EFIP
EFIP
European PCB convention dates confirmed
Following the success of EPC '98 the first European PCB Convention the dates and venue have been confirmed for the next two years. EPC '99 will take place at the new Messegelande in Munich, Germany from 9-12 November 1999. EPC 2000 will take place at MECC in Maastricht, The Netherlands from 4-6 October 2000.
A collaboration with the owners of Productronica will mean that an EPC event will take place within the Productronica halls.
The benefits derived from the rules of EPC as well as the conference and the workshops will be available in Munich during 1999. EPC will also be running a Gala Event during the show. Benefits to both exhibitors and visitors to this collaboration include: all PCB exhibits in one area; a convention rather than just an exhibition; and the support of the EPC event management team.
The event will continue to build on the success enjoyed by this year's EPC. It will again be a trinity of conference, workshops and exhibition and will again be entirely focused on the printed circuit board industry.
For more information or to book a stand at EPC '99 or EPC 2000 contact: Philip Stoten, event manager. Tel:+44 1223 423308; Fax: +44 1223 423371; E-mail epc@infocircuit.co.uk
OEMs urged to "buy European"
Keywords EFIP, Europe, Printed circuit boards
Europe's PCB fabrication industry is in serious danger of disappearing if European OEMs continue buying their PCBs from Asian sources whose attractively low prices are achieved by non-compliance with Western standards of environmental responsibility, according to the European Federation of Interconnection & Packaging (EFIP).
The Federation is calling upon the European Parliament to join it in urging European OEMs to take environmental concerns, not just price, into account when purchasing PCBs from Asian companies.
The European PCB industry has been treating its waste for at least two decades and the already tight controls on discharges to sewers and waterways are set to become ever tighter. But complying with environmental legislation has its cost a recent survey indicates compliance costs a PCB fabricator around 6-8 per cent of its sales turnover.
Most Asian PCB companies,however, have no environmental policy, and many continue to discharge their dangerous waste directly into waterways. Their governments may declare adherence to the same waste controls as the Western world, but those who have visited these countries confirm they often have neither the waste treatment facilities nor the appropriate policing procedures to ensure compliance.
The advantage that Asian PCB companies enjoy through not being burdened with the West's environmental costs is of major concern to the European circuit board industry. It should also be of concern to European OEMs, since it is their custom that is perpetuating environmental damage and threatening the existence of the European supply chain.
