Taking Charge of Sustainability

Their highly trained technicians remanufacture popular hybrid batteries and regenerate electronic components, helping create a circular economy.

Engineers at the Auckland site repair a range of engine and powertrain electronics including control modules, body control modules, air flow and air mass meters, ABS modules, basically anything electronic in a vehicle large or small.

New Zealand branch manager Graeme Cochrane says fixing and remanufacturing a broad range of automotive electronic components has become an important part of the industry.

“We see too much of the throw-away society in the automotive industry and realistically with most components that are dumped there is often stuff-all wrong with them.”

He says more and more repair work is being done for dealerships because the spare parts for older models are getting harder to source.

“Parts are becoming obsolete, or they are horrendously priced, and we can have it fixed in a couple of weeks,” Graeme says.

Battery rejuvenation

When a used battery arrives, it is stripped down and all usable parts, the metal casing, fan and control module are cleaned and tested.

Cells are then connected to a computer and the viable ones matched up to form a remanufactured battery. The rest go to a recycler.

And there’s a lot of life to be had from used batteries. They can be remanufactured several times up until the cells are around ten years old.

“What we know is once a battery is ten or 11 years old the life span is greatly reduced and because we offer a three-year warranty we don’t want to put subpar cells into batteries,” he says.

Used hybrid metal battery casings, fans and control modules left over from the recycling process are refurbished and fitted with new cylindrical cells that have better cooling capacity and offer a 200,000-kilometre capability.

Repair shops mechanics can easily swap hybrid batteries, Graeme says, so long as they know how to safely depower the battery, it can be as simple as changing any other part on a vehicle.

“We offer tips and tricks for mechanics and things to look out for. The last thing we want is someone doing it in their backyard, they do something wrong, and get hurt.”