Ken Greene has a secret. When he gets ready to open a new Bruegger’s franchise unit in New York (34 now and counting), he knows how to save up to 60 percent on the cost of his equipment.

That’s significant when you’re talking about the thousands of dollars (or tens of thousands, depending on your concept) of equipment required to open and sustain a new restaurant. How does Greene do it? He buys used equipment, everything from ovens to stainless steel tables to coffee machines, and more. It’s a similar strategy to what automobile buyers discovered a few years back. A slightly used vehicle with low mileage is still a quality vehicle and comes at a fraction of the price of a new vehicle. Smart multi-unit franchisees are applying this same line of reasoning to buying equipment for their growing operations.

Whether cash-strapped start-ups or veteran multi-unit operators who want to get the most bang for their buck, more franchisees are turning to people like Fred Phillips.

“Buying used equipment for your franchise locations is a smart idea,” says Phillips, president and CEO of Restquip, a company that resells used restaurant equipment from its 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Northern California. “Franchisees can still get great equipment while saving a significant amount of money that can be poured back into their operations.”

Phillips, who’s been in the business since 1991, has worked with a number of franchise companies and franchisees over the years including Arby’s, KFC, Wendy’s, Golden Corral, and Burger King. Lately, Restquip has been buying a lot of Burger King equipment from units that have closed or gone out of business. He then resells the equipment–typically to other Burger King operators–who are expanding and want to keep it frugal. It’s a perfect fit–literally. Same-brand equipment, specs, and sizes translate very cleanly from one unit to another.

Repair and resale

Neal Sherman is president and CEO of The Advantage Group (tagX), a 23-year-old company in upstate New York that specializes in repairing and reselling used equipment. This is no small operation: the company occupies 2.5 million square feet on 1,000 acres at a former military base.

“We work with large chains and franchisees and franchisors to supply a lot of back-house equipment,” says Sherman, “everything from cooking, beverage, refrigeration, mixers, pizza ovens, fryers, and coffeemakers.” His franchise client list includes Church’s, Little Caesars, and Applebee’s.

Like Restquip, Sherman’s company offers franchisees an alternative to higher-priced new equipment purchases. “We provide an effective way for growing franchisees to reduce their capital equipment expenses,” he says. Also, he says, by refurbishing and selling old equipment, the environment is not in danger of having more old equipment dumped into landfills and more resources, materials, and energy devoted to building new equipment. According to Sherman, franchisees can typically expect savings of “30 to 45 cents on the dollar buying used versus new equipment.”

“Used equipment is going to be half or less what you pay for comparable new equipment,” says Phillips. “If you’re going to have to borrow money to buy equipment and the interest rate is 15 percent, why not get what you need used for $6,000 rather than buying it new for $12,000?”

Need more incentive? According to Phillips, some new equipment manufactured today is simply not on a par with its predecessors. “Some of the older Hobart equipment is by far better quality than some of the comparable new stuff being manufactured today,” he says.

Sources and solutions

The Advantage Group (tagX) has access to many franchise restaurants that are transitioning, remodeling, or just closing. This puts a lot of used equipment into the marketplace, says Sherman. Yet there is a strong need and market demand for used equipment–especially when it can be redeployed within the same system. Restquip does essentially the same thing, says Phillips, mining liquidations, foreclosures, and even eBay.

Both scour all kinds of auctions for good used equipment–and both warn this is not a task to be undertaken lightly. Years of experience has qualified these companies in the fine art of discerning the quality of a variety of used equipment. Phillips says Restquip has “field scavengers” all across the company who watch for closing units and equipment for sale.

The Advantage Group (tagX) not only refurbishes equipment at their huge facility, they also repair equipment at existing franchise locations. If a growing franchisee buys a closed unit, any of Sherman’s 1,200 repair associate contractors nationwide can arrive onsite and repair malfunctioning equipment.

Both Phillips and Sherman say they offer their customers guarantees on all equipment purchased. “Generally, anywhere from six months to a year,” says Phillips.

