[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

IBM is opening its first-ever server remanufacturing center in China.  The new center, located in Shenzhen, will help reduce the impact of e-waste on the environment by extending the life of older IT equipment that otherwise would go into landfills, says Big Blue.  IBM will also buy back select IBM Power Systems from clients as they upgrade to new IBM equipment.

The new facility expands IBM’s global remanufacturing and refurbishment operations in Australia, Singapore, Japan, Brazil,Canada, France, Germany and the United States. IBM is the first IT provider licensed by the government to remanufacture servers in mainland China.

The Shenzhen facility will initially remanufacture mid-range IBM Power Systems.  The facility will expand to remanufacture 100,000 PCs and low-end and mid-range IBM and non-IBM servers per year by 2014.

Richard Dicks, General Manager – IBM Global Asset Recovery Services): The demand for IT products in emerging markets is growing; however, not all businesses want to purchase new products.

IBM takes back IBM and non-IBM equipment at end of lease or when a client decides to upgrade in mid-lease.  In addition to remanufacturing and certifying equipment, IBM Global Asset Recovery Services handles complete removal and dismantling of unwanted or end-of-life IT products.

China represents a promising opportunity for IBM Certified Pre-owned Equipment, says IBM, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that want to lower IT costs, or for clients that need to meet short-term IT project requirements, find emergency replacements or expand existing IBM infrastructure when a specific model is no longer in production.

IBM Global Asset Recovery Services is a unit of IBM Global Financing.