"RoHS," which stands for "Restrictions on Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment," bans the marketing of all relevant products containing lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury or PBB/PBDE flame retardants in concentrations exceeding the defined maximum limits. Lead, for example, is found in almost all PVC blends as a component of stabilizers. Lead and hexavalent chromium are included in many color concentrates used to color core insulation and cable jackets. As purely mechanical products, alpha gearheads are not, strictly speaking, covered by this new regulation.
What sparked alpha development engineers' decision in the summer of 2006 was the need for a prompt response to Japanese machine builders' strategy of securing a competitive edge for themselves with environmentally compatible products. Their argument: if products intended for end customers, like flat screens, are obliged to be RoHS-compliant, why shouldn't the production facilities used to manufacture them also consist of RoHS-compliant components? Considerable costs and effort were expended on migrating the technology, for instance for material tests, new machining processes and revisions to the entire technical documentation.
Although the changeover took slightly longer than originally planned, lead-free aluminum was introduced for alpha's standard product line (SP+, TP+ and LP+) in May 2007.
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Applying the RoHS Directive highlights alpha's initiative for Sustainable Development
