Component Event Management Expert PCNalert Introduces Lead-Free Parts Category to Component Database.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2003

New Category Will Help OEMs and EMS Providers Better Adapt to

Emerging International Regulations Restricting Hazardous Materials

PCNalert, the leading provider of Component Event Management (CEM) solutions to OEMs and EMS companies, announced today that in an effort to help its customers adhere to emerging hazardous-materials standards, the company has added a new component category, lead-free parts, to its database of PCN (Product Change Notification) and EOL (End-of-Life) component information.

PCNalert's electronic-component database includes over 12 million purchasable part numbers and millions of PCNs and EOLs from more than 500 manufacturers. Component categories in PCNalert's database include actives, passives, electromechanicals, interconnect devices and military parts.

Based on recent directives issued by the European Council of Ministers -- including Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) -- OEMs and EMSes will face stricter hazardous-material regulations for their products. Among the materials that will come under heavier regulation is lead. (WEEE and RoHS go into effect in 2005 and 2006, respectively.)

While many component manufacturers are beginning to place information on their Web sites about the lead contents of their components, PCNalert's obsolescence database is the only online resource for lead-content data covering the entire component industry.

This new component category will enable users of PCNalert's Component Event Management solutions to more easily identify lead-free parts -- in their bills-of-materials, for example, via PCNalert's BOMverifier(TM) application. The lead-free information will also enhance relationships between OEMs and their EMS partners on shared projects -- in situations, for example, in which EMSes must determine if the lead-content percentage on their OEM's bill-of-materials is sufficiently low to meet the new standards.

"After speaking with many of our OEM and EMS customers, who are concerned about meeting these upcoming standards, we determined a lead-free category would give our customers significant value -- saving them time and resources and helping them avoid potential compliance problems," said Cliff Frescura, vice president of PCNalert. "The addition of the lead-free parts category in the PCNalert database will help OEMs and EMSes to be sure, before committing to a design or production schedule, that their new product will be in compliance with the new regulations -- and, if they determine it won't be, our lead-free data will help them find compliant alternatives."

PCNalert currently offers two Component Event Management enterprise applications:

AVLportal, PCNalert's proactive application for Component Event Management, links designers, buyers and production teams and gives them EOL and PCN information on the components in their designs -- for increased collaboration and better-informed decisions throughout the development process.

BOMverifier, PCNalert's on-demand application, enables OEMs and EMSes to securely upload bills-of-materials for instant, real-time EOL and PCN information -- averting problems in the design, quote, procurement or production phases by detecting potential component issues early.

For more information about PCNalert, call 626-585-2788, ext. 180, or visit www.PCNalert.com.

About PCNalert

PCNalert is the premier provider of Component Event Management solutions for the electronic supply chain, as well as real-time component information such as End of Life Notices (EOLs), Product Change Notices (PCNs), datasheets and other critical component data. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Pasadena, California, the company provides solutions for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Electronics Manufacturing Service providers (EMSes) and Electronic Component Manufacturers (ECMs) in the medical, aerospace and defense, communications, test and measurement, networking, computer hardware and automotive industries.