In one of the strangest twists in the industry’s move to green components, some of the companies hawking counterfeit components are claiming their parts are Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliant.
This bizarre development is occurring as OEMs are hip-deep in evaluating the level of trust they can put in their suppliers. If they can’t trust a supplier to deliver RoHS-compliant parts, they will likely need to test the components as part of their due diligence to prove to European Union governments that their products are compliant. The counterfeiters are not likely to make the trust cut, which means a lot of testing will need to be done to determine part content.
The flow of grey market parts—some of them counterfeit—balances industry gaps in supply and demand. “The whole issue of the grey market is going to get amplified by compliance,” says Peter Lachapelle, VP of content at Dallas-based i2 Technologies. “This is the least desirable time to buy from the grey market. There’s enough confusion in the black and white market.”
While OEMs may be queasy about grey market components, this is also a time when there will probably be shortages in either compliant or non-compliant parts. Some companies that wouldn’t ordinarily go to lesser-known suppliers find they need to go to the grey market in order to find compliant parts. “I’ve heard reports of counterfeit lead-free solder in China,” remarks Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates