Product category:
Electronics Manufacturing Materials and Consumables
News Release from: Alpha Micro Components | Subject: Lead-free processing
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 30 November 2004
SMEs face burden of new legislation
Christos Papakyriacou, MD of Alpha Micro Components, discusses some of the challenges faced by SMEs in the transition to lead-free processing.
The looming deadline of 2006 for the UK and all other EU members, in the electronics industry, to produce and offer lead-free components is something that smaller manufacturers and distributors hoped would pass them by Without the extra resources or funding, many electronics companies have been carrying on with "business as usual"
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 20 Nov 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Stopping business in order to devise new lead free products or scrapping a whole franchised range because it contains lead is simply not an option for many companies in the UK and across the continent.
In an ideal world everyone would love to see that the transition to lead-free and the elimination of hazardous material go smoothly, but this is one of the biggest changes the electronics industry has ever made, which is not going to be without its side-effects.
When new legislation comes in, with it comes a lot of red tape and bureaucracy, which can be very time-consuming.
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Forms to complete, checks to carry out and new designs to develop, are not a problem for large manufacturers who have in-house quality assurance teams and a large number of engineers, whose sole purpose is to implement new initiatives and brief other employees.
Electronics giants Panasonic and Sony are already offering "green" alternatives, demonstrating that global, multi-million-pound companies can achieve what is being asked of them.
But is it fair to enforce the same legislation on a local UK SME of 20 employees or fewer?.
Blanket legislation does not appear to be an effective approach.
In my experience, it is the case that everybody in smaller companies has to pull together, which takes up valuable time that should be spent on developing products and relationships with customers.
Small engineering teams cannot cope under the strain of doing their daily workload as well as trying to implement new designs, which offer lead-free alternatives.
The worst-case scenario is that smaller companies will lose money and sales opportunities while trying to implement new strategies.
Although there has been a lot of advanced warning, there does not seem to have been very much support and advice from the Government as how electronics companies should comply with new legislation, or at least it is not very easy to get hold of.
In the case of distributors, developing new lead-free components is not a problem, but the question of what they are going to do with all the stock they currently hold which contains lead has not been addressed.
Again for an SME to just get rid of whole lines, due to the fact that they contain lead, could be extremely detrimental to its business.
Some manufacturers who are already offering lead-free alternatives have not been receiving any major demand for these products yet.
It seems that quite a substantial part of the electronics industry, whether it is distribution, manufacturing or design, is just carrying on as usual, or perhaps it is just the calm before the storm.
There has been much discussion over the issue that China, the largest electronics and component producer in the world, does not have to comply with any EU legislation.
So in terms of lead and other toxic materials, Chinese companies can still produce equipment in the same way, with the same materials for the foreseeable future.
This will have a great impact on the UK and European market, as it will be difficult for OEMs and ODMs to find or in some cases be unable to buy lead-free from Asia, which in turn will mean there will be a smaller resource of components, and prices may well increase.
This may actually be more destructive to European electronics companies and make Europe as whole less competitive in the global market.
That's not to say it is all doom and gloom.
After all the intense hype, worry and panic, the new WEEE and RoHS Directives may actually be implemented with success across Europe.
Instead of causing the European electronics industry to crash, it could actually encourage Europe to buy from within instead of seeking out cheaper Asian alternatives, increasing business within the EU.
It is an important step that Europe is making, and it demonstrates the importance and value the electronics industry has for the environment.
My advice to the electronics industry as a whole is start doing some research and get prepared.
The information is out there, but it is not going to be handed to you in nice bite-size chunks.
Changes are definitely on way, and SMEs are the most vulnerable, so it is better to be safe than sorry.
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