APRA Says “Remanufacturing Means Jobs”

Although ISS has kept pace with changes in both the remanufacturing and manufacturing industries, it often seems like media (and America at large) often overlook the real environmental and economic value of the former in favor of the latter. Manufacturing gets the hype, while reman gets ignored. The truth, though, is that we feel each has a special niche in parts supply.

We fully stand behind the APRA (Automotive Parts Remanufactures Association) when they sent a letter to all 100 members of the U.S. Senate and 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. APRA President Bill Gager asked them to seriously look at remanufacturing as a way to create jobs.

Gager stated, “Nothing creates good permanent jobs like the remanufacturing industry. So, as you (Congress) begin to deal with job creation in today’s economy, we would encourage you to seriously look at how public policy may be used to help the remanufacturing industry expand here in the United States.”

APRA estimates that there are more than 500,000 jobs in the remanufacturing industry and they include products as diverse as automotive and truck parts, toner cartridges, electronic equipment, cell phones, office furniture, locomotive, electrical transformers, air conditioning compressor units for office buildings,off-road construction equipment, agriculture and mining equipment, hydraulic pumps for all types of applications, and the list goes on.

Gager added, “Just about anything that is manufactured can be remanufactured, adding a second or third life to capital goods.”

Gager concluded, “Trade promotion, tax credits, job creation incentives and targeted grants are some ways to help the remanufacturing industry expand. We ask all members of Congress to join us in our mission of job creation.”

ISS has seen first-hand how warranty remanufacturing can create American jobs, because we have done it. Over the past 15 years our instrument, audio, BCM, and circuit board remanufacturing and exchange facilities have tripled in volume, adding numerous great employees to our own team. Our specialty is combining warranty remanufacturing and customer-pay remanufacturing, but we have seen both sides grow for us.

ISS does not pick favorites in deciding between build-new manufacturing and remanufacturing. Every client we speak with has unique needs in its supply chain. (Sometimes, we find that a mix of both can be the most cost-effective solution, where we both manufacture components and use those components for remanufacture.)  But we are happy to see the attention shift a little toward an industry that is by nature both green and focused on American job creation.

How can we help you find a solution for your company? Contact Us today!

Lockout Technology Secures Replacement Parts, and Profits, for Vehicle Manufacturers and Tier-One Parts Suppliers

Over the past decade, we have seen a major trend in vehicle manufacturers to include Lock-Out Technology in high-value components. These computer chip-based systems require parts to have factory-issued security codes to correspond to vehicle parts, or they will not function.  Increasingly, high-value replacement parts must be Vehicle Manufacturer (VM) approved, or they are useless.

The relative cost to implement this technology into existing chips is fairly small relative to the gain in market share it may realize. Thus, business is booming in this area.  In one high-end manufacturer that we are aware of, the security technology appears in all the following parts:

• Key/Lock Alarm System
• Steering Lock
• Shifter Lock
• Pushbutton Start System
• Engine PCM
• Instrument Cluster
• Transmission Shift Actuator
• Transmission TCU

Typical Vehicle Network

How this Impacts the Auto Industry

In many cases this prevents that part from being remanufactured or even re-used in the aftermarket. This drives parts business away from independent aftermarket suppliers and toward the vehicle OEM-authorized distribution network, where both the OEM and the Tier-One suppliers can capture more market.

Obviously, many in the aftermarket see this as a major threat. Salvage shops and parts repair shops, that make their livelihoods off high-value parts like transmissions seem the most threatened at the moment. But even major parts distributors must wonder how long before starter motors, alternators and other parts need a specially coded computer chip to function properly. However worrying it may be to them, though, the practice is perfectly legal. And for profit-motivated OEM’s looking to both horizontally and vertically integrate, it’s inevitable.

