Successful 2004 IPC exhibition carries over to 2005 show

Citation

(2005), "Successful 2004 IPC exhibition carries over to 2005 show", Circuit World, Vol. 31 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2005.21731aab.004

Successful 2004 IPC exhibition carries over to 2005 show

Successful 2004 IPC exhibition carries over to 2005 show

Keywords: IPC, Trade fairs, Electronics industry

IPC has reported the findings from its co-located IPC SMEMA Council's APEX/IPC Printed Circuits Expo/IPC Designers Summit Attendee Survey. The research report was based on the responses of more than 850 attendees.

2004 survey results

According to the report, 71 percent of the attendees represented Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) and Interconnect Manufacturing Services (IMS)/Printed Circuit Board (PCB) companies and government/military, while the remainder consisted of consultants, educators, manufacturing representatives, suppliers and others

Of these individuals, the survey reported that the average net buying influence at the co-located exhibition was 90 percent, meaning this percentage of respondents either recommends, influences or specifies products or makes final purchasing decisions for one or more of the products exhibited.

Wendy Stallman, corporate communications manager at Electro Scientific Industries, commented on this year's visitors: “The quality of attendance at this year's event shows that the market is turning around. It's refreshing to see that people are beginning to purchase equipment again, and that they are embracing new process technologies, such as embedded passives.”

Of these decision makers and the other attendees, the survey revealed that 84 percent came to the event to see new products and technologies. In addition, an overwhelming majority (92 percent) of the audience felt the products and services they were most interested in seeing were well represented at the show, including: test/inspection systems (39 percent), automated test equipment (36 percent), reflow and wave soldering systems (34 percent) and component preparation and placement equipment (27 percent).

When asked whether or not they believe the co-located exhibition is a venue where they can achieve their business goals, the majority of attendees (94 percent) rated their impression of the event as excellent, very good or good. Comments from attendee Mark Basich, manufacturing manager at Rauland Borg, paralleled this response.

“The show was highly informative this year. It was well organized and having the Expo and APEX shows at the same time allowed us to reduce the amount of time and energy we spent in previous years to meet and greet others in the industry”.

2005 preparations

The 2005 show will take place on 22-24 February, at the Anaheim Convention Centre in Anaheim, Calif.

In just three days, nearly 80 percent of the more than 150,000 net square feet of exhibit space sold out, as exhibitors eagerly selected their preferred positions.

“The mood in the electronics industry remains upbeat,” stated Mary MacKinnon, IPC's director of show sales. “The commitment to the North American electronics market is reflected in the number of companies that have selected IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Summit as their preferred trade show for 2005.”

According to Mac Kinnon, the test and inspection segment of the event is showing the greatest growth, as more sophisticated methods come to fruition. These new processes are providing greater product reliability within the electronics industry, causing an increased demand in test and inspection.

For more information about the 2005 co-located exhibition, visit the Web site: www.GoIPCShows.org