Can you remember when business addresses used to include telex numbers? And computer screens produced, in the main, nothing but small green characters? Yes, this really is how it was. I was reminded of these things when I recently pulled out of a box containing my own personal relics the catalogue from the first SMT and leafed through it. The first SMT. In 1987. 25 years ago, when Chris de Burgh was singing “The Lady in Red” and Madonna yearned for “La Isla Bonita”. Some things from those days seem terribly antiquated, others still seem wonderfully fresh.
And what’s become of the SMT since then? It’s grown more than fivefold – from 102 exhibitors and about 4,000 visitors at the first event in Sindelfingen to the 530 exhibitors and 22,000 visitors who are expected at SMT Hybrid Packaging 2012. Clearly such growth is only possible where a project offers right from the outset a seed of success. The whole sector has benefited from the blossoming of this event.
In addition to the remarkable growth seen in the figures, the profile of the event has also changed. Whilst at the outset the one or two visitors and exhibitors from abroad pointed towards increasing globalisation, the distinctive international flavour of the event today is one of its key characteristics. With exhibitors and visitors coming from all over the world SMT Hybrid Packaging has become Europe’s largest event on system integration in microelectronics.
So as SMT Hybrid Packaging celebrates its quarter century birthday, it continues to attract top quality participation. Yet it would also not be untimely to ask about the event’s future. Will it retain its significance? Yes, because system integration in microelectronics has a considerable role to play in the technologies which will help us master the challenges of the 21st century. And opportunities to exchange knowledge and experience will therefore become ever more significant. Only the linking of players from academia and research with those from manufacturing and applications will transform knowledge into successful products and this means the event will become even more important. We invite you to be part of the continuing success story of system integration in microelectronics at SMT Hybrid Packaging 2012.
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