ReMade – Creating more value out of less product

In 2021, Swiss telematics provider LOSTnFOUND became part of the AddSecure Group. The company markets “ReMade”, an initia­tive perfectly in line with AddSecure’s ambition to create more value out of less product.

Saving both emissions and raw material

With ReMade customers can return devices they no longer need. Customers who use “ReMade” products benefit from an attractive price-perfor­mance ratio, with no restrictions in terms of functionality nor quality of the products. Each remanufactured and re-commissioned unit saves 10 to 20 kg of CO₂ emissions and up to 10 kilo of raw material extraction compared to new production. Since the end of 2019, well over a thou­sand devices from the different product families have been reused in a systematic process.

“The prevention of e-waste begins with the production of our high-tech products. Already during the development of our end-devices, we make sure that high-quality com­ponents and production techniques are used wherever possible. Basically, we prefer the modular, somewhat more elaborate construction, to an integral design. With the “Re­Made” label we subsequently support the efforts to achieve a closed loop with the aim of reducing the downcycling of secondary raw materials,” LOSTnFOUND’s founder Daniel Thommen explains.

Giving telematics products a second life

LOSTnFOUND’s process for recycling its products consists of the following five steps.

Inspection and separation

Devices are checked for technical functions and integrity, disassem­bled into individual parts and cleaned. Thanks to the modular design of the terminals, up to 18 components such as housing parts, screws, batteries, antennas, ca­bling, connectors, or entire circuit boards can be replaced. Defective and non-repairable individual parts are further disassembled, sorted, and handed over to part­ners for professional recycling.

System update

Devices are loaded with latest available software update, config­ured, and prepared for testing.

Device testing

All devices undergo a multi-stage test and are subjected to exten­sive functional and performance tests. The same criteria apply for the evaluation of performance as for our new devices. End-devices that do not meet the test criteria are consistently sorted out.

Reassembly

LOSTnFOUND keeps an extensive spare parts warehouse for additional and replacement components. In this step, the thoroughly tested end-devices are completed with the corresponding accessories, packed in an environmentally friendly manner and marked with the “ReMade” label.

New application with a history

With the dispatch of the “ReMade products” LOSTnFOUND redistributes as good as new end-devices, giving them a second life.