A Topical Mix of Electronics Manufacturing Technologies

Compared to the last event, further gains in strengthening the international character have been made. 38 % of the exhibitors and 42 % of the attendees were not from Germany, with clear momentum coming from other European countries, but also from the Americas and Asia with their main players and visitors being present.

More than 1,500 exhibiting companies presented their spectrum of machines, equipment and technologies needed for production. The amount of floor space booked by the exhibitors remained at the same level as before. Both the exhibitors and attendees gave the event a very positive assessment: 83 % of the exhibitors and 92 % of the attendees rated the last event as excellent to good.

Another contribution to the positive atmosphere at the fair was an assessment of the current worldwide market situation by a polling action. 73 % of the attendees (2003 54 %) and 65 % of the exhibitors (2003 36 %) rated the business outlook as excellent to good. Obviously, many exhibitors were able to conclude business transactions at the show, as was the case for equipment such as placement machines, soldering ovens, handling units, etc. One buzzword was “green” electronics and its manufacture which has gained intensive momentum under the introduction of the RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) directive of the European Union. The trend to lead-free technology has reached its summit now with the official deadline for transition approaching in July 2006.

The increase in the number of exhibitors from outside Germany to 38 % as well as the rise in the share of attendees from other countries to 42 % illustrates the trend towards increasing globalization in electronics manufacture. The show experienced a gain in the number of exhibitors from the US, to 96 (+19 %). As far as the attendees were concerned, particularly significant gains were recorded for India, Brazil as well as Central and Eastern Europe. The trend was also confirmed by a boost in the number of visitors from the Asian-Pacific region, and especially from China. The executive roundtable entitled “Globalization. What it is. How to take advantage of it. How to cope with threats” was dedicated to the globalization process. At the first day of the trade show, top executives from global players discussed the different aspects associated with global business. This discussion is covered in this issue on page 6 in more detail.

As an area for electronic manufacturing services, the EMS Village was able to continue its development with success (104 exhibitors from 14 countries), and it reflected the increased significance of the role of EMS companies in electronics, driving a market volume of about 150 bn Euro.

The implemented MicroNanoWorld event was functioning as an industry platform for micromechanical and microtechnical production. The response from the attendees was said to be good. There is a high interest in innovative solutions for micro and precision processing and technology, a current world market of approximately 50 bn Euro. In another area, the demonstration of production according to “Seven Steps to a Polymer Circuit“ showed the possibilities for employing additive printing techniques and roll-to-roll processing (polymer electronics) for inexpensive manufacturing of flexible polymer electronics circuits for simplified high-volume applications such as “intelligent” tickets, “talking“ food packages, electronic postal stamps or such developments as “smart“ medical bandages. This is not only a field of technological issues but also – and this even more – in its application a highly critical and controversially discussed field of the security of data and individual life and its privacy.

All in all, the combination of a broad-covered exhibition and a wide program of lectures from industry representatives was claimed to be well received by the audience. The amalgamation of exhibitors’ booths and forum activities reportedly offered an excellent platform for getting interested visitors acquainted with innovative concepts and solutions. Volker Pape of the VDMA Association Productronic, and CEO of Viscom, underlined the successful concept: “Productronica remains the central location at which the production technology for electronics is presented in a way that is more comprehensive than is the case anywhere else in the world. The level of technical expertise and the decision-making authority of the visitors is very high, and the international mix has also strengthened significantly again following a slow down in recent years. Consequently, this event has completely fulfilled our expectations – and even surpassed them in some areas”.

In total, Klaus Dittrich, managing director of the Munich show organizer, and the entire Productronica team showed that they of course were very pleased about the fact of welcoming more attendees than two years ago, and that the number of exhibiting companies remained on a high level despite the consolidation process. “What is even more important to us”, says the executive, “is the fact that the attendees represent a highly qualified group. This means that our worldwide marketing activities have achieved the desired result. Another factor that contributed significantly to the success was the excellent quality of the highly relevant forums. We were able to implement them through the support of the industry associations VDMA, ZVEI, IVAM, SEMI, IPC, SMTA and iNEMI, as well as numerous national and international media partners. The wide range of 127 single events covered almost every topic of current interest in the field of electronics production”.

By the way, the next Productronica will be held from November 13 to 16 in 2007 on the grounds of the New Munich Trade Fair Center. Hopefully, we will see then a comparable optimistic industry.

Gerhard B. Wolski

EPP EUROPE 402