Compliance

On 1 June 2007 the directive (EC) No. 1907/2006 regarding the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACh) came into force. The REACh system is based on the principle of direct responsibility for industry. According to the principle “no data, no market”, under the regulations of REACh, chemicals may only be brought into circulation if they have been previously registered. Any manufacturer or importer wanting to market chemicals that are covered under the terms of REACh must possess their own registration number for these products.

Schaltbau GmbH only manufactures and sells non-chemical products. Moreover, these products do not release chemical substances under normal, reasonable, foreseeable conditions of use. Schaltbau is therefore a so-called downstream user and not required to register its products. However, we are obliged to provide information in accordance with Article 33 of the REACh directive. This means we are required to pass on information along the supply chain if a so-called SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern) is present in a concentration above 0.1% weight by weight (w/w) on article level in any product we make.

The SVHCs are published via the so-called “candidates list”. As this candidates list is subject to continual change, we will not provide direct information regarding SVHCs on the website, but include them in quotes, order confirmations, delivery notes and invoices. If necessary a safety data sheet will be provided with the delivery.

Directive 2011/65/EU of 8th June 2011 for restricting the use of certain hazardous materials in electrical and electronic devices, better known as the RoHS directive, has superseded EU directive 2002/95/EC, which has been valid since July 2006. This restricts the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and flame retardants PBB (polybromided biphenyls) and PBDE (polybromided diphenyl ether) in electrical and electronic devices. Category 11 “Other electrical and electronic devices that are not assigned to any of the previously mentioned categories” was introduced in the new version. The majority of device categories are therefore now affected. Devices that are used in rail transport and the military area are explicitly excluded, among other things.

The majority of Schaltbau GmbH products are now RoHS compliant, apart from a few products for the military area with cadmium and chrome plated surfaces, and some PCBs for the railway area with solder that contains lead.
RoHS conformity is shown on quotes, order confirmations, delivery notes and invoices.