The mood on-site was consistently positive, with 321 companies and partners expressing their gratitude and delight at the opportunity for spontaneous and fruitful business encounters: “My personal favorite aspect of the fair so far is the event itself!” says Iván Rodrigo Flor Cantos, Manager Marketing Europe Planning & Marketing at Panasonic Connect Europe GmbH. “I love the atmosphere and the opportunity to meet a lot of customers, partners and colleagues personally – all together at the same time. This intensive exchange of information after a long break is so valuable. Thank you to the SMTconnect team!”

EMS Park continues to gain importance

Numerous companies as well as consulting service represented the European EMS industry at the special show area EMS Park. Organizer Mesago, Dieter G. Weiss and the IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries invited participants to the Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening for a joint trade fair conclusion and networking. In addition, Dieter G. Weiss presented valuable insights from his analyses and studies on the European EMS market at the exhibition forum.

Mario Salhofer, Business Development and customer advisory service Germany, at GINZINGER ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS GMBH confirms the uniqueness and sinificance of the event for the industry: “The SMTconnect is certainly something special! At this fair, you can exchange ideas with like-minded people with complete openness. The honest communication within the SMTconnect community and the focus on a joint way forward are very important, especially after the past two years.”

Thomas Michels, Managing Director of ILFA Industrieelektronik und Leiterplattenfertigung aller Art GmbH, also acknowledges this: “The greatest value for us at the SMTconnect is to meet and talk to people who, just like us, are very close to the product. That’s why SMTconnect is a fixed point where we would like to exhibit regularly.”

Variety of highlights: Forum program, hand soldering competition and more

Trade visitors were able to connect with suppliers of printed circuit boards, components and materials at the PCB meets Components joint booth and discuss individual solutions. In addition, as in previous years, the IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries invited interested parties to put their soldering skills to the test in the hand soldering competition. At the trade fair forum in particular, it became clear which topics are currently occupying the community: In the multi-faceted program, topics such as sustainability, procurement management or artificial intelligence were addressed.

The next SMTconnect will take place from 9 to 11 May 2023 in Nuremberg. For more information, visit: www.smtconnect.com.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. The Messe Frankfurt Group employs around 2,500* people in a total of 30 subsidiaries. The company generated annual sales of approximately €250* million in 2020 after having recorded sales of €738 million the previous year. Even in difficult times caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we are globally networked with our industry sectors. We have close ties with our industry sectors and serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. One of the Group’s key USPs is its closely knit global sales network, which extends throughout the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are expanding our digital expertise with new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).

For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com

* preliminary figures 2020