Where is the electronics production industry headed? productronica, which occurred at the Munich trade fair on November 14th to the 17th, 2017, provided answers to that question. 1,200 exhibitors from 42 countries presented innovations from the fields of electronics production and development.
The focus was on topics such as the Internet of Things, as well as big data and miniaturization. Among other things, the special shows “Smart Data—Future Manufacturing” and “Hardware Data Mining” staged by the VDMA and Fraunhofer IZM showcased various scenarios: from the impact of sensors on production machinery to the use of large quantities of data for new business models.
Falk Senger, Managing Director of Messe München, looked back at four successful days: “productronica impressively demonstrated its position as the world’s leading trade fair and global innovation platform this year. With an enormous surge in the number of visitors, as well as a sharp increase in international ones, productronica 2017 showed that Munich is the world’s hotspot for electronics manufacturing.”
Rainer Kurtz, Chairman of productronica’s Technical Advisory Board and CEO of kurtz ersa, endorsed that view: “productronica confirmed the positive growth forecast for the industry. The great interest in smart technologies shows that digitalization has finally arrived in the electronics manufacturing industry. Now we need to keep this momentum going.”
Thilo Brückner, Managing Director of VDMA EMINT, also expressed his great satisfaction: “productronica was yet again a very successful trade fair for the VDMA and its member companies. The exhibitors reported many promising, high-quality contacts and confirm the positive underlying sentiment in the industry.”
According to a survey by the market research institute Gelszus, visitor satisfaction again increased this year: 97 % of visitors gave productronica a rating of good to excellent. In addition, 96 % of those surveyed said that productronica met their expectations regarding innovations. 44,000 visitors from 85 countries came to Munich, an increase of almost 20 % over the previous event.
The sharpest increase in attendance was in the number of visitors from Taiwan and the U.S., as well as France and the Netherlands. After Germany, the countries with the largest number of visitors were as follows (in this order): Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Russian Federation, the Czech Republic and Great Britain.
Semicon Europa
Semicon Europa celebrated its premiere at the Munich trade fair center this year. Staged alongside productronica, it presented solutions and products from the field of semiconductor production in hall B1. Ajit Manocha, CEO and President of the industry association SEMI, drew a positive conclusion: “One year ago, we made the decision to co-locate SEMICON Europa with productronica in Munich, and as expected results are quite positive. These results have been validated with positive feedback from exhibitors and high satisfaction from conference attendees and we are now looking forward to the next year co-location with electronica in 2018. I‘m also very happy about the numerous registrations for next year“. Semicon Europa will be held every year as part of productronica and electronica in Munich.
Successful continuation of the productronica innovation award
Following the premiere in 2015, the productronica innovation award was presented for the second time this year. Jury member, Professor Lothar Pfitzner from the University of Erlangen, was enthusiastic about the quality of the entries: “productronica is an ideal forum for the suggestions that were submitted and rewarded here.”
Of the around 60 submissions, awards were presented to the following companies in the six cluster categories: Nano Dimension in the PCB & EMS cluster, Juki Automation Systems in the SMT cluster, LPKF Laser & Electronics in the Semiconductors cluster, Komax in the Cables, Coils & Hybrids cluster, Acculogic in the Future Markets cluster, and Viscom in the Inspection & Quality cluster. Further information can be found at www.productronica.com/award
IT2Industry
IT2Industry was held for the second time as part of productronica. The final report can be found here, www.it2industry.de. IT2Industry will be part of automatica 2018 next year.
The trade fairs productronica and electronica are held in alternating years, making Munich the most important meeting place for the electronics industry. The next electronica will take place from November 13 to 16, 2018, and the next productronica will take place in Munich from November 12 to 15, 2019.
