The delegation from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember – which is also known as ITS – travelled approximately 1,000 kilometres from the university campus in Surabaya City, East Java, to Liebherr Indonesia’s East Kalimantan location. Three professors were part of the ITS delegation as well as students, and laboratory assistants from the university. All were from ITS’ Manufacturing Systems Laboratory, which is part of the university’s Industrial Technology and Systems Engineering faculty. This laboratory focuses on smart, sustainable manufacturing processes for industrial applications.
Learning from Liebherr Indonesia
During the visit, the ITS contingent was given a guided tour of the remanufacturing centre and learned about the entire remanufacturing process – from receiving and disassembling the parts all the way through to assembly, testing and quality control – from Liebherr Indonesia’s seasoned technical team. The group could chat directly with the team about manufacturing technology and operational efficiency to enhance their theoretical knowledge about remanufacturing process – something that was particularly valuable for the students. Thanks to the industry insights from Liebherr Indonesia and the facilities at the Balikpapan site, the students saw that remanufacturing isn’t just a repair process but is a strategic solution for reducing waste and extending the lifespan of vital assets.
‘For a system to work well, it is important to ensure that the theories developed by academics are actually applied directly in the field. Theory and practice must be in line and support each other so that the system can function effectively, efficiently and achieve the desired goal, which is to produce the highest quality equivalent to a new product,’ says Prasetyo Stefanus, remanufacturing manager for Liebherr Indonesia.
‘We greatly appreciate the trust given that ITS, as the government’s partner in developing clearer standards and sub-codes for the remanufacturing industry, has placed in us by making Liebherr Indonesia one of the benchmarks in this sector,’ adds Firdaus Sjoekri, managing director of finance and administration for Liebherr Indonesia. ‘We believe that collaboration like this is important to ensure that the standards developed truly reflect best practices in the field and support the sustainable growth of the remanufacturing industry in Indonesia.’
Remanufacturing at Liebherr
Remanufacturing is just one of the many ways that Liebherr helps its customers to meet their sustainability targets. Liebherr’s remanufacturing processes are designed to reuse as much existing material as possible – while keeping existing parts and components in the value chain – which minimises the greenhouse gases emitted and raw materials used when servicing Liebherr machines.
After seeing Liebherr’s remanufacturing process for herself, Dr Maria Anityasari – head of ITS’ Manufacturing Systems Laboratory – expressed her admiration for the company’s innovative approach.
‘From what I have seen, Liebherr’s remanufacturing implementation is very advanced and aligns well with current industry challenges, particularly in sustainability,’ she says.
Innovative remanufacturing in Balikpapan
The Balikpapan facility was inaugurated in February of this year and is now part of Liebherr Mining’s global network of remanufacturing centres. Each of the 12 centres, including Balikpapan, are strategically located to be as close to customers as possible so that local mining businesses can experience the benefits of remanufacturing for themselves. With this new centre, Liebherr Indonesia has been able to expand its remanufacturing capabilities. The updated equipment, processes and layout make it easier for Liebherr Indonesia to deliver high-quality components with greater consistency.
‘We’re proud of what the remanufacturing team in Balikpapan has been able to achieve in the months since the opening of the new centre and we’re so excited that professors and students from one of Indonesia’s top universities got to see how our work helps our customers to minimise waste and maximise the lives of their Liebherr machines,’ says Sjoekri.