Still, some franchisees look to bypass middlemen like Phillips and Sherman and visit local and online auctions themselves in search of used equipment values. That’s fine, say both Phillips and Sherman, but you’d better know what you’re looking at.

Phillips tells of a customer who purchased three Taylor ice cream machines online for use in a new yogurt shop in California. “Codes here do not allow water-cooled equipment, only air-cooled. He was assured by the seller in Florida that the machines were air-cooled and not very old,” says Phillips. “We received the machines in our warehouse for him, and surprise, they were actually all water-cooled, and built in 1985.” The customer paid for the machines, shipping, and then paid Restquip to convert them to air-cooled. “That process increased his cost far above what he would have paid us for the correct machines.”

Professional advice

Phillips and Sherman agree there can be some limitations to used equipment. For example, many franchisors frown on purchasing used equipment. It could hurt the quality of the brand and its products, they reason. Other franchisors demand specific brands and equipment that can only be purchased new. McDonald’s, for example, requires the purchase of only new equipment.

The buying decision also may depend on the location. Says Phillips, “If you’re building a new location from the ground up, it may be best to go ahead and purchase all new equipment. But, if you’re moving into an existing location or taking over a unit, used probably makes sense.”

Sometimes a mix of new and used equipment is a perfect match. Generally speaking, both Phillips and Sherman recommend staying away from used refrigerator-type equipment or smaller equipment that includes compressors. “The natural lifecycles on this kind of equipment are just too short, and this stuff is not that expensive to buy new anyway,” says Phillips. However, stainless sinks and tables, for instance, which have no moving parts, can last for years. That makes a great used buy. If a Burger King franchisee can find the right brands and same models in good used condition that the franchisor requires, buying used makes sense.

And as already mentioned, anything purchased directly from a seller or through an auction is simply going to fall under the banner of buyer beware. “If you are not familiar with the equipment you are looking for, how it works, and how to know its condition, then you’re taking a risk,” says Sherman.

That risk is critical to any discussion concerning buying used equipment. Ultimately, you do not know how it was used or maintained, nor how much life is left in it. It may last a few years or just a few months–a gamble many franchisees are willing to take.

As for the upside of buying used, Phillips says, “Purchasing used equipment can be the difference between making money or not making money.”

Corporate likes it, too

Ken Greene has been operating Bruegger’s locations throughout New York for the past 24 years. He has 34 units open and also operates 5 Great Northern Pizza Kitchen restaurants–one of his own creations. In what some might dub a stroke of genius (or at least foresight), he began buying used equipment about five years ago.

“I would buy almost everything used if it always met my specs and I could get it in the size I needed,” says Greene. He estimates that he buys about 60 percent of his equipment used. He has relied on bank financing, leasing companies, and his own cash for purchasing, and says he has not had any issues with lenders balking at the purchase of used equipment. “But I do have a long history with these folks,” he adds.

Greene’s restaurants require ovens, refrigerators, stainless steel tables, and coffee machines, among other daily use equipment. He says he’s not afraid to buy used in most cases because he’s spent two dozen years around the equipment and knows what to look for–and what to avoid.

Basically, he says, he looks for structurally and functionally sound equipment. “Refrigeration equipment is a whole other beast,” he agrees. “You just understand that at some point–probably sooner rather than later–you’re going to have to replace compressors.”

Bruegger’s corporate doesn’t mind that Greene purchases used equipment–if it meets corporate standards. “As long as the quality of products that we deliver is up to snuff, they don’t even care what brands of equipment I buy.”

Greene is cautious about dealing directly with sellers and auctions. “The equipment is generally only as good as the people you are buying from,” he cautions. That’s why he buys from equipment resale and refurbishing companies like Restquip and The Advantage Group (tagX), although he says auctions can sometimes offer better prices. At auctions, he buys basic equipment with nonmoving parts, such as shelves and tables. But with higher-dollar items, it’s a bigger risk-reward decision.

