congatec AG
Auwiesenstrasse 5
94469 Deggendorf, Germany
Tel +49 (991) 2700-0
info(at)congatec.com
   
 

RoHS Commitment

congatec AG is committed to develop and produce environmentally friendly products according to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive (2002/95/EC) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (2002/96/EC) established by the European Union.
The RoHS directive was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union and came into effect on July 1, 2006. It is not a law but a directive, which restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacturing of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC, which has set targets for collection, recycling and recovery of electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic e-waste.
Each European Union member state is adopting its own enforcement and implementation policies using the directive as a guide. Therefore, there could be as many different versions of the law as there are states in the EU. Additionally, non-EU countries like China, Japan, or states in the U.S. such as California may have their own regulations for green products, which are similar to but not identical to the RoHS directive. RoHS is often referred to as the "lead-free" directive but it restricts the use of the following substances:

  • Lead
  • Mercury
  • Cadmium
  • Chromium VI
  • PBB and PBDE

The maximum allowable concentration of any of the above mentioned substances is 0.1% (except for Cadmium, which is limited to 0.01%) by weight of homogeneous material. This means that the limits do not apply to the weight of the finished product, or even to a component but to any single substance that could (theoretically) be separated mechanically.

RoHS Compatible Product Design

All congatec standard products comply with RoHS legislation.
Since the founding of congatec AG in late 2004, there has been a strict adherence to the use of RoHS compliant electronic and mechanical components during the design-in phase of all congatec standard products.

RoHS Compliant Production Process

congatec AG only selects external suppliers that are capable of producing RoHS compliant devices. These capabilities are verified by:

  1. A confirmation from the supplier indicating that their production processes and resulting devices are RoHS compliant.
  2. Measuring the concentration of the previously mentioned substances in a produced device from the selected supplier. These measurements are carried out by an accredited laboratory.

WEEE Application

The WEEE directive is closely related to the RoHS directive and applies to the following devices:

  • Large and small household appliances
  • IT equipment
  • Telecommunications equipment (although infrastructure equipment is exempt in some countries)
  • Consumer equipment
  • Lighting equipment — including light bulbs
  • Electronic and electrical tools
  • Toys, leisure and sports equipment
  • Automatic dispensers

It does not apply to fixed industrial plants and tools. The compliance is the responsibility of the company that brings the product to market, as defined in the directive. Components and sub-assemblies are not subject to product compliance.
In other words, since congatec AG does not deliver ready-made products to end users the WEEE directive is not applicable for congatec AG. Users are nevertheless encouraged to properly recycle all electronic products that have reached the end of their life cycle.