The shift towards refurbishment is more than a market trend

Industrial electronics refurbishment has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. What once began as a nontransparent niche has grown into a technically sophisticated and strategically important sector. Today, refurbishment plays a key role in sustainability, supply chain resilience, cost control, and industrial uptime.

Refurbished components were once considered a last resort, used only when new parts were unavailable. Now, companies increasingly see refurbishment as a smart and reliable alternative.

Jig Sevinga, Partner at Arthur D. Little, has followed the industry’s development closely. He explains how serious refurbishment companies built strong technical foundations.

“Over the years, serious refurbishment companies built full organisations around the technical content of industrial components,” Sevinga says. “They learned what breaks, how to fix it, how to test it, and how to certify it. Quality became reproducible rather than accidental.”

According to Sevinga, the COVID 19 pandemic accelerated this shift. Supply chains fractured, lead times stretched into months, and refurbishment became essential rather than optional.

“When new components were unavailable,” Sevinga notes, “refurbishment shifted from optional to essential. That experience fundamentally changed market perception.”

Customers have also become more aware of refurbishment as webshops and price transparency normalised the option.Wolter de Jong, Chief Operating Officer at JC Electronics, highlights this change:

“The market of refurbished electronics used to be very nontransparent. Today, buyers can actually see what exists and compare prices and lead times. This transparency normalised refurbished options and boosted trust.”

Refurbished components also offer clear economic benefits, helping manufacturers avoid expensive upgrades and reduce downtime.

Trust remains a key challenge, especially due to low quality providers in the past. High quality refurbishers counter this with professional testing, certification, and warranties. As Sevinga puts it, “The introduction of meaningful warranty terms is the clearest sign the market has matured.” Sustainability regulation such as the CSRD is further accelerating adoption.

Refurbishment reduces emissions, waste, and raw material use. De Jong illustrates the impact with concrete numbers: “In the past twelve months, we have saved 3.400 tonnes of CO₂ and 1 million m³ of drinking water.”

Both Sevinga and De Jong emphasise that refurbishment is not only an economic or regulatory development, but also a cultural shift grounded in engineering craftsmanship and circular thinking.

De Jong shares a quote from one of the founders: “What has worked before, can always work again.”

In that sense, refurbishment is far more than a market trend. It is a future focused approach that combines sustainability, resilience, and the belief that well designed technology deserves a longer life.