IT company sees growth in demand for refurbishment

A successful IT company in the North East has seen a growth in demand for refurbished computers and other equipment.

Darlington-based Resilient Business Systems, a one-stop-shop IT company helping small to medium businesses with their IT requirements, has seen an increase in sales for its refurbished devices by 75 percent over the last 12 months.

Since 2019, the company has sold over 55 refurbished items and estimate that they have saved at least 600 kilos of waste. 

This increase is partly due to people seeking better and cheaper devices to work remotely during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as well as a heightened awareness of environmental responsibilities and the benefits refurbishing electrical devices offers.

“We have been refurbishing machines for a number of years now and demand has gone through the roof this year” said Michelle Read, who owns Resilient Business Systems with her husband Andrew. “We obtain reconditioned laptops, desktops, surface pros, and monitors and they usually cost around half the price of a new one.

“As they can be built with higher specifications for a lower cost, the devices are much more economical for our customers, especially in the current climate when large outgoings are not necessarily advisable.”

Buying refurbished equipment will also significantly reduce waste that is harmful to both human health and the planet.

Climate Action North’s Managing Director, Sharon Lashley, invested in a refurbished laptop two years ago. She said: “The amount of waste produced each year is growing at an increasingly alarming rate. Refurbishment is an excellent way to avoid sending a gadget to the landfill and my laptop is in excellent condition and works brilliantly. You really don’t notice any difference to a new device.”

Resilient Business Systems also offer a free service compliant with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE) directive for all its customers where the hard drives of old IT equipment are wiped using software that has been certified by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The machines are then either refurbished and given to charities, repurposed internally, or recycled. The equipment that is to be collected for recycled is held until there is a large amount so only one collection is needed a year, which keeps the environmental impact to a minimum and their latest collection over 650 kilos.

Michelle added: “Given that all machines being replaced, whether by new or refurbished machines, are put through our tiered WEEECO system, we have made a huge impact on reducing waste and we plan to build upon this in coming years.”

Resilient Business Systems have been an active supporter and sponsor of Climate Action North since its start up in 2017.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, get in touch.

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