“What I like about working with The Advantage Group (tagX) is that they can fix, move, and replace equipment throughout our system of restaurants,” says Greene. He also finds used equipment an attractive buy because prices are generally negotiable. “It’s really a matter of supply and demand and being in the right place at the right time.”

When it comes to buying from a supplier like The Advantage Group (tagX), another plus for Greene is, “I can walk through their warehouse looking at all the various equipment and come across a machine that maybe I’d never thought about using and realize, ‘Hey, I could use this!’”

Greene also is conscious of the upside of reusing and recycling–another reason he likes to buy used equipment when he can. “It’s nice when something can be fixed up and refurbished and used again,” he says. “I feel like I’m doing my part to keep more waste out of landfills.”

Heavy equipment, light price

Jim Henkel is a multi-unit franchisee with three Honest-1 Auto Care locations in Minnesota. He’s also a pioneer in buying used equipment within the Honest-1 Auto Care system.

“I brought this idea to the franchisor a few years back and they saw the value in buying used equipment,” he says. “They encouraged me to talk about the advantages of buying used equipment, and now other franchisees in the system are doing it, too.” After all, cost-savings in fixed expenses increase profitability.

Things are little different in Henkel’s world than they are with a restaurant franchise. He’s not buying ovens, refrigerators, and coffee machines, but higher-priced automobile hoists, tire and wheel alignment equipment, and A/C equipment. The advantage for him is that most of the equipment he buys is long-lasting–20 years or more–which makes purchasing it used a great choice.

He does most of the buying himself, directly with the seller. He shops local and national auctions, online (eBay and a few auto equipment-focused auctions), equipment brokers, and equipment leasing companies that have repossessed equipment and are looking to unload it at a significant discount.

“Most of my used equipment purchases are ‘as-is’ so you really have to know what you’re doing,” he says. That’s one of the reasons he likes to buy from brokers when he can, as they often provide a short guarantee on the equipment. It’s also why he stays away from some types of used equipment. “Computer-based or electronically controlled equipment is very risky to buy used, so I usually don’t do it unless I can actually see it in operation.”

One drawback of the used equipment route, Henkel says, is the sometimes lengthy process of searching out equipment and finding what he needs in good working order. “It takes time to find the really good deals,” he says.

Henkel says that the used equipment he buys can require some cleaning and occasionally minor rehabilitation. He calls it “TLC,” but because he can save up to 50 percent of the cost of buying new, this is a minor inconvenience he can live with. Besides, he estimates that around 75 percent of the time there’s no maintenance at all needed. It’s ready to go. He says he’s even paid as little as 25 percent of the list price of a new product when he found it used. And although he often has to pay to have the equipment shipped to him, this cost is nominal compared with the savings he finds.

He admits that he’s been burned a few times on some purchases of used equipment–but that’s just part of the risk/reward gamble he takes, and says the payoffs have far outweighed the losses.

New Building: 60% Off!

Franchisee saves big on “unopened” modular unit

The 14- by 54-foot modular building had been constructed for a corporate Checkers restaurant that never opened. The building was sitting, unused, in a warehouse in New Jersey when Checkers contacted Michigan franchisee Mike Burkhardt.

“I got a call from corporate saying they had this unused modular building and wanted to know if I’d be interested in it,” says Burkhardt. He was looking to expand his operation, so his answer was a resounding yes.

Burkhardt was able to acquire the building for about 40 percent of the cost of a new one. The only drawback was that it needed to be brought up to Michigan code and shipped across the country to its new home in Wyoming, Mich.

“The cost of having it shipped here was reasonable, and I hope the cost to bring it up to code will be nominal,” he says. The building was set in place in mid-April. He plans to have the new unit open by June and is expecting to employ about 35 full- and part-time employees.

“I got a used but never opened building for a fraction of the cost of trying to open with a new building,” says Burkhardt. “I think that makes a lot of economical sense.”

Watch Video

We were joined on News 8 at Noon on Friday by Neal Sherman, the CEO of Tag-X. Click the video for more about what prospective buyers need to know.

