productronica China 2021 closes successfully

From March 17–19, 2021, productronica China was successfully held in Shanghai International Expo Centre (SNIEC). productronica China 2021 was held separately from electronica China for the first time this year, expanding the scale of the exhibition. The show attracted 735 exhibitors and their innovative solutions in electronic manufacturing presented to 76,393 visitors on the 65,000 square meter exhibition space. The booked space increased by 12% compared to pre-pandemic figures. Thanks to the results of epidemic prevention, China's economy is the first to recover in the world. There were business opportunities everywhere at productronica China 2021, providing a vibrant environment for the intelligent electronic manufacturing industry.

Falk Senger, Managing Director of Messe München GmbH, was very satisfied with the contribution made by productronica China 2021 to the whole industry that has been deeply affected by the pandemic: “As one of the leading platforms for innovative electronic manufacturing, productronica China is very important for strengthening connections with local customers, transmitting information about industry trends and sharing future technologies. We are confident in the future market and we believe, the global economy will gradually recover. To achieve this goal, the exhibition makes an important contribution.”

Smart electronic manufacturing in focus

Driven by advancements in 5G, new infrastructure, big data and industrial internet, smart manufacturing has become a pioneer in the accelerated digital economy.

Stephen Lu, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Muenchen Shanghai Co., Ltd., talked about how to promote the electronics industry after the crisis in 2020: “Intelligent manufacturing is the focus of the digital economy, and it will surely become the main field for international competition. Our goal is to seize the opportunities in intelligent manufacturing and strengthen the integration of the Internet of Things. I am very pleased to see that productronica China has successfully built a display and exchange platform for the entire industry. Exhibitors can showcase their most advanced product and technologies at the exhibition to further promote the growth of the digital economy.”

Flexible intelligent manufacturing for the SMT industry and smart factories

Adopting the concept of intelligent manufacturing, and establishing an efficient, agile, flexible and resource-sharing intelligent SMT manufacturing model has become the main development path of the electronic manufacturing industry, and it is also important for improving SMT manufacturing capacity and quality. At productronica China 2021, leading SMT line brands, e.g., PANASONIC, Fuji, Yamaha, Europlacer, Yishi, Musashi, and Kurtz Ersa, demonstrated their smart factory solutions for professional customers and provided technical solutions and inspiration to the Chinese electronics manufacturing industry in a scenario-based manner.

In addition, manufacturers such as Europlacer, Kurtz Ersa, and YXLON also presented complete lines in the Smart Factory exhibition area in hall E4, which demonstrated the complete process of how the mascot of the Year of the Ox is produced. The process included intelligent warehousing, surface mount welding, plug-in welding, optical inspection, electrical performance inspection, robot assembly, factory data collection, etc.

Kirby Zhang, General Manager-State Business Sector of Europlacer (Shanghai) Co., Ltd referred: “productronica China is a platform we appreciate very much, providing a good opportunity for product exhibition. It is very successful, with a large number of visitors and a comprehensive range of exhibits.”

New energy vehicle aided by wire harnessing to enable zero-carbon emission

The innovation of wire harness technology and processing equipment will be a powerful aid to fully electric automobiles. At productronica China 2021, TE Connectivity, Komax, Schleuniger, Schunk Sonosystems, J.A.M., SHINMAYWA, Hiprecise, BOZHIWANG and many other outstanding brands in the industry launched their newly developed automated wire processing equipment and technology. Their innovative solutions and strong technical support will help customers establish digital, intelligent production and flexible processing that improves production efficiency and secure more opportunities.

Sean Rong, Managing Director Komax China of Komax (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. expressed: “We are an old friend of productronica China. Overall, we are quite satisfied, and as usual, we will participate in the exhibition next year.”

Rapid growth of automation industry promotes the intelligent upgrade in manufacturing

The intelligent manufacturing industry in China has been significantly improved, a number of representative application systems and markets have been formed, and emerging industries such as industrial robots and intelligent logistics equipment have made rapid growth at a rate of more than 30%. China will continue to accelerate the transformation of the manufacturing industry toward automation, digitization, and intelligence. In 2021, productronica China brought together many industrial automation companies to provide more solutions for smart electronic manufacturing factories. In addition to the traditional industrial robots and automation industry giants as FANUC and HIWIN, there are also Chinese and foreign collaborative robot manufacturers such as JAKA and FLEXIV as well as Iplus Mobot, Siasun, Standard Robots, and ForwardX Robotics. In addition, outstanding brands such as MOONS’, Han's Automation Precision Control Technology, Beckhoff Automation, Leadshine, B&R Industrial Automation Technology, Delta, Pepperl+Fuchs, and Atlas Copco also demonstrated their high-end innovative technologies aimed at the electronics manufacturing industry.

Chen Guo, Key Account&HMV Director of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence mentioned: “We have always given productronica China a high praise. The fair is both professional and representative of cutting-edge technology. Through productronica China, we can promote new technical solutions to the market, and expose our brand image to more customers.”

Smart dispensing equipment is the entry point of technological upgrade in the post-pandemic era

At present, dispensing is widely used in any industrial process involving glue and fluid control. In the post-epidemic era, enterprises need to think about how to use automation technology to reduce costs further, increase efficiency and avoid risks. Making the dispensing line more efficient, more productive, and smarter has also become the main entry point for such upgrade. productronica China 2021 has created a comprehensive display and exchange platform for dispensing technology, bringing together Nordson, Scheugenpflug, bdtronic, Dopag and ViscoTec. Major electronic chemical material companies such as Henkel, Dow, H.B. Fuller, Panacol, Shin-Etsu, WEVO-Chemie, DELO Industrial Adhesives showed their new dispensing and chemical material technologies and products, bringing a wealth of innovative solutions to customers in industries such 3C, automotive, and medicine.

Kenny Chen, Sales Supervisor of Plastic Bonding Adhesives (South China) from Nordson (China) Co., Ltd., said: “productronica China covers the entire industry chain of the electronics industry. Through the fair, we have more opportunities to communicate with peers and customers. We have been a "loyal customer" of productronica China for more than ten years, and we will continue to support productronica China and grow together in the days to come.”

Forward-looking forums with industry experts

Along with the exhibition, many industry forums were held. At the “2021 China Wire Harness Forum”, experts from Tyco, Rosenberg, and SAIC Volkswagen shared their opinion on current hot topics such as automotive wiring harness processing and high-voltage wiring harness automation. The “International Dispensing & Adhesive Technology Innovation Forum” featured experts from Nordson, Hoenle, and Dow to discuss the application of dispensing and adhesive technology in different scenarios. The first “Intelligence Manufacturing and Industrial Automation Forum” invited experts from B&R Industrial Automation Technology and Phoenix to share their innovative technologies and solutions. In addition, the 16th EM Asia Innovation Award Ceremony commended suppliers who have made outstanding contributions to the development and innovation of the electronics manufacturing industry. The three-day exhibition featured exciting activities such as summit forums, technical seminars, and lock pay contests. The high quality of the activities was met with unanimous praise by the audience.

Facing the challenges presented in 2020, productronica China has been reborn. Thanks to its established advantages and resources, the size of the exhibition has again expanded, creating an innovative display platform covering the entire industry chain. It built a bridge for innovative technology and solutions. Outstanding exhibitors displayed their new and dazzling products, giving confidence to the entire industry amid the threat of the pandemic.

The international trade fair for electronic components, systems, applications and solutions, electronica China 2021, will take place from April 14–16, 2021, at SNIEC.

The next productronica China will be held in Shanghai on March 23–25, 2022 (*).

(*) New Date 2022 ex post revised.