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Last week, IPC and ITI hosted three conferences on Emerging and Critical Environmental Product Requirements. The conferences were held in three locales nationwide in order to facilitate member attendance: Ft. Lee, N.J.; Des Plaines, Ill.; and Milpitas, California. Additionally, a kickoff luncheon for member representatives in Washington, D.C. featured conference keynote speakers Steve Andrews of the U.K. Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and Dave Symons of the U.K. National Measurement and Regulatory Office.
At each of the three conferences, Andrews and Symons provided updates on changes to the RoHS, WEEE, and Battery and Eco-design Directives, as well as an overview of UK implementation and enforcement of these Directives. Awa He, of SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services Co., Ltd. In Guanzho, China provided an overview of China regulations for electronics, including China RoHS, WEEE and labelling requirements. At each location, a supply chain panel discussion rounded out the day, giving attendees the opportunity to discuss their knowledge and express any concerns. Attendee feedback from the first two conferences showed a desire for more information on REACH, so a presentation by Mike Kirshner of Design Chain Associates was added to the California event.
More than two hundred representatives of the electronics industry attended the conferences, which were described by attendees as, “an extremely informative conference,” “productive,” and “vast expertise, informative, professionally run.”
Be sure to take a look at the IPC calendar for upcoming events and opportunities to meet others from the electronics industry. On October 13, IPC will host a conference on government regulation in Essen, Germany. Updates on conflict minerals legislation, the RoHS Directive and other supply chain issues will be provided. For additional information on this conference, contact John Hasselmann, IPC vice president of government relations at JohnHasselmann@ipc.org.
