Epson UK Press Release

26th June 2006 - By the 1st July 2006, the RoHS Directive (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances) will have contributed to the removal of six hazardous substances from electrical and electronic equipment.  As a part of its environmental programme, Epson has already been working towards achieving the goals outlined in the RoHS Directive.  Eelco Smit, Environmental Specialist, Epson Europe says, “Chemical management has always been a priority for Epson and since 1999, four years before the RoHS Directive was approved in 2003, our engineering departments and factories have been researching and developing lead-free products.  It is our aim to develop premium quality products with minimum impact on the environment.  We welcome the regulations and are pleased to announce our global compliance with the Directive.”

In 2003 Epson has established a chemical control substitute committee that led the efforts of the company to become RoHS compliant. In total around 300 people have been involved in areas such as; green procurement, elimination of substances, compliance audits and the general chemical management system. One of the biggest challenges for the industry to become RoHS compliant has been the development of lead-free products. Non-lead solder has very different characteristics compared to lead solder and this meant that both product design and production processes had to be changed. Epson products now use lead-free solder.

The sophisticated chemical management system in Epson ensures that all products are complying with the RoHS Directive and that customers can continue to purchase the same high-quality Epson products as they did before the Directive came into force.

In total Epson has evaluated 24,000 parts against the criteria of the RoHS Directive.  As a result of this process 1,156 products have been changed to ensure RoHS compliance in advance of the July deadline.

Epson has also changed the control of its global supply chain to ensure that all of its 2,200 suppliers are meeting the terms of the RoHS Directive.  Epson has set up an auditing system in which 150 people are checking compliance statements and performing tests on the supplied parts. Smit says, “Epson engineers around the globe are physically testing around 2,000 parts a day to ensure that all supplied components are compliant with the directive, in total our engineers have already performed over 500,000 tests”

About Epson
Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, 3LCD projectors and small- and medium-sized LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency. Epson is a network of 90,701 employees in 120 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1549.5 billion yen in fiscal 2005.