IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries has released verified attendance figures from IPC APEX Expo, held April 12-14, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada, indicating an 8% increase over last year with 7,208 total participants. The number of attendees at the educational programs and exhibition grew an additional 5% over last year to 3,887, but most notably, 20% more of these attendees participated in the technical conference and/or professional development courses.
The largest event in North America dedicated to the electronic interconnect industry, IPC APEX Expo saw a sizable increase in international attendance, representing 52 countries and nearly 20% of all attendees.
“International attendees are participating in the conference and courses in growing numbers, as well as the industry’s all-important standards development meetings,” says Denny McGuirk, IPC President and CEO. An activity unique to IPC events, standards setting is vital to the global electronics industry. McGuirk explains that as more industry leaders participate in standards meetings through IPC groups such as TGAsia and TGNordic, these individuals, he says, “… understand the value of face-to-face networking with their colleagues around the world to develop industry best practices.”
The increased attendance was also met with increased participation from companies on the show floor with 366 exhibitors, a 10% increase over 2010, spanning 112,820 square feet of exhibit space. The exhibition makes life for attendees like Steve Draws, a procurement professional with Plexus Corporation, much easier. “This show is invaluable in helping me to research and evaluate products, and to make sensible, money-saving decisions on purchases for my company.” More than 78% of respondents to the IPC APEX Expo postshow survey agree with Draws, indicating that the exhibition influences their buying choices throughout the year.
To help attendees sort through the information overload of the packed exhibition, IPC introduced “My APEX Expo” this year, an online personalized show planner to help attendees effectively plan their itinerary to focus on their companies’ priorities.
“We were extremely pleased with a very steady flow of visitors in our booth, all three days,” says Scott Rushia, Sales Manager for Martin. “It was a good combination of people who came to the exhibition with Martin and Finetech rework systems on their prepared research list, as well as others who discovered us on the show floor. The days were full of relevant demos and we took some orders at the show.”