2.4 Role of SMEs
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) presence is very significant in remanufacturing
activities in Australia. This is observed in all industries. Most of the SMEs involved in
remanufacturing have been in operation for more than 20 years. Such companies probably
ventured into remanufacturing at some stage of their operations due to their accumulated
experience over the years as well as to capture more value-added. For industries with
numerous SME remanufacturers such as printing consumables – industry associations have
emerged to signal to consumers the quality of their member’s products. Such reputational
problems are less of a problem for remanufacturing activities in the automotive and
mechanical machinery and equipment industry.