Machinery

Ihobe Eusko Jaurlaritza

LIFTLOOP

RECONDITIONING OF FORKLIFT TRUCK COMPONENTS

VIBACAR's main activity is the sale, rental and after-sales service of lifting equipment. In the after-sales service, a high number of changes in electromechanical elements have been detected, generating almost 22 tonnes of metal waste annually (according to figures for 2019). This fact and the high cost of spare parts have led to the need to test the feasibility of reconditioning these components through a specific project.

To carry out LIFTLOOP, VIBACAR has relied on the collaboration of the SAN VIATOR Vocational Training Centre, the circular economy consultancy firm, ECONIA, and the digital platform in Blockchain technology, CODE CONTRACT.

VIBACAR
OBJECTIVES
  • Pilot the industrial start-up process for the reconditioning of electromechanical systems and equipment in the forklift truck sector, with a systemic and iterative model, and certified through Blockchain technology.
  • Generate a new business unit for VIBACAR, which not only supplies its own components, but can also offer reconditioned components to other companies in the sector, both in the Basque Country and at a national level, and therefore act as a driving force in the industrial sector.
RESULTS
  • Transferability of the new reconditioning business model to 12 Basque companies.
  • Estimated potential savings of 10.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.
  • Potential savings of 1.5 tonnes of avoided waste per year, as well as original material purchased.
  • Creation of a panel of economic, technical and environmental indicators.
  • Generation of industrial process documentation.
  • Digital certifications of process documentation.
CONCLUSIONS
  • The industrial start-up process has been piloted, with a systemic and iterative model (up to 3 pilots), which has given way to the opportunity of reconditioning 8 components, certified through Blockchain technology, where the economic and environmental viability has been analysed.
  • Knowledge has been generated for a new business unit for the company, aligned with the Circular Economy.
  • The project has generated interest in reconditioned products in the forklift truck sector, in terms of small distributors and importers of this type of machinery.

ENVIRONMENTAL

TECHNICAL

ECONOMIC

COMMERCIAL

ON THE MARKET

COLLABORATORS