Traffic Industry | Distributor Announcement

Siemens Announces Phase Out of Mercury Contactors in Traffic Control Cabinets

Siemens Traffic Solutions announced a rolling phase out plan to eliminate the use of mercury in all of their manufactured cabinet components.

Austin, July 2, 2009

Siemens Traffic Solutions announced today a rolling phase out plan to eliminate the use of mercury in all of their manufactured cabinet components manufactured and distributed in the United States by January 1, 2010. This announcement coincides with recent mercury restriction legislation adopted by the State of California.

“Siemens has a long standing commitment to environmental protection and we hope that more states will follow California’s lead,” says Christy Peebles, General Manager of Siemens Traffic Solutions. “Siemens products and solutions helped our customers reduce their CO2 emissions by almost 148 million tons in 2008. The elimination of mercury contactors in traffic control cabinets is the next evolution to that commitment.”

Though the complete phase out coincides with the State of California legislation restricting the use of mercury, the move towards solid-state components isn’t new for Siemens. “Ten years ago Siemens approached the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a design for mercury-free solid state contactors,” says Dave Miller, Director of Engineering for Siemens. “TxDOT agreed to adopt the design into their specifications and have been using solid-state ever since.” With a proven solution in place the move to solid state is a seamless integration. Multiple states have since adopted the mercury-free solution.

Effective July 1, 2009 all traffic control cabinet products shipped to the State of California that are manufactured by Siemens will have Siemens designed and manufactured mercury free solid-state contactors. A nation-wide transition will be in place by January 1, 2010. After the start of the New Year all traffic control cabinets manufactured by Siemens will utilize the solid-state contactors. With mercury contactors eliminated Siemens Traffic Solutions in the US becomes a RoHS-5 compliant provider.

About Siemens

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, and operates in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. For more than 160 years, Siemens has built a reputation for leading-edge innovation and the quality of its products, services and solutions. With nearly 400,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens reported worldwide sales of $96.6 billion in fiscal 2007. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA reported sales of $19.8 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. For more information on Siemens in the United States, visit www.usa.siemens.com

The Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) of Siemens AG is the worldwide leading supplier of production, transportation and building technologies. With integrated hardware and software technologies as well as comprehensive Industry-specific solutions, Siemens increases the productivity and efficiency of its customers in the fields of industry and infrastructure. The Sector consists of six divisions: Building Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility, Drive Technologies and Osram. With around 209,000 employees worldwide Siemens Industry achieved in fiscal 2007 total sales of approximately EUR40 billion (pro forma, unconsolidated). www.siemens.com/industry

The Mobility Division in the US (Sacramento, USA – comprised of Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. and transportation logistics business units of Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc.) is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions. With its "Complete mobility" approach, the Division is focused on networking the various modes of transportation in order to ensure the efficient transport of people and goods. “Complete mobility” combines the company's competence in operations control systems for railways and traffic control systems for roadways together with solutions for airport logistics, postal automation, traction power supplies and rolling stock for mass transit, regional and mainline services, as well as forward-looking service concepts. www.mobility.siemens.com/usa

Siemens Traffic Solutions provides innovative advanced design and technology to manage the increasing complexities of modern traffic. As part of the mobility division, Siemens Traffic Solutions addresses the challenges of increasing demand on growing traffic infrastructures with advanced technologies that work smarter to solve the challenges of traffic questions today and tomorrow. Siemens is a market leader in traffic control, traffic guidance systems, intelligent transportation systems and parking solutions. www.itssiemens.com

Reference Number: COM TS US 2009 07.02

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