“Brian Hatcher from Acal warns against underestimating the challenge of flushing non-compliant product through the supply chain. By July 2006, all manufacturers of electronic and electrical equipment sold in Europe must comply with the EU’s RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC). Component manufacturers are making commitments to meet this deadline, but the problem is far more complex for the OEMs. OEMs must ensure that their stocks are refreshed well before the deadline, so that all product shipped after the deadline is RoHS-compliant. Some suppliers have grasped the problem and are reacting positively. For example, one of our franchises has been offering ‘Green Packaging’ since 2002. Today all plastic packages, including commercial, industrial, automotive and military devices, are offered as RoHS compliant products. They have also introduced a part-number suffix to indicate RoHS compatible products, simplifying the transition.” Source: electronicsweekly.com