“Over the last decades, our SMT trade show has traditionally become a platform for the electronics assembly industry in Europe, and we can record strong activities from abroad” – the unison claim of Mesago director Joseph Rath and of the responsible manager for this show, Udo Weller, in drawing a forward-looking sketch on this event. In contrast to the overall business environment and especially trade shows, SMT is still growing – as the latest pre-event figures reveal.
With foreign companies accounting for 35% of the exhibitors, the event offers not only a wide, but also an international spectrum. “From design and development up to PCB production, circuit board assembly, components, packaging and test systems – SMT/HYBRID/PACKAGING offers a comprehensive and compact presentation of products all under one roof”, Joseph Rath underlines. “We didn’t have any decline during recession”, states additionally Udo Weller. And from past years, of 23,000 attendees, 43% were from within the European Union (including Germany), 21% from the rest of Europe, 28% from North America and 8% from Asia. As Mesago says, “the highly qualified audience from 24 countries rated the exhibition as extremely positively”. The organizers expect at least the same number of visitors as last year, and they are probably not wrong.
A very wide range of target groups
So let’s have a look at the sections of industry aimed for. The exhibitor target group consists mainly of system integrators in microelectronics and electronic systems, design and development, components, PCB, board assembly, test systems, packaging and basis materials, hybrids, automotive engineering, information and communication technology, advanced packaging, ASICs, automated assembly and electronics manufacturing equipment, as well as what’s around such consumables as solder paste, adhesive, print stencil, cleaning agent, etc. On the visitors‘ side, the show aims to reach all groups which are involved in the design and manufacturing of electronic circuitry and micro-mechanic components and systems of all sorts, and in virtually all industries: for example, businesss such as chemical, machinery, automobile, air and spacecraft, electrical engineering, electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, opto electronics, precision engineering, optics, computer, IT and networking, factory automation, CAD in electronics, quality assurance, automation control, and many more. As we can see, a huge audience has to be addressed with the latest trends and developments as well as solutions under one umbrella.
The event will see participation of a total of 650 exhibitors, up from 626 last year (some of them returning after an absence), as well as new companies. Udo Weller thinks that this development highlights both the significance of the event and the confidence of the industry. The VDI/VDE-IT pavilion will showcase a production line entitled ”Printed circuit boards – platform for systems integration”. In addition, production and demonstration areas will address the technology trends in assembly. The display will include the miniaturization of PCBs and its associated technologies. Several demo areas will explore upcoming packaging technologies, products, visions, along with show trends such as mechatronik, system in package (SiP) and intelligent textiles.
From the PCB to sophisticated assembly
For the first time, the Printed Circuits Association (VdL Germany) will take part in the event. PCB manufacturers´ participation has been a successful tradition for years. 2004 sees now a clear increase in the number of exhibitors active in this sector, and the visitors will profit from the more comprehensive range of products and services. The transition to lead-free electronics will result in the installation of the pavilion Service Point Lead-Free to satisfy a need for information. A further development is the implementation of optical technologies in electronics with the key product opto-electronic PCB. On the opto-electronic collaborative stand, companies will exhibit and explore the subject in detail.
The associated conference is a practice-oriented platform for the presentation and discussion of research results, product applications and first-hand experience. It focuses on the topic ”The PCB – a new system platform using embedded components”. The challenge for development in electronic assembly is to achieve increased performance of the PCB for the least possible cost. Until now, the focus has been on printed boards with fine structures using micro-via connections, but it is becoming increasingly necessary to have boards with integrated passive and active components and optical signal paths. The conference will spend a complete session on this subject.
High-grade conference assures top quality
In addition to the conference, a total of 25 half-day tutorials revolve around various aspects of the electronic assembly. The tutorials will tackle a series of relevant issues including design, assembly and inspection. Two renowned professors from the Center of Microelectronics/Technical University of Berlin, Dr. Herbert Reichl, as chairman of the program committee, and Dr. Wolfgang Scheel as member of the committee, assure that the information provided is up-to-date and complies to latest scientific insight. Other experts from worldwide industry and science will report on their experiences and reveal their solutions.
As a synergistic effect, the parallel trade fair offers conference attendees the opportunity to find out about specific technologies, applications and services in line with the solution presented in the conference. The combination of trade fair and a practice-driven conference of this kind provides even more benefits for the electronics manufacturing community. Maybe this is one of the arguments that made SMT such a success. In 2005, the next annual SMT event will take place very early, from April 19 to 21. Because it’s a “Productronica” year, the 2005-SMT is moved back to spring time, leaving a longer time gap until the production world event in Munich in fall next year.
Gerhard B. Wolski
EPP EUROPE 400
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