The auction is Monday, July 12th at 10 a.m.; at 1999 Mount Read Boulevard in Rochester.

WROC/WUHF

A sign that Vaccarelli is on the right track. Vaccarelli and her husband cashed in part of their retirement to launch their new bakery in Hamlin. Today, Vaccarelli is picking up some of the items she’ll need.

“Convection oven, work surfaces, all stainless steel equipment, bowls.”

Watch the Video

But Vaccarelli is getting help from an unlikely source, her competition.

“Historically, it would just stay for years sometimes in the back of the house and now they need to find a home for it.”

Because of the recession, other restaurants and cooking schools are disposing their kitchen appliances to recyclers like Neal Sherman.

Because of the high demand for these items, Sherman recently put them up on the auction block. And Vaccarelli found exactly what she needed.

“Everything related to food. Front of the house tables, chairs, decor.. small ware back of the house, mixers, ovens grills,” says Sherman.

“When we came here, we got three quarters of what we needed and we spent less than $1,000,” says Vaccarelli.

“People are becoming much more efficient, much more frugal,” says Sherman.

With the moving truck now packed with kitchen supplies, her dreams of baking are almost complete.

“I told my husband he’s got like 2 weeks to get this thing done,he’s got walls to paint.”

Vaccarelli plans to have her opening next month.

Reported by: Jason Frazer

WROC/WUHF

ABSOLUTE AUCTION!

Convert Your Surplus Equipment to CASH!

Map

We call it “Supply Pain Management” because the movement of equipment in the restaurant and food service arena always has “Pain”.

Facility Closures and Remodels: Clients can open, close, remodel, and maintain their facilities in a cost effective and time sensitive manner by using tagX’s facility transition services. tagX is a singular source for all remodeling and closure needs

Sell Equipment: Whether you have one piece or a thousand pieces, we are the experts in asset liquidation! We have liquidated surplus new and used equipment for clients ranging from independent operators to national chains around the globe.

We Offer Referral Incentives!

www.tagxinc.com
OR
Call Dan Biviano at 800-572-4480

Wall Street Journal

By JOHN A. PEARCE I I

OCTOBER 20, 2008

Reconstructed products offer a promising market for many companies. But turning used products into new ones isn’t a sure

thing.

What Does It Involve?

Companies looking for new profit opportunities should remember one simple

idea: Everything old can be new again.

More than 130,000 companies across the U.S. have gotten into the business of

reconstruction — taking used products and processing them for resale. These

products bring in annual sales of more than $300 billion, in categories as varied

as plastic bottles, machine tools, medical equipment and furniture, and for many

companies they represent a booming business. At Caterpillar Inc., for instance,

the remanufacturing operation is one of the fastest-growing divisions in the

company.

The profit margins are also compelling. Reconstructed products typically cost

40% to 65% less to make than new ones, meaning much higher margins — an

average of 20% compared with less than 10% for new products. That is true even

though reconstructed products often sell for less than new ones. Another plus:

Reconstruction lets companies profit multiple times from an initial investment

by leveraging existing facilities and expertise.

Despite the impressive performance, there are still many opportunities for

growth in reconstruction. U.S. spending on reconstructed products represents

less than 2% of gross domestic product, compared with 10% for new

manufactured products.

What follows is an overview for companies looking to get into the reconstruction

business, drawn from reviewing dozens of corporate initiatives and resulting best

practices. I will outline the different types of reconstruction, as well as the types

of customers that companies might pursue. I will also examine some caveats

companies need to consider.

Reconstruction comes in three forms: recycling, refurbishing and remanufacturing.

Who Buys the Products?

In recycling, a used product is broken down into its constituent parts and then

used to make a new product, possibly different from the original. Products that

are frequently recycled include paper, steel, glass, aluminum, plastic and rubber.

With refurbishing, companies take a product and restore it, aesthetically or

mechanically, to its original condition. Typically, this involves a thorough

cleaning, followed by the replacement or reconditioning of component parts.

