Business 12 www.aftermarketonline.net JUNE 2026 Remanufactured parts: changing the conversation in the workshop As the availability of remanufactured components grows, Aftermarket spoke with Tomasz Galazka, Head of Global Remanufacturing Strategy and Business Development at ZF Aftermarket, to understand the benefits of using remanufactured components and how those benefits can be reinforced with customers. For many independent garages, remanufacturing still sits in a slightly awkward place. It clearly offers something – lower cost, a more sustainable repair, and better availability – but some customers remain hesitant. The idea that it is simply a second-hand part, and therefore somehow a compromise, has not entirely gone away. What garages are fitting, though, is not a reused component in the traditional sense, but one that has been through a controlled, industrial process designed to bring it back to original equipment (OE) standard. ZF Aftermarket’s remanufactured units, for example, are validated and tested in much the same way as new parts, with the same quality benchmarks, audit processes and endof-line testing applied. In fact, in one case, one of ZF’s products underwent 18 months of continuous testing before it was released to market. “We bring the components to the same standard as OE products, like new, and sometimes better,” Tomasz Galazka, Head of Global Remanufacturing Strategy and Business Development at ZF Aftermarket, said. That is a useful line for workshops to hold onto, because it reframes the conversation. This is not about compromise. It is about delivering OElevel performance in a different way. It is also worth being clear that remanufacturing is not suitable for every component, and being upfront about that helps build credibility. Larger mechanical parts and complex mechatronic units tend to offer the most value, where the original manufacturing effort and material content can be recovered. By contrast, low-cost or high-wear items such as brake pads or certain sensors are often cheaper to replace than to remanufacture. That balanced view matters because one of the biggest challenges is not resistance from customers but understanding. Many vehicle owners do
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