Rematec Amsterdam 2025 meets Lorenzo Gaspari 

Rematec Amsterdam 2025 meets Lorenzo Gaspari, Head of New Business Development – Remanufacturing Car Parts Industries

How can automakers and suppliers work together to design vehicles with remanufacturing in mind from the start?

A clear point related to the collaboration could be the design for disassembly, where we could develop solutions to facilitate the remanufacturing process and make the product more competitive.. We, as remanufacturers, we have elements, knowledge about what makes the process more difficult, so we can really work together to facilitate the design for remanufacturing.

What are the biggest barriers preventing widespread adoption of remanufactured car parts, and how can these be overcome?

As of today, of course, one of the major, not barrier, but hurdle when having to work with the remanufacturing is the handling of the reverse logistics. So, it is important to make it traceable: the customers could see where their cores are, when the deposit will be credited , let's say, when the circle will be closed. So, I would say reverse logistics is one of the most challenging topic, because compared to the new production it’s an extra step a step in the process, but we need to overcome it by new technologies, increasing the traceability.

How do you see EU regulations evolving to support the circular economy in the automotive sector, and what impact will this have on remanufacturing?

The EU regulations support the circular economy. When looking at the end of the life regulation proposal, for instance, I think that globally this will provide a positive impact for remanufacturing. Of course, there is something that has to be adjusted to avoid counter-productive issues, but globally I think we see this favourably. We appreciate the direction that the European Commission is taking for the end of life regulation proposal and, yeah, this will definitely have a positive impact on remanufacturing as well.

What role do digital technologies, such as AI and blockchain, play in enhancing the traceability and efficiency of remanufactured car parts?

Digital technologies like AI and blockchain will help in the traceability, as I mentioned before, on the reverse logistics. It will really allow us to give transparency about the cores and interact also with the customer to make all the reverse logistics smoother.

How can consumer perception of remanufactured parts be improved to accelerate their mainstream adoption in the automotive market?

Well, it is important to communicate the clear differentiation between what is repaired and what is remanufactured in terms of quality perspective. It's important to highlight that there is a quality difference, that remanufactured products are tested as new products, they have topass a test that is based on new OE units,, while reparations are just restoring the functionality. So, it's important to stess the differentiation in the quality to enhance remanufacturing.