In 1999, and again in 2003, Boston University's Department of Manufacturing Engineering led by Profs. Robert T. Lund and William Hauser conducted the first study on remanufacturing in the U.S. In addition to identifying the size and composition of markets that benefit from remanufactured goods, the study takes on added importance today in light of rising environmental concerns, but in the form of raw goods and energy consumption, as well as recycling and protection of the physical environment from waste (aka, landfills).

In their opening letter, the professors offer these general conclusions:

"General conclusions arising from the study are that firms engaged in remanufacturing are diverse in locations, products, and markets; multifaceted, in that remanufacturing is done in conjunction with a group of related business activities; predominantly small, independent, and privately owned; and competitive with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but also dependent on them…Remanufacturing operations are labor intensive…They are "American," in that they are oriented to domestic markets and they do their work domestically. Remanufacturing is not only a source of income for employees, and owners, but it also an income source for a large supply, distribution, and service network.

"Threats to the industry come in the form of new products that have become inherently more durable and reliable, requiring fewer rebuilds during a products lifetime, and from new inexpensive products, largely imports, that make remanufacture uneconomic. Further threats come from anticompetitive tactics on the part of OEMs, some of whom have sought to use patent and copyright laws to stop remanufacture of their products. Lack of public sensitivity to the economic and ecological contributions of the industry makes it difficult to garner legal or regulatory support to counter these threats."

The Boston University report goes on to estimate that in 1999 the size of the U.S. remanufacturing market at $53 billion annually, employing 480,000 people in 73,000 firms. This estimate is generally suspected to be low because the report only included electrical motors, for instance, in its remanufacturing estimate, excluding breakers, switches, buses, and the remaining litany of devices remanufactured by PEARL member companies. PEARL estimates that out of Prof. Lund's original estimate of 73,000 remanufacturing companies, 6,000 are engaged in recycling and remanufacturing electrical devices.

From the environmental perspective, while the tonnage of recycled electrical apparatus is relatively small in comparison to the national waste stream, recycled goods have secondary effects of reducing the amount of energy spent and pollution created by standard waste processing and recycling plants that shred or crush devices for their raw materials - materials that are referred to as "downcycled" rather than "recycled" because their material properties are often reduced as a result of contamination by other materials. Steel, for instance, becomes less ductile when mixed with copper. Another study estimated that a kilowatt-hour of energy spent remanufacturing products, resulted in five to six kilowatts of energy saved.

Why We Need PEARL

As noted by remanufacturing experts, recycling electrical devices is a labor-intensive process that can yield significant financial and environmental results; but labor must be guided. It was with this need clearly in mind that PEARL's founding members met in 1997 to create a trade association that could guide electrical remanufacturing, safeguard the electrical community, and fill the glaring need for extended support of electrical devices beyond the few years offered by original equipment manufactures (OEMs).

Between 1997 and 2009, PEARL developed more than 100 technical standards for remanufacturing the majority of commonly used electrical devices, while providing a benchmark and reference for consumers to evaluate suppliers of remanufactured goods as well as the devices themselves. What was once seen as an outgrowth of the 'junk' industry has matured into a financially significant, upstanding, and important member of the electrical community. Every day, PEARL member companies save industrial and commercial customers from costly retrofits and upgrades. Please feel free to contact either PEARL's Association Manager Mark Stone or Marketing Director Winn Hardin for additional information, expert interviews, content or simply to discuss the importance of saving money and our environment through remanufacturing.

Additional information on PEARL is provided here.

About PEARL:
Founded in 1997, the Professional Electrical Apparatus Recyclers League (PEARL) creates, collects, and disseminates information, policies, procedures, and standards to ensure the proper recycling and reuse of electrical power equipment. Its 70+ corporate members must meet strict technical, safety, and operational requirements.

Editorial Contact Winn Hardin Marketing Director Tel: 904-246-8958 winnhardin@pearl1.org

Association Manager Mark Stone Tel: 877-AT-PEARL Fax: 888-996-3296 pearl@pearl1.org