The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) launches Asia’s first centre for test bedding and developing remanufacturing technologies
Singapore—Singapore’s manufacturing sector is taking strides towards a more sustainable future with the launch of a new facility which allows companies to breathe new life into old product components by reusing them in their manufacturing processes.
Located at Singapore’s first eco-business park JTC CleanTech Two@ CleanTech Park, A*STAR’s Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) is the first of its kind in the region dedicated to test-bedding and development of remanufacturing technologies through a public-private partnership approach, together with strategic partner Nanyang Technological University.
Remanufacturing is a sustainable production process that involves transforming a recovered part or product through disassembly, cleaning, testing and other operations to produce like-new products to be reintroduced to the market. Remanufactured products are tested and certified to meet technical and safety specifications of new products as a mark of quality, and they are often sold with warranties comparable to the original.
Said Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR: “The ARTC embodies A*STAR’s commitment to driving Singapore’s economic growth, and moving Singapore to a more sustainable future. As the future of manufacturing continues to evolve, we believe the ARTC will strengthen Singapore’s competitiveness and allow us to capture the greatest value from the new growth area of remanufacturing.”
With the growing focus on sustainability and technology innovation, remanufacturing is widely seen as the future for manufacturing. Remanufacturing typically utilises less energy and generates less waste as compared to traditional manufacturing processes and is able to result in substantial environmental benefits. Through R&D, companies can also develop advanced sustainable remanufacturing technologies to strengthen their capabilities and technology know-how as well as increase their global market competitiveness.
Strong industry support for the ARTC
The ARTC provides a collaborative platform which brings together public sector research laboratories, academia and industry players from MNCs and SMEs to help bridge technological gaps in the adoption of advanced remanufacturing processes. It also works with NTU to develop a strong talent pipeline to support the shift towards eco-friendly production processes and techniques.
Specifically, ARTC aims to catalyse the adoption of remanufacturing in the aerospace, oil and gas, marine, energy, automotive and engineering industries. This effort towards spurring sustainable production has been met with strong support from the industry. Since the programme was first unveiled in 2012, the ARTC has welcomed 29 members on board including EOS GmbH, IHI Corporation, Rolls-Royce PLC, Singapore Aero Engine Services Private Limited (SAESL), Siemens Industry Software, and SKF. The members also include 12 local SMEs.
Dr David Low, Chief Executive Officer of ARTC, said, “ARTC is the first centre in Asia that adopts the AxRC model of industry-led public-private partnership across sectors and supply chains. Through this unique collaborative model, like-minded companies come together at ARTC to provide the real industry requirements, spark new ideas, catalyse new opportunities, leverage on shared-resources and accelerate the development of remanufacturing capabilities in a faster, better and cheaper way than doing it alone. We are truly grateful for the invaluable confidence and support our industry members have offered to the ARTC.”
To date, the Centre has completed over 50 industry projects. These range from an automated process to protect surfaces during repair processes, to a robotised inspection process to check for defects in components.
ARTC is collaborating with IHI to develop an advanced process for surface finishing of industrial components, to better protect surfaces from damage and contaminants that result in increased energy usage and higher likelihood of component failure in the long run. As an automated process, it reduces labour intensity and the amount of time taken for surface finishing, which will boost productivity for industries such as aerospace, automotive and oil and gas.
ARTC’s partnerships with industry leaders have also created new business opportunities that local enterprises can capitalise on as Singapore gears up for the future of manufacturing.
One SME which has captured business value as a result of ARTC’s efforts is local SME AmpTec Industrial Heating Pte Ltd., a company involved in one of ARTC’s projects with Rolls-Royce. AmpTec was commissioned to develop a dry ice blasting machine as a project. Dry ice blasting is an eco-friendly technique of cleaning aircraft engine components as it does not use polluting industrial chemicals and heavy scrubbing. It also causes less damage to the component surface than current methods of cleaning; thus retaining the quality and performance of the component. Through this collaboration, AmpTec has made headway with other member companies to see how it can support their remanufacturing business requirements.
Worldwide, remanufacturing is already commonly applied in the aerospace, marine, automotive and engineering industries. A report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts that the global automotive remanufacturing market is expected to reach US$104.8 billion by 2015. In Singapore, sectors such as aerospace, oil and gas, automotive and machinery have remanufacturing activities located here, with aerospace Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) being the biggest contributor.
