Letter to the editor

Citation

(2005), "Letter to the editor", Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Vol. 17 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ssmt.2005.21917baa.001

Letter to the editor

Keywords: Electronics industry, Legislation, Small to medium-sized enterprises

Dear Sir,

Has the new EU Lead-free Electronic Legislation considered its impact on SMES?

Lead-free electronic components are most definitely on the way, with many large manufacturers already offering “green” products, but what will be the impact on the smaller OEM companies and distributors? Has the government taken them properly into consideration?

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”. 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. Forms to complete, checks to carry out and new designs to develop, is 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 the global, multimillion 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 less?

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 whilst 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 electronic 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 manufactures 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, they 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 directives and ROHs 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 SME's are the most vulnerable, so it is better to be safe than sorry (Plate 1).

Plate 1 Christos Papakyriacou

Christos PapakyriacouManaging Director, Alpha Micro Components. Web site: www.alphamicro.net