Corporate responsibility

Comtec Labs is committed to manufacturing electronics responsibly – for the environment, for the people who build it and for the customers who rely on it.

Our aim is that the boards we design, build and repair are useful for longer, travel shorter distances and are made in a way we can explain to any customer. Responsibility is not a separate programme for us: it is part of how we quote, source, build, test and repair. This page describes the policies and practices we follow today.

Environment

• Lead-free RoHS process as standard. Boards are assembled with lead-free, RoHS-compliant solder processes; a leaded process is used only on request for applications that are exempt. RoHS and REACH declarations for our work are provided on request.
• REACH. We ask our suppliers for information on substances of very high concern (SVHC) in the materials we use and pass it on to customers who need it for their own product compliance.
• Waste handled with WEEE in mind. Scrap boards and components are kept apart from other waste and delivered to licensed electronics recycling, solder dross is collected for metal recycling, and packaging material is reused for our own shipments or sorted for recycling.
• Local production, short transport. Prototypes and series are built in Vaasa, close to many of our customers, so boards travel by road rather than across continents. We combine shipments where we can, and energy use is one of our criteria when we choose equipment.
• Repair before replace. Faulty boards – also ones built elsewhere – can be reworked and repaired to IPC-7711/7721 instead of being scrapped, which keeps working electronics in use longer. PCB repair and modifications →
• Designed to last. A DFM review on every quote, conformal coating for boards in harsh environments and component choices with lifecycle in mind all aim at products that fail less and stay in production longer.

People

• Training and safety. Everyone who works in production is trained in ESD-safe handling and in the safe use of the machines and chemicals at their workstation; coatings, fluxes and solvents are handled according to their safety data sheets.
• Skilled operators. Inspection is done by IPC-trained inspectors, and work such as hand soldering and rework is done only by operators trained and qualified for that task.
• Fair employment. We employ people under Finnish labour law and the applicable collective agreements, treat everyone equally regardless of background, and do not accept discrimination or harassment.
• Local jobs. Design, production, testing and repair are done in Vaasa, so the work – and the know-how – stays in the region. Manufacturing in Vaasa →

Business ethics

• Franchised sourcing, no counterfeits. Components are bought through franchised distributors only. If a part is available only on the open market, we use it only with the customer's written approval and with incoming inspection.
• Responsible minerals. We expect the tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold in the components and materials we buy to be sourced responsibly, in line with the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, and we pass on the conflict-minerals information our suppliers provide when a customer asks for it.
• Supplier conduct. We expect our suppliers and partners to respect human and labour rights, to follow environmental and safety laws and to refuse bribery and corruption – the same standards we hold ourselves to.
• Confidentiality and data protection. Customer designs are confidential and their intellectual property stays with the customer. Personal data is processed as described in our privacy notice. Privacy notice →

Quality and customers

• Built right the first time. AOI on every board, X-ray on area-array packages and workmanship to IPC-A-610 class 2 as standard, class 3 on request – fewer failures mean less scrap, rework and freight.
• Traceability. Components are registered at incoming inspection and inspection and test results are stored per board, so a problem can be traced and contained instead of recalling everything.
• Honest quotes. Every quote comes with our DFM findings and one-off costs on separate lines, usually the same working day, so decisions are made on facts.

Developing our work

These are examples of how responsibility shows in our everyday work. We review our practices as the company grows and will publish more information when we can verify it. Customers who need declarations or supplier information for their own reporting can ask us for them.