and 3585 55 64 Measuring and Dispensing Pumps 3586 7 65 Service Industry Machinery, Not Elsewhere Classified 3589 2 66 Carburetors, Pistons, Piston Rings, and Valves 3592 1 67 Fluid Power Cylinders and Actuators 3593 25 68 Fluid Power Pumps and Motors 3594 29 69 Industrial and Commercial Machinery and Equipment, Not Elsewhere 3599 21 70 Power, Distribution, and Specialty Transformers 3612 168 71 Switchgear and Switchboard Apparatus 3613 218 72 Motors and Generators 3621 1934 73 Relays and Industrial Controls 3625 105 74 Electrical Industrial Apparatus, Not Elsewhere Classified 3629 8 75 Household Refrigerators and Home and Farm Freezers 3632 3 76 Household Vacuum Cleaners 3635 3 77 Household Appliances, Not Elsewhere Classified 3639 2 78 Household Audio and Video Equipment 3651 2 79 Telephone and Telegraph Apparatus 3661 8 80 Radio and Television Broadcasting and Communications Equipment 3663 3 81 Communications Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified 3669 3 82 Electron Tubes 3671 1 83 Semiconductors and Related Devices 3674 4



DESCRIPTION SIC Establishments 84 Electronic Coils, Transformers, and Other Inductors 3677 13 85 Electronic Components, Not Elsewhere Classified 3679 8 86 Storage Batteries 3691 8 87 Electrical Equipment for Internal Combustion Engines 3694 48 88 Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified 3699 8 89 Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies 3711 18 90 Truck and Bus Bodies 3713 9 91 Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories 3714 2147 92 Truck Trailers 3715 10 93 Aircraft 3721 17 94 Aircraft Engines and Engine Parts 3724 50 95 Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified 3728 15 96 Ship Building and Repairing 3731 3 97 Boat Building and Repairing 3732 5 98 Railroad Equipment 3743 45 99 Motorcycles, Bicycles, and Parts 3751 3 100 Guided Missiles and Space Vehicles 3761 2 101 Tanks and Tank Components 3795 5 102 Transportation Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified 3799 11 103 Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical 3812 3 104 Laboratory Apparatus and Furniture 3821 19 105 Automatic Controls for Regulating Residential and Commercial Environments 3822 1 106 Industrial Instruments for Measurement, Display, and Control of Process 3823 3 107 Totalizing Fluid Meters and Counting Devices 3824 5 108 Instruments for Measuring and Testing of Electricity and Electrical 3825 1 109 Laboratory Analytical Instruments 3826 5 110 Optical Instruments and Lenses 3827 1 111 Measuring and Controlling Devices, Not Elsewhere Classified 3829 2 112 Surgical and Medical Instruments and Apparatus 3841 46 113 Orthopedic, Prosthetic, and Surgical Appliances and Supplies 3842 1 114 X-Ray Apparatus and Tubes and Related Irradiation Apparatus 3844 9 115 Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus 3845 1 116 Photographic Equipment and Supplies 3861 361 117 Watches, Clocks, Clockwork Operated Devices, and Parts 3873 1 118 Musical Instruments 3931 38 119 Sporting and Athletic Goods, Not Elsewhere Classified 3949 19 120 Manufacturing Industries, Not Elsewhere Classified 3999 5 121 Tire Retreading and Repair Shops 7534 802



Appendix B. Population of Remanufacturers by Province/State

Country Province/State Count

Canada AB 87

Canada BC 79

Canada MB 13

Canada NB 21

Canada NL 7

Canada NS 16

Canada NT 1

Canada ON 169

Canada QC 79

Canada SK 18

Canada YT 1

TOTAL 491

USA AK 26

USA AL 115

USA AR 92

USA AZ 101

USA CA 569

USA CO 97

USA CT 104

USA DC 1

USA DE 12

USA FL 298

USA GA 186

USA HI 16

USA IA 81

USA ID 44

USA IL 318

USA IN 192

USA KS 100

USA KY 96

USA LA 122

USA MA 133

USA MD 77

USA ME 37

USA MI 272

USA MN 136

USA MO 161

USA MS 68

USA MT 33

USA NC 187

USA ND 22


Country Province/State Count

USA NE 52

USA NH 34

USA NJ 117

USA NM 43

USA NV 23

USA NY 278

USA OH 380

USA OK 90

USA OR 114

USA PA 340

USA RI 19

USA SC 93

USA SD 28

USA TN 129

USA TX 519

USA UT 55

USA VA 140

USA VT 25

USA WA 144

USA WI 197

USA WV 62

USA WY 20

TOTAL 6598

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