This of course does not mean that the OEM can simply charge whatever it wants for replacement parts. The aftermarket is adaptable so some levels of reverse engineering are going to be inevitable. More importantly, though, in today’s competitive auto industry Total Cost of Ownership is more than a buzzword. Consumers want vehicles that are affordable to maintain, and no Vehicle Manufacturer can afford to be known for outrageous repair prices. These codes are a path to replacement parts market share, not a license to print money without regard to the vehicle brand. Driving down costs for the OEM and the consumer is a major focus at ISS. As is the drive to improve quality.

Scott Haugen, President at ISS, puts it best: “ISS sees the rise of this technology as an opportunity. We operate as both a Tier-One/service parts supplier, and as a Factory Authorized Remanufacturing Center. On the Tier-One side, it opens us up to a larger customer base, as we are the ones working with the Manufacturer to supply specially coded replacement parts. On the remanufacturing side, we work with the OEM to ensure parts are properly coded during the remanufacturing and exchange process.

“For both, we offer the highest quality of parts manufacturing and remanufacturing processes available anywhere, ensuring TS-level quality for both the Vehicle Manufacturer and the end consumer.”

For more than 60 years, our clients have often found us to be the shortest, easiest, most high-quality path for the VM and our Tier-One colleagues to capture aftermarket parts market share. We view this lockout technology to be an excellent means to that end.

For more information on how we can help you in the future contact us today!
Source: APRA

Audi Reveals Plans for Wireless Charging, New Lightweight Components, Predictive Suspension, and More

Bertone Nuccio Concept Carries the Wedgy-Car Torch [Geneva Auto Show]

Happy New Year 2012

Tips for 2012

- Awareness of what behavior or trait you want to eliminate and/or create.

- Let Go of past mistakes – don’t beat yourself up, rather focus on positive results.

- Inspire yourself with an exciting and creative goal that will guide you.

- Visualize what it will take to achieve your goal.

- Energize for the journey to your goal with: physical, mental, emotional.

- How will I engage with Instrument Sales this coming year.

Dealerships around the county are unaware that ISS is one of the largest west coast remanufacturing facilities that can help with with their instrument clusters & radios. Our process is simple. Our shipping is fast. Our customer service is superior. Change is good.

We have built a reputation that exceeds our competitors by carrying electro-mechanical parts that others just don’t stock. ISS has had the broadest selection of specialty instrument, switch, air conditioning and cable products in the industry. With premium brands ranging from Red Dot to Stewart Warner to Cole Hersee, their jobber, fleet, OEM and installer customers have greatly benefited from a massive selection of high-quality parts.

Don’t forget about our most recent overhaul we just did on Partdeal.com which primarily focuses on heavy-duty applications. “We support tractors, construction, off-road equipment…if it’s got a diesel engine, we can probably help you!” Widely regarded as the national expert in this areas, their site will host the largest selection of pyrometers, lead wires thermocouples on the internet. We are improving the site daily by offering features that our customers have been asking for.

Social media…. We Tweet, We Post, We Poke, We want you to “LIKE US”. Make 2012 a year to remember.
“Go ahead, make our day”

Ahhhh – The Price of Silver and Gold

No, I’m not talking about the commodities silver and gold. Though we probably all wish we had copious amounts of these now very precious metals.

What I am talking about is known good and bad articles in a manufacturing or re-manufacturing business used to verify the calibration status of our testing equipment. These parts are usually finished assemblies or sub-assemblies used to verify testing to validate that testing equipment is passing and rejecting the units that you want it to.

In electronic manufacturing most often the final manufactured piece is tested on a piece of test equipment that has been verified using a known GOOD component. This is typically called the GOLD component. In our re-manufacturing facility ISS also uses a known bad component or SILVER component to ensure that our test equipment is rejecting units that should not pass. Since we re-manufacture it is important that our test equipment be able to test all clusters and radios for faults so we use both types of tests for verification. Through this process ISS establishes a calibration schedule to ensure quality control, and therefore the final product, is defect free.

To learn more about Instrument Sales & Service capabilities or to get started with your project Contact Us today!

NOW, Where did I put that Darn Catalog?

