Contempoary Controls RoHS Compliance Plan

Click Here to View a Roadmap of the RoHS Conversion Process

Background

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) has issued Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Member states shall ensure that, from July 1, 2006, new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market does not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Maximum concentration levels (MCV) are 0.1% by weight (0.01% for cadmium) in homogeneous materials. A homogeneous material is a single sbustance. Therefore components are not homogeneous substances since they are composed of several materials each with the potential of containing the banned substances. All components within a product must be examined to ensure that no banned substances exist in order to meet this Directive.

A second Directive, 2002/96/EC, deals with waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). It seeks the prevention of waste electrical and electronic equipment, and in addition, the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce waste disposal. Both directives will have a significant impact on Contemporary Controls' operations and future business.

Although the European market is large, it is not the only one in which Contemporary Controls participates. The company continues to produce leaded and lead-free products to various markets worldwide. However, other countries are following the EU initiatives, and will soon develop similar restrictions. The company's intention is to eventually convert all production over to lead-free. It is simply too difficult to maintain both a leaded line and a lead-free line with the inherent risk of contaminating the lead-free line.

Not all the company's customers want or need lead-free products. Some customers are insisting that the products they purchase should not be changed. In addition, there are exemptions to the RoHS Directive allowing for leaded products to continue to be sold in Europe. Contemporary Controls has always prided itself in supporting its customers by providing products beyond a normal life-cycle. Some of the company's products are over 20-years-old and lead-free substitutes do not exist. This is part of the challenge in converting to lead-free.