custom wire

REACH and Consolidated

In 2006, the European Union passed regulation EC 1907/2006, the REACH Regulation. Beginning in 2007, the REACH regulation seeks to improve and protect human and environmental health from harmful chemicals.

What is REACH?

Laying out guidelines for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), provisions of the REACH Regulation are being gradually phased in until 2018.

Using a “no data, no market” approach, the regulation puts the onus of chemical risk management on manufacturers. In order to import goods to, or export goods from, the European Union, manufacturers are required to gather information on the chemicals they use and register it with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

The goals of REACH are multifaceted. The regulation aims to:

• Develop a comprehensive database of chemicals used in or imported to Europe
• Evaluate any ill affects these chemicals may have on human health or the environment
• Authorize approved chemicals and controls for chemicals that cause concern
• Facilitate the progressive replacement of harmful chemicals
• Restrict, limit, or otherwise ban chemicals which pose unacceptable risk
• Promote hazard assessment methods that do not require animal testing

With these aims, the REACH Regulation will fill informational gaps about the huge number of chemical substances that have been manufactured or important into the European market. This will allow the ECHA to make educated decisions about restrictions of certain substances, and consumers to make educated decisions about which products they use.

How REACH Impacts Consolidated

The European Union’s REACH Regulation doesn’t apply solely to manufacturers and importers of chemicals. It applies to every industry, manufacturer, or importer whose products contain or were made with chemicals. This includes electronics, wiring, and cabling, what we produce here at Consolidated Electronic Wire & Cable.

Technically, Consolidated is not required to adhere to REACH Regulation recommendations, standards, or directives. As a company established outside of the European Union, we are actually exempt. And yet, we still put a great deal of effort into ensuring that our products meet REACH approval standards.

Why? Because Consolidated cares. The health of our staff is important to us, as is the health of end users and of the environment. The European Union’s REACH Regulation is setting important health and safety standards, and our products are only improved by our efforts to meet them.

For more information on Consolidated Electronic Wire & Cable’s efforts to meet REACH Regulation standards and how it can benefit your company and your customers, visit ConWire.com today.

RoHS and Its Impact on Your Business

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, Directive 2002/95/EC, is a directive of the European Union effective as of July 1, 2006. It has wide reaching implications and its importance is growing.

What is the RoHS Directive?

The RoHS Directive restricts the use of several hazardous materials in electronics and other electrical goods. The restrictions are designed to minimize human exposure to the substances and to prevent them from ending up in landfills.

The substances restricted by RoHS are:

• Lead
• Mercury
• Cadmium
• Hexavalent chromium
• Polybrominated biphenyls
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers

Because the toxicity of lead, mercury, and cadmium have been well documented for some time, they have been phased out of uses that include human contact, such as lead paint, mercury in thermometers, and cadmium in batteries and pigments.

Hexavalent chromium is a carcinogen often used in metal plating. Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used in plastics as flame retardants. PBBs and PBDEs are suspected carcinogens — they’ve been proven to cause cancer in lab mice and, as such, are assumed to cause cancer in humans.

Though each of these substances are clearly detrimental to human health and the environment, they can all still be found in many consumer products. For example, they all appear regularly in electrical components and electronics, including in appliances, lighting, electric tools, electronic toys, computers, telecommunications equipment, and more.

Hence the European Union’s RoHS directive.

Consolidated Electronic Wire & Cable and RoHS

As an industry leading manufacturer of electric cable and wire, Consolidated Electronic Wire & Cable products can be found in many of the electric and electronic devices monitored by the RoHS directive. We are proud that we are able to say all of the wire and cable we produce at Consolidated is fully RoHS compliant.

RoHS compliance is important. Aside from the obvious detrimental health and environmental effects of the six restricted chemicals, it is good for business. In buying wire and cable from Consolidated, you can be sure that your products will be eligible for sale in European Union countries and in the more than 25 American states that have enacted similar chemical restrictions.

With Consolidated, it’s simple to create your own custom product.

While most of the modern gadgets we rely on appear wireless, behind the scenes things like smart phones, Wi-Fi, and tablets, require miles of wires and cable to operate. When it comes to supplying the perfect cables and wires for the modern digitized and online landscape, one-size definitely does not fit all.

Whether you are working with business machines, medical equipment, automation systems, computers, or telecommunications, you need custom designed and custom-built cables. At Consolidated Electronic Wire & Cable, thanks to our Create Your Custom Cable Now form, and our latest eBook, Creating a Custom Cable, it has never been easier to create a custom cable to match your unique needs.

New Online Form: Create Your Custom Cable Now

When you embark on your next custom wire and cable project, the best place to start is on Consolidated’s user-friendly website. There you will find our Create Your Custom Cable Now form. By completing this thorough but easy-to-navigate form, you are taking the first-step in our industry-leading custom cable production process. Other than general information, you will also be asked to supply details like:

• Cable Type (Composite, Single or Multi Conductor, etc.)
• Conductor (Number, AWG, Stranding)
• Insulation Type
• Shielding
• Jacketing
• Specification Demands

Once completed, just press the submit button. Soon after receiving your completed form, the experts at Consolidated will contact you directly. The best part of the form is that it gives us a solid idea about what you need, thus saving you both time and money.

In order to make filling out our Create Your Custom Cable Now even easier, we also offer a free eBook, Creating a Custom Cable to help guide you through the process.

New eBook: Creating a Custom Cable

Our new eBook, Creating a Custom Cable, gives customers an insider’s view of the design and production of custom cables. Some of the highlights of our eBook include:

• Basic considerations such as cable length, cable size, environmental temperature, flexibility, and whether the cable will be used indoors or outdoors.

• Deciding what kind of conductor is right for you, including bare, tinned, or silver plated copper wire.

• Choosing a material to insulate your cables that will offer both performance and protection.

• Other topics include shielding, jacketing, cable fillers, and critical standards.

If you are in the market for the highest quality custom cables, Consolidated Electronic Wire & Cable is your best choice. Both our Create Your Custom Cable Now form, and our eBook. Creating a Custom Cable, will help you start the process of creating the perfect custom cables to match both your specific application and your bottom line.