CTDI, a global electronics remanufacturing and logistics firm, has launched Reman 8.0 to address the growing challenges of servicing complex automotive electronics.
The company reports that Reman 8.0 is a one-stop solution for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive industry that leverages its 38 years of technical expertise in microelectronics and mechatronics, test engineering and remanufacturing capabilities.
Helping to lead the effort is Mark Shasteen, vice president of CTDI’s automotive division, who has more than three decades of industry experience. Prior to joining CTDI, Shasteen spent 13 years in a number of executive leadership positions with Delphi Corp.
CTDI is new to the automotive industry, and Shasteen recently answered a series of questions for Aftermarket Business World about the company’s plans for the future:
Q: For the first time, CTDI exhibited at AAPEX 2013 in Las Vegas. Why did you select AAPEX and what is your assessment of the show?
A: The AAPEX Show was a major investment for our company and provided CTDI with the opportunity to tell the automotive industry our story. We are a 38-year old company with a heritage of being a global leader in test engineering and electronics repair and remanufacturing, serving top telecommunications and automotive companies worldwide. We believe that with our vast experience in telecommunications that we can bring that same expertise to the automotive sector.
In talking to show attendees, we stressed that when you work with CTDI you benefit from a company with an integrated, full-service model. We provide comprehensive engineering support, advanced electronics remanufacturing, forward and reverse logistics, warehousing, and configurable web-based IT solutions. We do all this in a manner that meets the individual needs of each customer.
To give you a scale of our remanufacturing business, each year CTDI performs more than 8 million component level repairs on over 75,000 different SKUs.
Not only did we come to AAPEX to reach out to potential new customers, it gave us the chance to learn about their needs as well. AAPEX was a great show for us to participate in. It was especially helpful to be within the remanufacturing section of the show.
Q: You’ve targeted your service offering to electronics remanufacturing. What are the challenges facing that sector of the business?
A: The average age of vehicles on the road is trending upward. According to numerous industry sources, the average age of today’s cars has grown from 9.9 years just seven years ago to 11.4 years in 2012. That’s the average age and that number is going up each year.
Unlike the life cycle of cars, the technology curve for electronics is getting shorter and shorter. With automotive electronics, the latest generation of devices simply won’t fit or function in older vehicles. In most cases, you need the original design to effectively perform the repair. However, sustaining production capability for older generation electronic parts is increasingly difficult and costly, and in many cases simply not practical. This makes remanufacturing the ideal and often the only option to meet vehicle life cycle demands.
A key element of CTDI’s Reman 8.0 is end-of-life solutions for critical electronic components.
Q: What kind of impact are advanced electronic systems having on the service network?
A: The U.S. service network is comprised of 18,000 car dealers, 130,000 independent service shops and fleet providers. The value of technology advancements, such as powertrain efficiency, safety and connectivity, will be lost if you can’t get the vehicle serviced; if the service network can’t keep the car on the road.
The service challenge is particularly significant to independent repair shops that may not have the same access to the latest diagnostic repair tools and service information as their OE dealer counterparts. However, vehicle owners are increasingly taking their cars to independents for out of warranty service. According to AASA, car owners are trending three to one in favor of independent garages.
So steps need to be taken to equip the service network, including the independents, with the tools, equipment, training, and information needed to repair these complex electronic systems. With the rapid expansion in vehicle electronics, repairs increasingly involve ECUs where wrenches are often replaced by diagnostic scan tools and tablet PCs.
Q: On what scale can you perform these repairs?
Due to our extensive test engineering capabilities in microelectronics and mechatronics, we have the ability to repair components across a vast array of technologies. As a result, we have the scalability to test anywhere from 100 units to several thousand units in a day. In addition, we utilize our engineering teams in Germany, India, China and the U.S. to develop specific solutions for customers in those regions. All of our testing development and protocols are standardized, software driven and controlled to ensure that consistent quality is maintained across all the regions where we do business.
CTDI’s advanced electronics remanufacturing solution meets stringent OE specifications and offers a wide-range of technical services including failure mode diagnosis, component level repairs including BGA and SMT, firmware and flash memory reprogramming, like-new cosmetic refurbishment, warranty screening with root cause analysis and engineering change management. CTDI utilizes state-of-the-art testers to provide rigorous functional testing and advanced diagnostic repair processes, which include x-ray analysis and environmental stress testing to ensure the highest quality remanufacturing service is performed.
The list of automotive components CTDI can test, repair and remanufacture includes: infotainment systems, radios, integrated Nav radios, body control modules, instrument clusters, climate control modules, engine control modules, powertrain and transmission control modules. As the electronic architecture of vehicle and market demands evolve, so will the CTDI product roadmap.
Q: You referenced your global engineering teams; what is the scope of your global footprint?
A: To help service the needs of the automotive industry, CTDI relies upon 66 world-class remanufacturing locations in 15 countries, including 41 locations throughout North America. Our world-class engineering team is comprised of over 350 degreed engineers and supported by over 2,000 electronic technicians and 250 software/ IT programmers. In total we employ over 6,500 employees.
Our European headquarters is located in Malsch, Germany, our Asian Pacific headquarters is in Beijing and the North American and corporate headquarters is in West Chester, Pa.
CTDI’s global network offers in-region, cost-effective solutions and utilizes standard processes ensuring the highest level of quality and consistency. Our extensive remanufacturing expertise includes full functional testing, warranty screening, root cause failure mode analysis, cosmetic refurbishment and board level component repairs.
Our warranty administration work continues to grow. In particular, our warranty analysis provides OE manufacturers with failure mode and root cause analysis.
Q: Do you see the market for remanufactured parts growing?
A: I can’t speak about all the remanufactured parts available for today’s vehicle parc. But for electronics I do see the use of remanufactured parts increasing. As I said before, remanufactured parts are often the best and sometimes the only option to meet vehicle life cycle demands. I’m a former board member for MERA, the Motor and Equipment Remanufacturers Association, and they would define remanufacturing as a standardized industrial process by which previously sold or nonfunctional parts are returned to same-as-new or better-than-new condition and performance. Remanufacturing typically reclaims 90 percent of the material value of the original part, and requires 80 percent less energy to produce than a new part. Parts remanufactured to original equipment standards are a viable, green and cost-effective solution.
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