Products that are commonly refurbished include medical equipment, office

furniture, antiques, electronics and diesel locomotives. Single-use cameras are a

particularly good example of the practice: Not only are they cheap to spruce up,

they can be rebuilt as many as 10 times after customers drop them off.

Remanufacturing is very much like refurbishing, with one important difference.

When the product is rebuilt, it is not just restored to its original condition, it is

upgraded with new features or qualities.

For a closer look at the differences between these three processes, consider office

workstations. In recycling, a company might strip fabric from the workstation’s

divider panels and convert it to industrial padding. Refurbishing might involve

removing the original fabric and replacing it with new material to make the

workstation look as good as new. In remanufacturing, the fabric might be

replaced with material that not only looks better but is also flame retardant and

stain resistant.

The customers for reconstructed products fall into six basic types.

Customers who do not want to buy new equipment because it would not fit into

their processes. Consider a company that has a complex production line. It might

be tough to find new machines that can fit into the existing system precisely;

refurbishing or remanufacturing existing machines is often a much simpler

course.

Customers who want to avoid red tape. Take municipal transit authorities, which

face strict requirements for the motors that power their cars. Getting approval for

new designs can be lengthy, complicated and costly. Again, it is easier to go with

refurbished or remanufactured gear than to pursue all-new equipment.

Customers who do not have the capital to invest in new equipment, or will not

use the equipment enough to make the cost worthwhile. In many — but not all –

cases, reconstructed goods are cheaper than new ones, which makes them

appealing to buyers with limited needs or means. So, farmers with limited

acreage, for instance, often prefer remanufactured tractors. Likewise, fire

departments in small communities often choose remanufactured fire engines,

and corporations whose executives make local flights go for remanufactured

airplanes.

What Are the Risks?

Customers who want to extend the useful life of a product that has been

discontinued by the original manufacturer. For instance, a customer who is

rebuilding an antique car needs parts that are no longer made to the exact

specifications needed. However, the customer will often find that the parts are

available in “as new” condition as reconstructed products.

Customers who want to extend the useful life of a current product. This,

obviously, is one of the broadest categories of customers. People buy a wide

range of reconstructed goods that help keep products in good condition at a low

cost, including replacement automobile upholstery, kitchen-cabinet refacing,

marine compressors, heavy-duty truck transmissions and porcelain-bathtub

refinishing.

Customers who are interested in environmentally friendly products. “Buying

green” is increasingly popular among corporate purchasing departments, as well

as individual consumers. Remanufactured goods are often a perfect fit for these

customers, since reconstruction reduces the need to buy and use high levels of

energy and virgin materials in creating products.

Customers are showing that they are prepared to shell out higher prices for

environmentally sensitive remanufactured goods. Buyers of remanufactured

lumber, furniture, flooring and millwork, for instance, are willing to pay an 18%

premium over the prices of equivalent new products, and are willing to travel an

additional 35 minutes to purchase these products.

It is not just consumer interest that is driving the growth of this market. State

governments across the U.S. are implementing laws and guidelines that benefit

companies engaged in product reconstruction. For instance, nearly 30 states

have introduced legislation that calls for recycling electronic waste to keep it out

of landfills.

The biggest caveat about reconstruction is that some forms require lots of knowhow.

Indeed, the job is often best suited to companies that already make the

products in question. It is very tough for companies to simply plunge into

reconstructing products without being intimately familiar with the

manufacturing processes that initially created them. Not only that, if a company

is new to an industry, it can take lots of sales work to build up a market for

reconstructed wares.

Each variety of reconstruction has special challenges. At first glance, recycling

seems inviting. Entry barriers can be low; raw materials, for instance, are often

cheap. However, the job of collecting those materials and transporting them to a

recycling facility can vary greatly in complexity, time requirements, predictability

and expense. Companies must have the capability to do the pickup and transport

economically — and they must also have the resources, facilities and personnel

for processing the materials.

For example, an estimated 300 billion tires lie discarded in the U.S., with more

than 270 million added to the total each year. However, the cost of transporting

the raw material is high, as are the costs for plant and equipment and, in the

cases of sophisticated recycling, maintaining an educated and skilled work force.

