Reduced CO2 emissions and costs thanks to bearing remanufacturing

• Schaeffler bundles its activities relating to the remanufacturing of rolling bearings in Schaeffler Industrial Remanufacturing Services AG & Co. KG based in Wuppertal.
• Remanufacturing saves valuable resources and reduces the customer’s carbon footprint
• Schaeffler enables and certifies customers to carry out bearing remanufacturing and mounting themselves

With the systematic remanufacturing of rolling bearings, the global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has been offering its customers an important service in terms of the sustainable circular economy for many years. Remanufacturing saves valuable resources and reduces the carbon footprint – across all sectors. Since March 2022, Schaeffler has bundled its bearing remanufacturing service for the regional market in Schaeffler Industrial Remanufacturing Services AG & Co. KG based in Wuppertal. Schaeffler also acts as a stakeholder in the “Circular Valley”, a cross-regional initiative of the city of Wuppertal for the green and circular economy.

Customers have various options

Customers have a choice of three options for having their bearings remanufactured. Firstly, customers can send their bearings to Schaeffler in Wuppertal for remanufacturing. The bearings are then returned to the customer. The second option comprises dismounting, remanufacturing, and mounting at the customer’s premises by Schaeffler employees. As a third option, Schaeffler also offers its customers the opportunity to obtain certification and to carry out remanufacturing independently.

With all three options, Schaeffler offers its customers comprehensive support in the form of specialist consultation and the supply of replacement parts as well as auxiliary and operating materials. This makes it possible to achieve the same high level of reliability and long operating periods as with a new product. 

Sustainability and cost savings

There is a great need to save materials and energy, especially in the raw material processing industry. An increasing number of customers are therefore using Schaeffler’s remanufacturing service.

The remanufacturing of bearings significantly reduces the consumption of resources compared to the manufacturing of new products. The production of new inner and outer rings, in particular, produces by far the largest share of the total CO₂ emissions during the manufacturing process for rolling bearings.

The extent of the savings potential is shown by the example of a renowned manufacturer of roller presses for raw material processing, which had its maintenance teams qualified and certified by Schaeffler.

The customer’s roller presses have four large spherical roller bearings that must be regularly replaced. For a remanufactured bearing, up to 90 percent of the CO₂ emissions and 70 percent of the costs can be saved compared to the production of a new bearing.

Circular economy for achieving sustainability goals
Schaeffler Industrial Remanufacturing Services AG & Co. KG supports customers in leveraging their savings potential. Schaeffler offers the remanufacturing of rolling bearings for a wide range of sectors including CO₂-intensive industries such as the mining industry, metal production and processing or pulp and paper production, but also for the railway sector.