Contact: Dan Green
  847-790-5371
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IPC INTRODUCES LEAD-FREE ALTERNATIVE ELECTRONIC FORUM

Northbrook, IL 06/18/99

 Supporting information exchange on lead-free electronics assemblies, IPC --
Association Connecting Electronics Industries has launched a new e-mail forum for
members of the electronics assembly and printed wiring board industries to discuss
the issues surrounding lead-free alternatives.  This news comes following IPC's
announcement that it will hold an International Summit on Lead-free Electronics
Assemblies at IPCWorks '99, which serves as IPC's fall meeting, taking place October
23-28, 1999 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis, MN.
With Japan already setting deadlines for lead elimination in PWBs, and Europe working
on legislation to do the same, IPC says lead elimination is inevitable.  "Whether you
sell to or buy from these companies or compete with them in the open market, lead
elimination will have an effect on your company," says IPC project manager Chris
Jorgensen.  "From a market standpoint, it is essential to pay close attention to the
status of lead elimination.  This e-mail forum provides the industry with an
opportunity to do that."
The IPC lead-free e-mail forum serves several purposes.  It will give its users the
opportunity to stay on the cutting-edge of lead elimination strategies worldwide.  A
number of its subscribers have been actively involved in lead elimination for many
years
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LEAD-FREE, Pg. 2
and have had their finger on the pulse of lead elimination in Europe and Japan for
some
time.  Users of the forum will be able to ask these experts questions and provide
feedback.
 The IPC lead-free alternative electronic forum will also be the best place to
receive updated information on the IPCWorks '99 conference, which is dedicated to
lead-free electronics assemblies.  Subscribers will be able to keep up to date on
speaker information, paper sessions and how the breakout sessions will work for the
development of an IPC roadmap for lead-free electronics assemblies.
To subscribe to the IPC lead-free alternative listserv send an e-mail message to
[log in to unmask], leave the subject line blank and in the message line type: Subscribe
leadfree and your name.  So it should read like this:
TO: [log in to unmask]
SUBJECT: (Blank)
MESSAGE: Subscribe leadfree Your Name

 For more information on the IPC lead-free alternative e-mail forum and IPCWorks '99
contact Chris Jorgensen at (847) 790-5328, or e-mail [log in to unmask]
 IPC encourages and supports research and development of lead-free materials and
technologies.  These new technologies should provide product integrity, performance
and reliability equivalent to lead-containing products without introducing new
environmental risks or health hazards.  IPC prefers global rather than regional
solutions to this issue, and is encouraging a coordinated approach to the voluntary
reduction or elimination of lead by the electronic interconnection industry.
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LEAD-FREE, Pg. 3
 IPC is a US-based trade association dedicated to the competitive excellence and
financial success of its nearly 2,600 member companies which represent all facets of
the electronic interconnection industry, including design, printed wiring board
manufacturing and electronics assembly.  As a member-driven organization and leading
source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy,
IPC supports programs to meet the needs of a $30 billion US industry employing more
than 300,000 people.
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