What is more, if many companies plunge into a recycling niche, all those entrants

end up competing for market share and resources, while driving up the supply of

finished goods and driving down prices and profit margins.

Refurbishing adds another layer of complexity. Because companies are restoring

goods to new condition, they must be familiar with the design and features of the

original product and must possess the capability to disassemble and reassemble

that product. Specialized labeling and packaging may also be necessary.

Remanufacturing is even more complicated, since companies are not only

restoring products to new condition but upgrading them. Companies must have

experts on hand to re-engineer the given products, and a sound logistics system

to acquire and retrieve products and then guide them through the production

process — disassembling, sorting, reassembling, inspecting and testing.

For an example of what is involved, once again consider Caterpillar, which

remanufactures various diesel engines taken from used earth-moving equipment

and medium- and heavy-duty truck engines. The process includes the stripping,

dismantling, detailed cleaning and complete reconditioning of all 20,000 engine

components.

All engines are remanufactured using Caterpillar parts and produced to meet

new engine standards using the latest technology, even if it was not available

when the engine was originally manufactured.

—Dr. Pearce is the VSB endowed chair in strategic management and entrepreneurship at the Villanova

School of Business at Villanova University. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com.

JARED SELTZER faced more than the usual megabyte headaches recently while shopping for a desktop
computer for his office in Takoma Park, Md. As the information technology director of the Center for a New
American Dream, a small environmental group, he wanted to buy a computer that would be relatively easy on
the ecosystem.

His search brought him to the Dell Web site, where he chose an OptiPlex model that had been refurbished.
“I wasn’t losing anything by not buying new,” Mr. Seltzer said. “And it was good that I was being true to what
we’re about.”

Refurbished computers, he explained, are not generally made from old clunkers on their last legs. They are
typically returned by buyers shortly after delivery and spruced up by the manufacturer. And they often have the
same guarantees that new computers do.

Like many other consumers, Mr. Seltzer is concerned about the environmental effects of computers, which can
contain hazardous substances including lead, cadmium and mercury, among others.

Hazards occur when these substances are extracted from the earth and, on the other end, when they are
disposed of. At either end, toxic substances can find their way into the air, soil, water and eventually into
people, where they have the potential to cause serious health problems.

Refurbished computers lessen the blow to the environment because they have effectively been recycled, albeit
at warp speed. They can also be easier on the bank account. Mr. Seltzer’s desktop cost him $379 — less than
half the $800 price of a new one.

Lynn Rubinstein, executive director of the Northeast Recycling Council in Brattleboro, Vt., faced a similar
challenge when she needed to replace her personal laptop in October. She could not find a refurbished model to
fit her needs, so she consulted the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or Epeat, an electronics
rating system available free at www.epeat.net.

The system, now five months old, is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and is meant primarily for
bulk buyers. But it is useful for individuals, too. Electronics — only computers now, with more products to
follow — can be achieve ratings of gold, silver or bronze.

Ratings are done largely on the honor system, subject to reviews by the Green Electronics Council, a
nonprofitgroup in Portland, Ore., that maintains the list. Manufacturers score their products against a set of
environmental standards, including levels of hazardous substances, energy efficiency and ease of recycling.
There are 23 requirements just to win a bronze.

More than 300 types of desktops, laptops and monitors have received at least a bronze, and most also have a
silver rating, which means that they also meet at least half of 28 optional standards. None of the computers
have it to gold, which means that they would meet all the required standards as well as three-quarters of the
optional ones.

An NEC monitor made from a corn-based plastic has the top score: 42, just two points shy of the gold standard.
Dell, Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo all have at least one desktop and laptop that qualify for
silver.

Epeat-rated computers are likely to save buyers money on their electric bills. The E.P.A. estimates that
600,000 megawatts of energy, as well as 13 million pounds of hazardous waste, will be saved over the next five
years by the purchase of Epeat-rated computers.

