iPoint is proud to announce and welcome Dr. Bing Xu as the company’s Director of Market Engagement.
In this newly-created function, Dr. Xu will be responsible for helping customers leverage iPoint’s applications for product compliance, process compliance, and sustainability. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the North America main office, he will focus on the benefits of bringing compliance further into the product design phase and on the selection of alternative materials. Together, these concepts allow companies to produce more technically-advanced products while reducing the risks associated with compliance.
IMDS Pioneer with Strategic Foresight in Material Compliance
Dr. Xu brings with him over 25 years of experience as Program Manager at Ford Motor Company. Spearheading Ford’s Global Materials Management (GMM) program in early 1997, he was one of the original OEM members who developed the VDA/EDS system in 1998, which later became the International Material Data System (IMDS) and successfully launched in 2000. Furthermore, he was Ford’s Corporate Global Attribute Leader for Materials and Substances of Concerns, and the owner of Ford’s Restricted Substances and Management Standard (RSMS) and GMM processes/tools. The GMM program oversaw and managed Ford global materials approvals, material compliance, material management processes, and IT tools for all Ford brands and regions worldwide, covering regulations such as ELV, REACH, OSHA, TSCA, CLP, RoHS, California Proposition 65, or the US Conflict Minerals law. He also led Ford’s team to develop long-term strategies to anticipate and embrace the upcoming challenges OEMs would be facing in terms of utilizing material compliance tools to reduce costly non-compliance risks in early design phases and allow alternative selections of greener materials.
Influential Industry Association and Committee Experience
Dr. Xu has served in several industry committees, for example, as chair/co-chair for the US Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) IMDS/REACH Advisory Group and Chemical Management/Reporting Advisory Group, and USCAR Vehicle Recyclability Program and Substance of Concerns committees. Dr. Xu also served as the chair of the Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL) Steering Group, a member of the Automotive REACH Task Force and European ACEA work groups, and was a Steering Committee member representing the automotive industry conducting alternative assessments for several substances led by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Continuing iPoint’s Success Story
“Having worked with iPoint’s software since 2013, I was attracted by the company's mission to develop cutting-edge solutions that support not only compliance with the law, but also the sustainability of products, value chains, and brands,” says Dr. Xu. “I am excited to start a new challenge at iPoint and to be part of this established market leader in solutions for product compliance, sustainability, and the digital circular economy. I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth and continuing iPoint’s success story.”
“We are thrilled to have Bing on board“, iPoint CEO Joerg Walden emphasizes. „His depth of experience, industry knowledge, contacts, and management capabilities will complement our growing team in North America and benefit our ever-expanding customer base from the automotive and other industries.”