APEX offers something for everyone
20 March 2011
One of the industry’s favourite events is nearly upon us. APEX is due to open its doors in Las Vegas on 12-14 April 2011 and once again it promises to be more than just an exhibition.
There is little place simply for exhibitions these days. People want to go to ‘events’. Certainly they want to find out about the latest products, but they also want to be educated and even entertained if they are going to commit a valuable day or two away from the workplace.
This is where I think APEX, the IPC’s main event of the year, gets it right. There is quite an array of choices of how to spend your time at APEX and these all contribute to the feeling that APEX is at the hub of the electronics industry.
As well as the 300+ exhibitors to see, the main feature is a full technical conference that covers new research and innovations from experts in the fields of electronics assembly and board fabrication and design.
Among the other features will be professional development course, the solar pavillion, Technology Center and several others, some of which are covered in EMTWorldWide this week.
Grabbing the headlines will be the opening day keynote by Steve Wozniak, aka "the Woz", who will address IPC APEX EXPO attendees to speak on fostering creativity and innovation - a topic the Silicon Valley icon is uniquely equipped to discuss. Wozniak helped invent the personal computer with his design of Apple's first line of products, the Apple I and II, and contributed to the development of the Macintosh.
However it is the keynote on the second day (13 April) that many people will be looking forward to. IPC Director of Market Research Sharon Starr will co-present a report on the global recovery with noted industry analyst Walt Custer, President of Custer Consulting Group.
“With some sectors leaping ahead and others struggling to maintain momentum, planning can be quite challenging,” notes Starr. “Companies can’t rely on generic industry growth statistics in this type of environment. Our keynote will present the latest data by type of business, sector and by geography, which provides invaluable indicators for the future.”
“We’ve named the speech ‘Navigating the Recovery’ because the environment is still quite difficult and competitive,” says Custer. “Companies need to focus on profitable sectors and customers that provide real opportunities. Being able to take advantage of the recovery requires a lot of agility and insight. I think this hour will be very valuable for planning in the year ahead.”
Custer and Starr will provide forecasts and trends for electronics equipment and component markets and discuss how seasonal and cyclical trends affect the industry and the supply chain.
This keynote, like entry to APEX itself, is free and to save queuing you can pre-register at http://www.ipcapexexpo.org, which also hosts much more information about the event.
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