APRA Symposium 2023 paid a visit to BORG Automotive’s Spanish plant
BORG Automotive, the leading independent remanufacturer of automotive replacement parts in Europe, was among the hosts of this year’s APRA Europe Symposium. As part of the mid-March networking event for the remanufacturing industry in Pamplona, Spain, participants among others visited BORG Automotive’s Spanish production facility.
The European organization of the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) is the most important representation of European remanufacturers in the automotive sector. Its member companies employ around two-thirds of the total workforce in this sector. For many years, APRA Europe has held its annual general meeting in combination with an industry-wide symposium at which participants exchange views on current trends and challenges in remanufacturing. This year, the symposium was held in Pamplona and with the support of BORG Automotive.
Among the many renowned industry experts who provided valuable contributions to the discussion in their speeches was Line Steen Meldgaard, Group Project Manager at BORG Automotive. At the company, she is responsible for cross-functional digitalization and sustainability projects, among other things. Her speech entitled “A remanufacturer’s sustainability journey – why and how data driven LCA and ESG reporting pleases both customers and investors” was also dedicated to these topics.
The highlights of the event also included a visit to BORG Automotive’s production facility in Imárcoain, a few kilometers southeast of Pamplona. Within the BORG Automotive group of companies, this location specializes in the remanufacturing of turbochargers. Here, some 200 employees restore around 65,000 used turbochargers per year to as-new condition using state-of-the-art equipment and processes. Production capacity is as high as 140,000 – sufficient to cope with the expected growth in the coming years. Since 2022, the branch has also been part of the “Navarra Zirkular” initiative sponsored by the regional government, which promotes the introduction of the circular economy in companies through public-private collaboration.
On the part of BORG Automotive Spain, Plant Director Carlos de Goñi Sara and Group Production Director Marcin Zieba welcomed the participants of the symposium, who was joined by Mikel Irujo (Regional Minister of Economic and Business Development, Government of Navarra), Javier Belarra Gorrochategui, Coordinator of ACAN (Automotive Cluster Association of Navarra), and Antonio Gil (Chair of Sustainability at the Universidad Pública de Navarra).
“Digitalization and the widespread use of electronically controlled car components pose a major challenge to the remanufacturing sector. Many contributions to the discussion was dedicated to these challenges and to the opportunities they present,” says Carlos de Goñi, Plant Manager at BORG Automotive Spain.
He resumes: “We are very pleased to be involved in this important exchange both as supporter and host of the APRA Symposium. Also, we are proud to demonstrate at our plant the potential that remanufactured turbochargers offer for circular economy and the region of Navarra in particular. Navarra intends to become one of the world’s leading producers of green hydrogen. And our turbochargers will continue to play an essential role on the road to climate-neutral mobility, as they will remain a key performance driver not just in hybrids and mild hybrids but also in hydrogen vehicles.”