Hi folks - my name is Ted Doubov and I am the Technical Sales Manager for Anton/Bauer. Having just recently joined the Steadicam forum, I wanted to shed a little insight on our perspective regarding the trade-in vs. re-cell discussion.
High-powered lithium-ion batteries are volatile and our primary duty of care is to ensure the safety of our customers and our products. Secondary to human safety, we also need to uphold the integrity of our products to both preserve the life of any equipment powered by the battery, and to uphold the performance standards expected of a premium battery product.
Some of the engineering methods used to reduce heat and to prolong the life of the battery means that re-celling modern batteries is difficult and could significantly reduce the performance of the battery, and in addition to this, safety certifications prohibit the shipping of lithium-ion battery cells without protective circuit boards making this an expensive option.
The trade-offs in safety and performance far outweigh the benefits of re-celling a battery to extend the life of the case.
We do of course recognize that we have a responsibility to care for the environment and to engage in sustainable manufacturing. We keep the plastic materials used in our products under review, testing new blends as they become available. To date, we have not yet found an alternative blend that meets the stringent safety and flammability standards required for certification, but we continue to seek ways to make our products more sustainable.
As part of our efforts to become more sustainable, we have partnered with Call2Recycle to provide a convenient method for recycling Anton/Bauer batteries when they reach end of life. Call2Recycle break each product down into multiple waste streams to ensure that as much of the product is reused as possible. We are committed to the success of the recycling program and are pleased to offer a discount incentive to encourage people to recycle our products responsibly.
I hope this clarifies some of the 'why' behind the trade-in program rather than a re-celling approach.. please don't hesitate to reach out if there are any questions about this.
Thank you,
Ted
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