Xyratex Achieves Compliance

HAVANT, U.K. -- Xyratex Ltd. (NASDAQ: XRTX), a leading provider of enterprise class data storage subsystems and storage process technology, today announced full compliance with the administrative requirements of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) of Chinas Ministry of Information Industry (MII). All Xyratex’s Networked Storage Solutions (NSS) products shipped on the market are now fully compliant with the legislation. The achievement of RoHS compliance in China demonstrates Xyratex’s ongoing environmental compliance strategy through diligence and monitoring of emerging legislation worldwide.

“We are pleased to announce our compliance with China’s RoHS regulations,” said Steve Thompson, CTO, Xyratex. “Xyratex has a long-standing history of support for unilateral compliance with emerging environmental standards and global environmental initiatives. We feel it is wise for businesses, specifically in the electronic information industry, to devote resources to waste reduction and elimination in order to minimize global pollution through distributed products as well as within corporate infrastructure.”

During the past three years, Xyratex has instituted a wide range of RoHS compliance initiatives:

A Company wide product data management system has been implemented to manage compliance, monitoring and reporting. The system was developed to future proof product and service offerings in line with emerging environmental legislation initiatives for geographical locations such as China, Japan, Korea and California. The system also monitors the content of all hazardous substances, ensuring future environmental legislation and customer specific requirements will be adhered to in a timely manner.

A central Xyratex “Environmental Committee” has been tasked with developing environmental programs, instituted on a decentralized level to ensure local ownership, education and ongoing understanding of the complexities involved in being an environmentally friendly company. A Xyratex “Center of Competence” has been implemented to support the development and engineering laboratories and operational groups with RoHS deployment. As a result, compliance requirements are written into all future product designs. This applies to the electronics and the mechanical components that form the sub-parts of electronic assemblies.RoHS compliance audit systems have been put in place and are operational on all fronts – from setting environmental goals with suppliers to developing RoHS compliant manufacturing and production lines. As a result, certificates of compliance for all RoHS products have been made readily available to Xyratex’s network of customers and partners.

“Through conscientious observance of emerging environmental legislation, Xyratex has been able to stay ahead of the curve and continues to improve storage offerings and comply with the increasing amount of environmental regulations,” added Thompson. “Our current strategy is to build on success in both the European RoHS compliance and ISO14001 certification through enduring efforts towards improvements in this crucial area, ensuring that we continue to set a world class environmental standard across the company.”

Xyratex Ltd.