It was all business at IPC Apex Expo 2018 as 9,169 electronics manufacturing professionals from 43 countries converged at the San Diego Convention Center. In addition to experiencing a 22% increase in first-day show floor attendance, Apex hosted a sold-out exhibition: 479 exhibitors showcased cutting-edge products and services on 149,700 net square feet, making it the largest exhibition in a decade. And with more than 80 % of the 4,574 attendees identifying themselves as key buyers or influencers, the exhibitors at North America‘s largest electronics assembly event enjoyed three days of qualified leads, business development, and brisk sales.
In keeping with the event’s theme, “Succeed at the Velocity of Technology,” it featured nearly 100 technical papers detailing original research and innovations from industry experts around the world. Attendees had access to new research on materials and processes, opportunities to learn more about trending materials, applications and processes such as Industry 4.0 (including a live demonstration on the show floor by more than two dozen exhibitors using CFX standard) and e-textiles.
The show‘s full- and half-day professional development courses blended traditional electronics industry topics with hot-new developments, delivered by corporate technologists, consultants, training center staff and university faculty. Attendees chose from an array of leading topics such as: PCB fabrication troubleshooting; dispensing/jetting; printing; manufacturing yield, defect analysis, failure analysis; reliability and design for excellence (DFX).
“When I spoke with exhibitors and attendees at this year’s show, feedback was resoundingly positive. Attendees said that networking and educational events and activities helped them find new ways to solve challenges; the exhibition provided them the opportunity to meet suppliers that could help them save time and money, and foster new business opportunities,” said John Mitchell, President and CEO. “Overall, I am proud of everything we accomplished in San Diego, I am equally as invigorated with everything we will do in the rest of the year. We are already working on putting together next year’s show, and look forward to our industry’s continued support in making IPC Apex Expo 2019 a success.”
In 2019, the show will return to the San Diego Convention Center, January 26–31. Industry researchers, engineers and academics are invited to submit an abstract for consideration in next year’s technical conference or professional development courses in the online Call for Participation at www.ipcapexexpo.org/cfp.
