The RoHS Directive & Adapted from EP&T, …

                   The RoHS Directive &
Adapted from EP&T,
                   Electrical Enclosures
March/April 2006
                       How does RoHS impact on you?
                       RoHS means Restriction of Hazardous Substances (used in
Products               Electrical and Electronic Equipment). It is a Directive adopted by
                       the European Parliament in January 2003 with planned effect for

on review              July 1, 2006. Legally it only applies to certain goods put into the
                       market in the European Union after the effective date, but as a
                       practical matter, the RoHS Directive is fast becoming a de facto
                       standard for the industrialized world. The RoHS Directive applies
                       to specific, but quite broad, categories of electrical products.
                       These are typically market-ready products and finished
                       assemblies, as RoHS does not apply to components.




                                 Over 750 Fibox RoHS compliant enclosures

                       The RoHS Directive and the Fibox Specifier
                       As a manufacturer of electrical enclosures, how has Fibox met
                       its responsibilities towards RoHS compliance?

                       The RoHS Directive applies to categories of electrical products,
                       where Fibox products are extensively used. Electrical enclosures,
                       defined as components, are not directly governed by the RoHS
                       Directive. But while RoHS does not apply directly, finished
David Crooks
                       assemblies are constructed of components. RoHS compliance
General Manager
Fibox Enclosures       of the final assembly becomes a function not only of compliance
888-342-6987           in manufacturing, but also the compliance of all individual
dcrooks@fiboxusa.com   components used in the assembly. Simply put, the enclosure
                       must be RoHS compliant.

                                                                                Continued
                     For Fibox, that meant that our customers were quite insistent
                     upon knowing that the Fibox enclosures did not contain any
Adapted from EP&T,   RoHS prohibited materials. While RoHS did not directly apply
March/April 2006     to Fibox product, clearly our responsibility to our customers
                     was to guarantee our compliance with the intent of the RoHS
                     directive and provide them with enclosures that would not
                     prevent successful compliance of their market ready product.
Products             Fibox (at the corporate level) began the RoHS compliance
on review            project in earnest in the summer of 2004. Fibox enclosures are
                     molded using precise formulations of engineered plastics that
page 2               are available from limited suppliers. Any RoHS compliance
                     problems requiring a change of material would necessitate
                     lengthy evaluations, mold testing and regulatory review.
                     Therefore, our first steps had to be evaluation of our plastic
                     raw materials and of our critical suppliers. In this we were
                     fortunate as all materials and suppliers were OK without
                     additional actions.

                     The second phase of ensuring RoHS compliance was begun
                     in early 2005. Fibox listed all components and their 3rd party
                     suppliers and sent out questionnaires. Most suppliers
                     responded quickly, but some needed numerous reminders.
                     It became clear that RoHS was not well known or understood
                     by many companies, both large and small. Fibox was forced
                     to take a proactive role in educating these suppliers about the
                     intent and detail of the RoHS Directive.

                     Again Fibox was fortunate that there were very few non-RoHS
                     compliant 3rd party components. Most were corrected quite
                     easily, but a few were more difficult. For example, some
                     surface treatments for metal hardware required change.
                     All required changes were completed.

                     Fibox realized early that while RoHS did not directly apply to
                     electrical enclosures, the intent of the Directive was to force
                     all component manufacturers to be (or become) responsible
                     suppliers of RoHS compliant products. Fibox products
                     marketed in North America were RoHS compliant prior to 2006.
                     In Europe, Fibox will be fully compliant with the RoHS directive
                     prior to July 2006.




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