You may need to look no further than your mail box, as ISS customers around the world are receiving their copies of the new ISS product catalog.

Take a blast through the past with featured cartoons created by the legendary automotive artist Pete Millar. You won’t want to skip a single page of quality parts, information such as how to order a cable and car humor that sparks memories of the good old days.

Our catalog has a few of your favorite products with several brands including Cole Hersee, RedDOT, Cablecraft, VDO, Hella Lights and Webasto just to name a few. So, regardless if you’re looking for gauges, HVAC, custom cables, lighting, switches we have much more to offer.

ISS knows that customers have different needs and with that in mind has designed specialty catalogs that focus on different segments of the industry.

The Air conditioning Specialist Catalog features information on hose sizes, provides a maintenance check list that you can provide to your customers or use to track your own fleet. Want to make repairs in the field, the new Aeroquip E-Z clip system will show you how.

The catalog for OEM’s outlines the total package that ISS provides, from engineering, sourcing, sub-assembly, warehousing and exchange. ISS is the first and only choice of many OEMS for instrumentation, sensors, controls and much more.

The Special Edition Fleet catalog offers products that provide operator information, comfort, control and safety for both for on road and off road fleets of any type and size.

If you haven’t received your copy yet, would like to request another for a friend or would like to become an ISS customer, don’t be bashful call at 800-333-7976 or online by clicking here

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Iss launches top notch HVAC Production Line

This past month, ISS launched its newest production line.  The output is an OEM in-dash HVAC control head (all of the knobs, buttons, and lights for the heat and AC in your car). Lance Bergfalk and Walt Barrer have established one of the most technologically advanced lines ever utilized at our Portland facility, the work cell is equipped with ESD safe conveyor belts triggered by optic sensors, calibrated electronic hand tools, and a fully automated end of line test unit that not only verifies all functions of the final product, but even “looks” at the face to make sure it is cosmetically correct.

The latest and greatest process engineering philosophies went into developing the production flow of this new line, allowing the production of over two hundred units a day with minimal manual labor.  In addition to these techniques saving time, we were also able to save space.  While this line will have one of the largest volume capacities of any of our production lines, it also takes up the smallest amount of space of any our work cells.  The entire operation would fit easily in the average American living room.

This project was made possible by the hard work and collaboration of several ISS entities, including:  Terry Watson and Brian Clark (Quality), Corey Pischel (Production), Seth Thoebes and Brian Kincaid (Procurement/Logistics), Lawrance Griffiths (Business Development).

We are excited to get the line into high gear, and to apply everything we have learned to past, present, and future production lines.

Engineers Wing

A red ribbon cutting ceremony took place at the Portland branch of ISS. New offices were opened to facilitate the Engineers’ Wing, which includes engineering, production, purchasing, quality and design teams. Ron and Theresa cut the figurative ribbon to signal forward motion of resources and personnel as ISS takes on more projects and challenges.
Ron (some say the best tour guides in the business) showed off the new wing in his best Vanna White style.

Scott met with the Portland staff and outlined the proposed future course of ISS, a “State of the Union” address. This encouraging and motivating speech was followed by a lunch prepared by  Tom’s pizza parlor.

ISS Catalog Features Legendary Cartoonist

New ISS Catalog Features Legendary Cartoonist Pete Millar

We’ve always been known for quirky gags in our parts catalogs. However, this year the family of legendary automotive cartoonist Pete Millar was generous enough to allow us to celebrate his work.

In the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s, Pete wrote, drew and often edited and published a variety of magazines, including Drag Cartoons.

Although he passed away in 2003, he had a huge impact on a number of gearheads/chuckleheads at ISS. He was more well-known for his 3 to 5 page cartoons (which, unfortunately, don’t lend themselves to catalogs.) We’ve included some of our favorite smaller pieces, but please visit his site, laffyerasphalt.com, for more. Also, look for Pete’s original artwork at the SEMA show in November!

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