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Companies Risk RoHS Fines to Avoid Cost of Compliance
By Richard Wilson -- Electronics Weekly, 8/30/2006
Some companies seem to be prepared to risk breaking the law in order to avoid the additional expensive of ensuring their products are compliant with the RoHS directive.
While many OEMs have invested in product changes in order to bring their products into line with the European directive on hazardous substances which came into force in July, there may be companies that are prepared to bend the rules rather than make the design changes necessary to comply.
It is the contract manufacturers (CEM) which have found themselves at the sharp end. Despite making multi-million pound/dollar investments of their own in lead-free production equipment and processes, the CEMs still find a small number of customers asking for non-compliant products.
According to one manufacturer: “We believe we have been very careful in making sure that we are not supplying product knowingly containing lead unless we were sure that the product/customer is exempt. That said some customers have said that it is probably cheaper to take the fine rather than redesign.”
Another company told Electronics Weekly it had stopped doing business with one customer as it was unwilling to build with leaded material and declare it lead free.
The confusion over which products are officially exempt from the RoHS rules is one area where some companies believe they may have found a loop-hole through the rules. It is possible that some companies are ignoring the advice on compliance provided by industry bodies and government and have put significant effort into trying to go the exemption route.
However, all manufacturers spoken to did say that the majority of customers are determined to comply with the lead-free regulations in getting their product made.
So far, there have been no reports of action being taken by the U.K.’s National Weights and Measures Laboratory, which has the role of policing the RoHS rules.
Electronics Weekly is the London-based sister publication of Electronic News.
