LGInternational announces RoHS compliance program

LGInternational, manufacturer of advanced labeling solutions, has announced its new RoHS compliance program. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive and its companion Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive were drafted to prevent the massive increase of electronic waste entering Europe's landfills.

LGInternational’s RoHS compliance program incorporates purchasing and manufacturing practices to ensure LGI products are compliant with the European Union’s RoHS directive. Lane Kagey, LGInternational’s chief operating officer explained: ‘Since our products are often used in the electronics industry, we decided it was important to not only proactively ensure the compliance of the products we manufacture, but also to exemplify environmental stewardship.’

As part of the RoHS compliance program, customers can benefit from a number of program elements, including:

- ROHS compliant products: unless otherwise required by the customer, all products manufactured by LGI will comply with the RoHS directives.

- Parts compliance evaluation: assesses the compliance of an existing parts inventory, such as labels, overlays, and die cut gaskets, shields and insulators.

- Wheeled bin labels: standard wheeled bin labels or customized labels displaying the symbol of WEEE compliance (crossed out wheelie bin). Go to www.lgintl.com/RoHS-WEEE-labels.htm to place an order.

- Statement of compliance: documents the referenced part is free of the six restricted substances (lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB or PBDE flame retardants) or within accepted tolerances.

RoHS exemplifies a global trend toward environmentally responsible manufacturing processes. ‘Ramping up for the EU's RoHS legislation is important, but with a strong customer base in North America, and Asia, as well as Europe, we believe this program merely sets the stage for similar legislation that is already being drafted in the United States, China, Japan and Korea,’ stated LGInternational president, Mike Martin.

RoHS takes effect on July 1, 2006 and requires electrical and electronics equipment manufacturers to eliminate six hazardous substances from their products altogether. The RoHS directives attack the problem at the beginning of a product’s life cycle ensuring that environmentally harmful substances are eliminated from the production of electronic equipment. WEEE addresses the end of a product’s life cycle by encouraging recycling and making manufacturers responsible for the collection and disposal of the products they produce.

Visit http://www.rohs-compliance.info/ for an in-depth look at RoHS and its impact on manufacturing.