Repair, Refurbish and Remanufacture with Mats Bystedt

The surface of a product is not only the first thing we see or touch, it also plays a vital role in shaping our overall impression of a product. That’s why this R&D theme focuses on exploring how surface finishing techniques can repair, refurbish, and remanufacture products to extend their lifespan. Mats Bystedt oversees this theme and we discussed the objectives and plans with him. 

Mats Bystedt

In his role as Business Development Manager at Mirka, Mats supports the development of the fast-growing area of repairing, refurbishing, and remanufacturing.

This development has the potential to make a significant impact in reducing carbon footprint, given the lower impact of remanufacturing compared to manufacturing new products.

This theme explores how a product’s life cycle could be prolonged by new technologies and processes through the three R’s.

“There is a great potential in this theme to accelerate the green transition in the manufacturing industry”, Mats Bystedt explains.

The SHAPE ecosystem aims to foster innovative technologies and processes. One of the main goals of the RRR-theme is to improve production processes to create long-lasting products that can be easily repaired or restored in their next stage of use.

Remanufacturing processes, including surface finishing, are becoming more and more common for a variety of products - such as for phones, wind turbines, car parts, machinery and even paper machine parts. Carefully refurbished products offer both lower environmental impact and aesthetic appeal that rivals new items.

In the SHAPE ecosystem, Mirka is the expert partner in surface finishing who drives the development of new technologies to improve remanufacturing processes. Mirka seeks to collaborate with remanufacturing experts in order to understand the processes and create a viable business. The goal is to develop methods that enables new product segments to be efficiently remanufactured and refurbished.

SHAPE is building a network of partners interested in improving surface engineering by shaking traditional practices and creating new business opportunities within Finland and beyond.

“We need Finnish expertise and surface treatment actors to join and work together to help improve remanufacturing processes”, Mats says.

By joining the ecosystem, partners will tap into the network, knowledge and funding made possible by the SHAPE programme, accelerating the green transition through the three R’s – repair, refurbish and remanufacturing.

“We are looking forward to getting in touch with future partners who are considering these matters within their company”, he concludes.