Bumper (and Light) Crop: Ford Program Celebrates 10 Years, Keeping 120 Million Pounds Of Damaged Parts From Landfills

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• About 120 million pounds of damaged vehicle parts have been processed through the Ford Core Recovery Program since its inception; program celebrates 10 years in 2013
• Reusing parts as often as possible helps control costs and quality while conserving valuable resources and giving new life to vehicle components otherwise likely destined for a junkyard or landfill
• In the last two years, bumpers and headlights were added to the list of parts recycled or remanufactured through the program; about 26,000 headlight units were collected in the last year alone

Ford's recycling and remanufacturing program has kept 120 million pounds of damaged vehicle parts from landfills since 2003, effectively ending the days when the crack of a headlamp or crunch of a bumper would render useless such components.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121227/DE34834 )

The Core Recovery Program oversees collection, remanufacturing and recycling of damaged parts – everything from small sensors and fuel injectors to large engine parts – from Ford vehicles that have been repaired through the company's dealer network.

Several issues necessitated the program – from more complex and expensive parts in cars and trucks to a need to get more control over the sale of aftermarket components to a need to recycle more.

In the last nine years, about 120 million pounds have been collected and the list of parts recycled or remanufactured continues growing. In the last two years, bumpers and headlights were added to the list. In the short time since, about 62,000 bumpers have been collected while about 26,000 headlights have been recycled.

"Most parts that come back to us through the program still have a lot of life left," says Kim Goering, manager of Ford's remanufacturing and recycling programs. "That makes a strong business case to do whatever we can to extend the life of these components. Even more important, however, is that Ford strongly believes it's just the right thing to do from an environmental perspective."

Remanufacturing history

Ford has remanufactured parts for decades, but it formed the Core Recovery Program in 2003. The impetus was that there were too many different collection methods being used in various parts of the company, making it too hard and confusing for all the parties involved – from the dealers to those managing Ford's supply chain.

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