A bearing Remanufacturing solution offered by SKF Authorised Distributer, Bearings 2000, in collaboration with the SKF Circular Economy Centre, is delivering significant monetary savings for a key customer while also contributing to a greener planet.
When the customer, a prominent stakeholder in the Western Cape food & beverage industry, required sustainable bearing remanufacturing services to help meet their sustainability needs, they reached out to their local SKF Authorised Distributor, Bearings 2000, for assistance in early 2022.
“The bearings that required attention are installed on a Rolling/Flaking mill that is designed to flatten cereals and hulled grains during the manufacture of oatmeal, buckwheat, pearl barley, finely ground barley, corn, wheat, rice, and other flakes,” explains SKF Circular Economy Centre Manager, Lourens Pretorius.
Wynand Jurg, Regional Business Development and Head of Training at Bearings 2000, conducted a site visit to determine bearing reman suitability. While some of the bearings were still in a very good condition with limited operating hours, 28 bearings were not in good shape but were fortunately fit for remanufacture.
Bearings 2000 provided extensive training to the customer on the correct bearing dismounting and mounting procedures. Once the customer had dismounted and packed the bearings, Bearings 2000 collected the units and the SKF Circular Economy Centre was then able to provide the customer with the necessary remanufacturing services. During 2022, the 28 bearings were refurbished and given a new life in SKF’s Reman Centre based at head office in Jet Park, Johannesburg.
Pretorius discusses some of the benefits offered by remanufacturing used bearings: “Firstly, compared to new bearings, the lead times for remanufactured bearings are essentially much shorter and are also a fraction of the cost. Furthermore, by remanufacturing instead of scrapping the used bearings extend the bearing service life, subsequently increasing both plant and critical spares availability and efficiency. And most importantly, reman also improves machine and operator safety.” Pretorius adds that by smartly replacing the bearings during each planned maintenance shutdown, the customer also avoids unnecessary downtime. “All in all, by opting for the remanufacturing services provided by SKF, our customer realised significant cost savings last year.”
Bearing remanufacturing also helps to stem global warming by offering significant green benefits. SKF presented the customer with an Emissions Avoidance Certificate that quantifies the sustainability impact and benefits by having their bearings remanufactured instead of purchasing new bearings. “It contains the weight of the steel that was saved, in this instance 1 876 kg, as well as how much steel was re-used during the refurbishment process,” notes Pretorius. “The certificate also provides information on reduced direct energy consumption of 16 000 kWH as well as how much CO² emissions i.e. 6 900 tons, was avoided.”
This is an ongoing project and Bearings 2000 closely monitors the usage and install on these bearings to ensure that they have the correct data on how these units perform. “We hold regular meetings with the customer and mark each unit individually when it goes in and how many times we are able to run it through the reman process,” affirms Jurg.
The success of this project has prompted Bearings 2000 to use the case study to launch an online campaign in a bid to help increase awareness of the sustainability impact of remanufactured bearings and how other stakeholders can contribute to sustainability.
Jurg, concludes, “We at Bearings 2000 believe in optimised rotation with the entire bearing life cycle at the core. A firm understanding of our customer’s needs helps us achieve the maximum bearing service life, optimise machine performance, and improve machine and operator safety. B2K is committed to be the technical partner of choice for our customers and continuously engaging with them through various platforms. A simplified purchasing experience ensures getting the right part at the right time and at the right price.” Bearings 2000, a Level 1 B-BBEE company, was established in 1992 and appointed SKF Authorised Distributor in 2021. The Johannesburg head office is supported by hubs in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