“It was enough for me just to get one that made the list at any level,” said Ms. Rubinstein, who chose a Dell
Latitude computer that had a bronze rating. She paid the same price as she would have for a comparable laptop
without an Epeat rating, but the Latitude was listed as having significantly lower levels of hazardous
substances.

Consumers seeking new environmentally sound computers may also want to consider keeping their existing
ones just a while longer, said Diganta Das, a research scientist at the Center for Advanced Life Cycle
Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park. There will be a much broader selection of greener
computers and other electronics by 2008 because all manufacturers are under pressure to make their products
meet hazardous-substance standards that are as high or higher than those of Epeat, he said.
The push is coming from new technology and government initiatives. The most important political change
came in July, when the European Union issued its Restrictions on Hazardous Substances. The RoHS directive
essentially will require all manufacturers and retailers selling their products in the European Union to greatly
reduce the presence of six hazards.

There is nothing like those standards in the United States, but the directive is nonetheless having an impact
here. Wal-Mart Stores, for example, said last spring that it would sell the first laptop compliant with the
European standards in the United States: a $700 Toshiba model. Other computer makers are quickly following
suit.

CONCERNS about the environment don’t end once a computer has been bought. Consumers also need to
consider what to do with their computers when it comes time to retire them.

According to the National Safety Council, three-quarters of all existing computers are sitting in closets and
other places where they are no longer being used. Besides the closet option, there are two other main solutions:
disposal and recycling.

Disposal, however, is the hardest on the environment. In May, New Hampshire became the fourth state — after
California, Massachusetts and Maine — to ban the disposal of all video display devices from landfills and
incinerators. Two months later, Minnesota passed a law prohibiting the disposal of monitors in the trash.
As for the recycling option, many localities offer programs. But the best recycling route may be the one back to
the source: Many manufacturers now take back old computers free, and some of their parts can be reused.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2006

The Rochester Institute of Technology is generally a pretty happy place for tinkering-minded engineers to be. But the National Center for Remanufacturing & Resource Recovery (or NC3R) must be the kind of place that feels like the waiting room to engineer heaven. It’s an outpost on the edge of the western New York university campus, a hybrid applied research lab that’s almost like a consulting firm, dedicated to the proposition of getting expensive things and breaking them apart.

In one room, you’ll find inkjet and toner cartridges stacked in boxes floor to ceiling. Go out that door, take a couple turns, and you’re staring at a massive Navy A-6E Intruder jet. Past that, through some more doors (after you’ve passed an enormous working printing press), you’re in an electrical engineer’s lab, where the tolerance levels of oscilloscopes and micrometers are being tested. This is what passes for hallway banter: “Hey, we just started the enzymatic digestion of the celluloid.”

It’s all in the service of understanding remanufacturing, a process in which used products are reclaimed, cleaned, inspected, and put back together to make another product that’s “like new” or better. Amid all the seemingly arcane testing and conceptual work, NC3R Director Nabil Nasr and his staff are actually serving big corporate clients, helping them to get a better sense of how the components in their products actually perform over time.

THROUGH THE WRINGER. In traditional remanufacturing, “You understand the process that you use to make the component, so you can predict the quality of the product,” Nasr says. But “when you bring a product back through remanufacturing channels, everything is a suspect.”

For instance, Staples (SPLS) does all of the quality assurance for its remanufactured ink and toner cartridge at RIT. What does that mean? The humble cartridge, before RIT will release it back into the real world, must endure an altitude chamber, a weathering chamber, a “Q-sun Xenon Test chamber,” and an “ozone destruct module,” among other indignities.

The payoff: Staples can use that data to make products that will last for many more life cycles. “It’s the company that understands where the defects are…that makes the difference,” explains Andy Harlan, the NC3R’s industrial programs manager.

AN EDIBLE BLAST. One of the biggest problems that remanufacturers face is how to clean things. Soap and water just won’t work on a grimy, used diesel engine, for example. And while a chemical bath might remove the dirt, it might also disturb the metal itself. So at RIT, they test guns that fire rapid shots of steel to scrape gunk off engine blocks, as well as ceramic pellet degreasers and baking soda blasters.

