EMA & Ageus joins forces

EMA Design Automation(TM), a full-service provider of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) solutions, and Ageus Solutions, a specialist in RoHS and WEEE compliance, have joined forces to provide environmental compliance solutions from design through manufacturing. "We're strengthening the overall solution delivered to the client by adding the ability to supply the mechanical portion of RoHS/WEEE compliance," said Manny Marcano, President and CEO of EMA. "Aligning forces with Ageus allows us to expand our Engineering Data Management (EDM) solution to cover the entire manufactured product, which supports the entire RoHS/WEEE directive." EDM allows product development teams to efficiently record, manage, and report the design and development data used in the creation of manufactured products. For simpler designs in a pre-RoHS/WEEE world, the amount of data requiring management was less and the consequences of uncoordinated data management was not as severe. However, the lack of a controlled process tends to intensify the disconnect between engineering and manufacturing. EDM organizes and automates much of this data management and communications, allowing development teams to effectively manage greater amounts of information more easily than ever before. "RoHS compliance should not be dominating the agenda of electronics companies," said Bruce Calder, President of Ageus Solutions. "Our focus is to seamlessly integrate RoHS/WEEE compliance into engineering systems and business practices, allowing electronics companies to keep their focus on the core business of designing, manufacturing, and selling electronics products." Ageus brings a depth and strength of RoHS/WEEE consulting, assessment, and process of mechanical components and drawings. In addition, Ageus offers end-to-end solutions for WEEE, including a comprehensive recycling network in Europe. The RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC) is the European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive. It involves the ban of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and two families of brominated flame retardants from electronics products being sold into the European Union. The WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) is the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment Directive and places the responsibility on electronics producers for collection and recycling of their products' end of life.