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LECAVALIER AUTO PARTS is training the new generation of automotive industry to the use of recycled parts

7. Community involvement

Education

Context

Lecavalier Auto Parts is an industry which upgrades damaged vehicles and redistributes the parts to professionals in auto repair as well as to non-professionals. With 4 regional centers and a single Internet platform for the sale of recycled parts, Lecavalier Auto Parts ranks among the largest recyclers in Quebec. They manage a supply volume of 14 000 vehicles at the end of their life per year. In 2008, 473,176 vehicles reached the end of their useful life and were shredded in Quebec, the majority being forwarded directly to the junkyard. In these cases, the vehicle is completely shredded and the scrap is sent to Asia to be transformed. The residue from grinding (fluff) is itself directly buried, while the opening or expansion of landfills is becoming more difficult in the social acceptance of people in Quebec. Lecavalier Auto Parts plans to propose a sustainable alternative to this cycle.

Objectives

- Increase the life of auto parts and avoid unnecessary production of new parts (and more expensive)

- To have an upstream influence on the automotive repair industry by training future industry players on best environmental and safety practices.

APPROACH

For about 10 years Lecavalier Auto Parts has been actively involved in education and the automotive industry to improve the knowledge of all players in automotive repair. Their involvement can be seen through putting in place different services and products intended for those involved in professional training:

- Supplying training centers with recycled auto parts (2 times less expensive than new parts); intact or wrecked vehicles; assembly training corresponding to the different systems of a vehicle (more than 500 assembly trainings available, including on the latest technologies such as hybrid engines)

- Organizing two and a half hour long industrial visits for students in vocational education and four and a half hour long training for teachers and professionals in the sector (including issues in the sector of car repair).

- Support for student interns as part of vocational training

- Participation in numerous trade fairs, exhibitions, galas, etc, to promote the recycling of automotive parts.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

- Sales of recycled auto parts with professional training centers have increased from 25,000 to 82,000 Canadian dollars a year.

- Approximately 25 visits and training per year, in constant rising demand.

Benefits

- Incentives for environmentally-responsible behavior by buying recycled parts

- Reduced consumption of raw material: Lecavalier recycles 80% of a vehicle weight which means 10,192 tons per year of auto parts that don’t need to be produced or transported from Asia.

- Reduction of energy consumption required to produce new parts: 0.5 tons of CO2 per vehicle = 7000 tons CO2 per  year

- Creation of local employment: 195 for Lecavalier, 3267 for the sector, with 369 companies involved.

Mise à jour le 25/05/2016

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