Baking soda? In fact, those blasters are used to “remanufacture” Luxus coffee canisters, the tall urns that carry branded labels on them, like the ones at airport Starbucks. Whenever Starbucks changes its look, baristas can’t manually change the labels. The glue is too sticky, and pasting a second label on top of the original one eventually results in puckering. So RIT engineers strip most of the coating off with a heat gun.

When a “high pressure aqueous blast” didn’t get the last bits of glue off, pelting it at a high velocity with baking soda did the trick, says Bob German, a senior staff engineer at the NC3R. “It’s an edible blast medium,” German chuckles.

DEFENSE DOLLARS. But ink cartridges and coffee urns are small projects, relatively speaking. The NC3R’s biggest sponsor is the Defense Dept.—hence, the Intruder jet. Nasr’s team is studying the material aging of the actuator, the hydraulics, and the fuselage. To examine the hull, a 3D model was scanned into a computer using a laser-tipped robotic arm. The data learned will be applied to the EA-6B Prowler jet.

Nasr, in fact, says the Defense Dept. is the biggest remanufacturer in the world, and estimates that the Pentagon spends about $15 billion every year to keep its fleets up and running. Another example: There’s a light armored vehicle fresh from the battlefield at the NC3R. The whole line was supposed to have been retired in 2003, Nasr says, but now it will have to last for another 25 years. Remanufacturing is vastly much more cost effective than ordering up new combat vehicles. To illustrate, Nasr points out that replacing a driveshaft ruined by sand with a remanufactured one would cost about $50, vs. about $700 for new.

Most companies and organizations that go to the NC3R for research help are, usually, ultimately motivated by how much money remanufacturing can save them. But Nasr is keenly aware, and extremely excited, by the environmentally friendly nature of the process. In fact, he’s planning to launch a PhD program specifically dedicated to sustainable engineering. “The opportunities that we have,” Nasr says, “for material conservation, for recycling, for energy conservation are tremendous.”

By Brian Hindo

Complete Restaurant, Grill & Bar, Everything MUST Go!

For More Included: Equipment, Tables, Chairs, Lighting, Smallwares, Loads of Decor with over 500 Antique Pieces! Click here to view full list!

For More Information:
J. Sugarman Auctions
954-946-9951
www.jaysugarman.com

or

Jaclyn Mellone
The Advantage Group (tagX)
800-572-4480 x117

Lease has expired! Order to vacate has been served!

No Dollar was spared in this multi-million dollar build-out! Every item MUST go!

We have been hired to sell the inventory “Bare Walls”

We will be selling the entire Dining Room including Tables, Chairs, Booths, Bar Stools, Bar, Décor including Neon Beer Signs and Menu Boards. There appear to be about (10) Flat Panel LCD Televisions throughout the facility. The entire Dining Room is trimmed in Brass Railing including both foot and hand rails.

Behind the two Bars are two of the most complete serving stations we have ever seen! These items include Beer Mug Chillers, Custom Bar Sinks, Draft Beer Keg Systems, Bottle Coolers, Bar Blending Stations, Under Counter Glass Washers, Drain Tables as well as Decorative Beer Pulls.

The Kitchen area includes two kitchens! Kitchen #1 is the prep and serving Kitchen chock full of heaters, Shelving, Sandwich Preps, Refrigerators amd a slew of other items. Kitchen #2 is the main Kitchen complete with Grills, Griddles, Ranges, Fryers, Mixers, Ice Machines, Walk-In Coolers, Reach-In Refrigeration, Stainless Steel Tables, Three Compartment Sinks, Ice Bins and every item typically found in a Food Service Establishment of this size.

For More Information or to Make and Appointment:
J. Sugarman Auctions
954-946-9951
(561) 350-9887
www.jaysugarman.com
or
Jaclyn Mellone
The Advantage Group (tagX)
800-572-4480 x117