Henkel celebrates success of RoHS and WEEE seminars

Prestigiously located at the Oxbridge Universities on June 21 and 22 respectively, the seminars formed part of a series of events set to take place this year at universities around the UK. The events have been specifically arranged to enable end users to benefit from Henkel's immense technical leadership in the drive towards lead-free. Senior Applications Engineer for Soldering Products & PCB Protection at Henkel, Ian Wilding, presented at both the Oxford and Cambridge seminars. As the coordinator for Henkel's European lead-free activities,Wilding expertly fielded questions from customers who were able to take advantage of his wealth of industry knowledge. At the Cambridge seminar alone, the impressive turnout stood at over 100 people. "We were really pleased by the positive response we got from both events," comments Wilding. "This was a valuable opportunity for Henkel to communicate with a large number of customers in the space of just a few hours. Many of those present had concerns about lead-free and its implications for their business and I was happy to be able to discuss the range of solutions available." The seminars were structured around a program designed to provide those in attendance with an overview of the European directives and their relevant implications, applications and solutions. Early on in the presentation, Wilding acknowledged that for 78% of European manufacturers, the legislation to ban the use of lead in electronics processes is the primary motivation to go lead-free. As a consequence, the realistic presentation and practical advice proved to be exactly what many delegates had been looking for. This value was highlighted by the closing Q&A sessions which were used to their full potential by those in attendance. The presentation covered a range of lead-free issues including an overview of the directives' exemptions. Wilding also discussed the motivation behind the imminent ban, derived from the status of lead as a toxic heavy metal and "cumulative poison". Wilding's extensive presentation set out the differences and challenges of lead-free as opposed to lead, from re-flow process windows, wave soldering issues and fillet lifting, to surface appearance and inspection differences. With many UK companies yet to go lead-free and the ban fast approaching, Henkel Lead-free seminars have been consistently welcomed across the industry. As the series progresses over the course of 2005, Henkel will continue to effectively exhibit its extensive industry knowledge nationwide, confirming its status as a point of significant technical authority in the transition to lead-free.