Looking at the so-called food chain in electronics manufacturing, the semiconductor consumption is expected to grow this year remarkably. According to market researcher WSTS, just for example, the rise will be 20%, from $141bn to 169bn. Contrary to this expected movement, the equipment industry should also experience growth a bit, but in the first months of this year, nothing like this was felt. Down the food chain, the assembly equipment industry, especially in Asia and Europe, gets its second wind. According to latest figures, the U.S. market has remained in a deep sag. Apparently, some global players, having moved their volume-production resources to Mexico or Asia, overlooked their industrial role at home. New board-assembly equipment will be presented this year from all relevant players such as Siplace, Universal, Assembleon, Panasonic, Fuji, etc. Obviously, here the downturn has stopped, and besides the low but nonetheless stable sales figures, there is faint optimism in this area of the industry. The clear trend is to mid-range machines, affordable and flexible, combining precision and not overly high throughput demands or reduced optional features. So the compromise is made in speed, not in accuracy and support.
In this changing environment, a well-placed trade show has to meet many requirements, from visitors and exhibitors alike. The attraction is increased by focusing on a clear-cut industry, by a good location (easy to reach, not too expensive, adequate show grounds), and by a well-prepared conference and other business events. It seems that Mesago, organizer of SMT, has done a good job. During the last few years, some events experienced a decline in exhibitors and visitors, and, at the same time, some electronics trade fairs experienced massive problems. Often, shows had to be postponed or cancelled. Contrary to this, SMT has remained stable and become an established meeting place in the European electronics industry.
The range of products of course covers the traditional issues of board and assembly, soldering, paste printing as well as advanced packaging and hybrids. A highlight of the exhibition, the VDI/VDE-IT booth, with its motto – Future Packaging – Technologies, Products, Visions – will probably earn particular attention. Here, a production line will be presented which demonstrates the opportunities and benefits of on-line quality management and traceability. Especially in the current difficult economic situation, it is important to be prepared for changing or growing requirements, respectively. Furthermore, manufacturing trends will be shown in demonstration areas. Especially small and mid-sized enterprises can get some insights here into upcoming or topical technologies – a prerequisite for opening fresh markets. An additional visitor magnet will be the forum. Experts will present their solutions and satisfy the thirst for information on topics of interest via podium discussions.
User-oriented and practice-based, the international conference for System Integration in Micro Electronics will focus on the topical subject of board assemblies for high-temperature applications. Electronics components are generally not suitable for use at high temperatures. However, board assemblies operating at over +125°C are increasingly in demand. By far the biggest market for these applications is the automobile industry. It is the aim of the conference to give a clear view of the potential and of solutions within the field of high-temperature electronics. The program also offers 24 application-oriented tutorials (eight in English). In these, international experts from industry and research will reveal strategies for solving specific problems of advanced component production and system integration. The long-lasting co-operation between Mesago and Fraunhofer IZM/Berlin in the organization of the conference ensures the coverage of the most advanced technologies, as well as the latest user-orientated topics in the conference program (attendees 2002 were 512). Additional partners supporting the event are the German organizations VDI-/VDE-IT and VDMA.
The geographic location of Nuremberg in Northern Bavaria as the venue for the event is another reason for this success story, as it is centrally localized and can be easily reached by car. However, for direct flights from abroad the situation is not as rosy.
The increasing numbers of exhibitors and visitors are largely based on participants from abroad. While the share of foreign exhibitors rose to 40% in 2003, the share of visitors from abroad reached one third in 2002. In 2003 exhibitors and visitors from 50 countries will be present, according to the booking figures. While the largest group of international exhibitors this year comes again from the U.S., representing approximately 10% of all exhibitors (60), also the participation from British (32), Swiss (33) and Dutch (16) companies is particularly noteworthy. The international meaning of SMT is also reflected in the visitor statistics. According to the pre-registration, visitors from more than 40 countries worldwide can be expected.
None of the other events (see side bar) are, as claimed by Mesago, as focused as SMT. They are covering several industries or multiple technological fields and therefore only an overlap of visitors and exhibitors is of interest. This highlights the importance of SMT even more, as the organizer claimes: there is no other event with such a clear focus on system integration and application of micro electronics, attracting more qualified trade visitors interested in packaging, assembly test and more. Or as project manager Udo Weller has put it, ”SMT in Nuremberg offers the visitors a complete overview. The visitors will get extensive information within a small amount of time. For exhibitors it is the perfect place for reaching a highly qualified international audience, while optimizing efforts”. gbw
US Shows
Apex, Anaheim/LA
2002: 11.000 visitors (mainly U.S. audience), 559 exhibitors
Imaps, Denver
2002: 6.500 visitors (mainly U.S. audience), 400 exhibitors
Nepcon West Anaheim
(Does not exist anymore)
Nepcon West together with SMTA+ATExpo
The industry did not accept this concept of merging, uncertain future
European Shows
Nepcon Birmingham
Event is not longer held in the original version; comes up in June 2003 in Brighton, about 2,500 sqm exhibition space and 2.500 visitors
EDA Expo/Onboard UK
Unclear, if the event will take place in 2003, show postponed from autumn 2003 to harvest 2003
viet, Vienna (biennial)
Topics: electronical engineering, lighting, automation, drives
2001: 18.860 visitors, 284 exhibitors plus 547 firms represented, covers different industries, figures therefore not directly comparable
Intertronic, Paris (biennial)
Topics: covers the whole electronics industry
2001: 28.606 visitors, share of foreign visitors 12%, 600 exhibitors, covers different industries, not directly comparable
German Shows
Semicon Europe, Munich
Topic: semiconductor industry
2002: 11.388 visitors, 785 exhibitors
Overlap only partial
Productronica, Munich (biennial)
Topic: electronics production
2001: 47.000 visitors, 1.780 exhibitors
Partial overlap
Electronica, Munich (biennial)
Topic: components and assemblies in electronics
2002: 77.000 visitors, 3.508 exhibitors, Partial overlap
