A barrage of materials-compliance regulations is springing up worldwide, challenging manufacturers to be proactive in protecting revenues, avoiding fines, and maintaining product quality. Some, however, have transformed their approach to the regulations from a burdensome compliance “chore” into a competitive advantage.

COMPASS (The 3DEXPERIENCE MAGAZINE) reveals how Agilent Technologies and AB Sciex have prepared to meet the environmental regulatory challenges facing companies today, including RoHS, REACH and WEEE.

Meeting RoHS regulations took Agilent 60 months, including 24 months to redesign 2,100 products and 18 months to test the new designs.

“If we hadn’t gotten out in front of the issue very early, the European market could have banned our products,” said Frank Elsesser, Agilent’s director of Environmental Compliance, Product Regulations and Safety. “We had a third of our annual revenues on the line, about a billion US dollars. And the regulations are expanding.”

Most of AB Sciex’s products won’t be subject to regulatory restrictions until 2016. But George Valaitis, AB Sciex’s RoHS program manager, said AB Sciex wanted to put an efficient materials compliance program in place to ensure the company’s market access worldwide.

The challenge is huge and growing. Although RoHS targeted just six substances, Valaitis points out that additional directives like REACH, which covers 138 substances today, are expanding at the rate of 20 to 50 substances each year.

To better understand how each of these companies are preparing for the future and protecting their investments, click here.