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The hardware industry is under pressure to become more sustainable, with remanufacturing an option for those keen to extend the life of devices. That is the view of Rod Neale, CEO of Circular Computing, who has built a state-of-the-art factory to remanufacture laptops to an “as new” standard, meeting rigorous BSI standards. How Neale got to this point involves recognising the limits of the traditional used market and the changing needs of partners and customers. “The new market was very unaware of the business of the used. [In the used market], you could buy big lots from, let’s say, the developed world that no longer had a value [and sell into other regions],” he said. “At that particular point, it was very much buy it for x money, sell it for more. The second use industry is worth billions of pounds, because everything that goes in, comes out.” As laptops became more powerful, the pressures on three-year refresh cycles didn’t feel as acute, and when products used in Europe then stayed in Europe, the dynamics of the industry ...