Managing Automation - September 2007 - (Page 51)

Today, literature and Web sites abound with information, and software vendors have even begun offering products specifically designed to aid companies in managing their compliance efforts. But it wasn’t always that way. In 2003, there wasn’t a lot of published information on RoHS available, so VirTex reached out to contacts in industry groups such as the IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (previously known as the Institute of Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits) and IMAPS (International Microelectronics and Packaging Society), and then held a regional symposium to educate its customers and partners. The reviews were positive and demand for information was high; the one-off half-day symposium soon became a road show. TURNING GREEN Becoming a “green” manufacturer involves more than a simple, one-time commitment to becoming environmentally friendly. It requires organizational changes, equipment upgrades, and process changes. To help manage the Green Manufacturing Initiative, the company used the Parts Universe Materials Analysis (PUMA) software database available through Promiere/Avnet Electronics. PUMA, which comprises a collaborative database that collects information from component manufacturers, provided a single source of data for about 80% of the more than 15,000 parts VirTex needed to research for the project. “PUMA was used to allow us to quickly determine whether parts were RoHS-compliant by exporting data from our component database and uploading it to the PUMA system,” Heath explains. The results were then automatically sorted into compliant, non-compliant, or undetermined categories. Those labeled “undetermined” were then researched manually or investigated directly with the manufacturer. Working with lead-free components also meant changes in reflow processes, new profiles, and the recharacterization of operational inspection criteria, which in some cases VirTex had to perform on-the-fly, without much guidance from the industry groups, Heath says. “It was kind of like starting over, but at full speed,” he says, as VirTex strove to perform internal testing and process adjustments without impacting customers. VirTex has seen its revenue increase as a result of the Green Manufacturing Initiative, but positive profit margins have yet to follow. “[Eliminating lead] is not cheaper,” Heath says, because the tin-silver-copper materials that VirTex now uses are more expensive than the traditional tin-lead combination. “It was kind of like Heath estimates a 30% to 40% increase in mastarting over, but at full terials cost. The company has also experispeed,” as VirTex enced an increase in electrical, screening, strove to perform interand rework costs. nal testing and process Meanwhile, new customers recognize that adjustments without Virtex is on the leading edge of the lead-free impacting customers, movement and have opted to use its services. says Brad Heath, CEO And existing customers have moved a bigger percentage of business over to VirTex of VirTex. for the same reasons, Heath says. A network of satisfied customers and suppliers has helped spread the word that VirTex is operating lead-free. The company’s cache of about 50 active customers is up about 20% managingautomation.com from last year and 30% from 2005. RELATED ARTICLES: Today, 70% of customers that have PLM Emerges As Compliance been required to comply with RoHS Management Enabler are now successfully meeting the www.managingautomation.com/PLMcompliance requirements, Heath says. The reMA’s 2007 Progressive Manufacturing 50: maining 30% are either par tially The Judges Have Spoken compliant or haven’t yet needed to www.managingautomation.com/progressive35 eliminate lead from their products. Progressive Manufacturers: Reaching VirTex is aiming for a complete tranfor Success sition to lead-free equipment and www.managingautomation.com/progressive36 materials by December 2007. ■ maonline Photo: Fritz Meitzen September 2007 51 http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/PLMcompliance http://www.managingautomation.com/progressive35 http://www.managingautomation.com/progressive36

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2007

Contents Take 1 Europe’s Automation Chiefs Upbeat on ’08 Business Prospects Vendor Coalition Pushes Human Element of SOA Wireless: Users Still Approaching with Caution One Year Later, IBM Shows Plan for MRO’s Maximo Study: More Work Needed to Lure Next-Gen Talent Executive Q&A Notes Cover Story: 2008 Companies to Watch Special Report: The 2007 Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Leadership Mastery Transformation: Orchestrating the Multi-Tier Supply Network Integration: The Timeless Quest for Accurate Data Industries: Maintenance No Longer on Schedule Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2007

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