Redemtech co-founders create Sage SE

Houghton	Vask

Robert Houghton and Jill Vask, two electronics recycling sector veterans, have jointly formed an IT asset disposition and refurbishing company called Sage Sustainable Electronics LLC, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company says it will have a processing facility at its Columbus headquarters as well as processing operations on both the East and West Coasts.

Vask and Houghton co-founded the firm Redemtech in 1998. That company was a two-time Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in IT Asset Disposition. The company was sold to Arrow Electronics in 2012.

According to Houghton, CEO of Sage, the electronics industry is neglecting reuse opportunities when IT assets are retired. “We’re reusing less and recycling more than ever before. Values for used electronics are falling. Ultimately, customers and the environment are paying the price.”

Houghton says Sage's business model is based on using innovative methods and up-to-the-minute technology to reuse more and recycle less of what they receive, improving both financial and environmental results for its customers.

“Our mission is to make the world more sustainable by creating longer life for used electronics,” says Vask, president of Sage SE. “Of course financial benefits accrue from improving wasteful practices, but there are also many social benefits from making low cost refurbished electronics available to underserved low income markets.

“By starting fresh, we're able to innovate in ways we only dreamed of before,” Vask continues.

Sage will be the first fully data-driven electronics refurbisher, using “big data” technology, advanced analytics and workflow automation to increase both efficiency and reuse to unprecedented levels, according to Vask.

“Customers will also be more secure,” Vask adds. “We are building the world’s largest repository of data security information to ensure that every data bearing device is sanitized.”

The company says it expects to launch its national service Jan. 6, 2015. In addition to the three processing centers, Sage says it intends to add a facility every six months over the next two years.