The largest electronics show for the printed circuit board industry wrapped up a three day event last week at Tokyo Big Sight in Japan. Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuit Association (JCPA) organized the event and sponsored the 39th International Electronic Circuits Exhibition, whose show ran concurrently with the 23rd Advanced Electronics Packaging Exhibition (2009 Microelectronics Show), and the 11th Jisso Process Technology Exhibition (Jisso Protect 2009).
Unfortunately, the global recession put a damper on things.
Many companies canceled booth reservations, forcing JPCA to reduce the floor size by 30% compared to last year. Expensive hotel rates in Tokyo coupled with shrinking travel budgets posed problems for business travelers from the Osaka and Kyushu areas.
A ban on non-essential business travel instituted last fall by many companies kept their representatives from attending the show.
The H1N1 virus (swine flu) could be another contributing factor for the increased cancellations; a handful of companies restricted travel for this reason. However, budgetary issues were not a problem for companies in and around Tokyo. Traveling expenses were minimal, and engineers could visit the exhibition using the petty cash fund.
On a positive note, over 500 companies and organizations were represented at the JPCA Show. The event arguably holds the title as the technical leader in showcasing technology for the printed circuits industry.
Major companies representing printed circuit manufacturers and vendors from related businesses displayed cutting edge technologies for printed circuits, materials and equipment.
Featured items this year included 3D packages, embedded components, fine pattern generation, printable electronics, LDI, high speed assembling and more.
About 30,000 visitors registered for the 3 day event, and more than 50,000 guests attended, bringing the total to 80,000. This is an impressive number, but still 20% less than last year’s show.
The number of foreigners was significantly lower, but a few representatives from Korean and Taiwanese companies made the trip.
One senior engineer from Taiwan canceled trips to all exhibitions due to the slowing economy and budget constraints; however, he was authorized to expense this trip.
The JPCA show is extremely important to attend since it is considered the best show in the industry and has the latest and greatest technologies on display.
Long lines at registration counters formed before the opening ceremony. This was a good sign, but the lines were still smaller than last year. It was pretty busy during the day, and foot traffic peaked during the afternoon, making it tough to navigate between booths.
The opening ceremony was very similar to previous years. A couple of hundred people gather at the registration floor, where delegates representing industrial organizations from North America, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, China and India are present.
The chairperson delivers a welcome speech, followed by the ignition of an H1 rocket by three hosts, signaling the opening of the exhibition.
A welcome reception greeted everyone during the first evening. Several hundred guests from markets throughout the world gathered to socialize and schmooze. This year’s social event was held at a designated area in the convention center instead of the hotel in an effort to reduce costs.
Most of the party goers were veteran leaders from the global printed circuit industry, and good friends. They enjoyed meeting up with each other, and topics of discussions included industry news and prognostications.
The last remaining hours of the reception featured American music from the Sony Jazz Orchestra.
Source: EPT Newsletter, VentureOutsource.com, June 2009
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