“There is no alternative to personal contact”

productronica was held on the fairgrounds of Messe München on November 16—19 in observance of strict hygienic rules: Exhibitors were required to be recovered from a COVID-19 infection, be vaccinated or have a negative PCR test result. Visitors had to be either recovered or vaccinated. A total of 894 exhibitors from 36 countries and about 20,000 visitors from nearly 70 countries attended this year’s edition of the world’s leading trade fair for electronics development and production. The share of international visitors among all visitors was around 60 percent in spite of all the restrictions.

The Top 10 visitor countries after Germany were (in this order): Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Netherlands.

Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy CEO of Messe München, expressed his satisfaction with the trade fair: “We are really very happy that we could hold productronica as an in-person event. As you might expect, this year’s exhibition turned out to basically be Europe’s leading trade fair. But its appeal extended well beyond the region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as the large number of visitors from Italy, France, Israel and Turkey demonstrated.” Barbara Müller, the Exhibition Director of productronica, added: “productronica underscored its position as a leading trade fair for the industry.”

Exhibitors agree: attendance more important than ever

Rainer Kurtz, the Chairman of the Advisory Board for productronica and the CEO of Kurtz Holding, agreed with Barbara Müller: “productronica demonstrated once again that it is actually something more than the leading trade fair for electronics production.” Elaborating on his experience with the in-person event, he added: “For our customers and business partners, there is no alternative to personal contact. The industry lives from this showcase of innovation. Considering the current pandemic situation, we think the trade fair was a complete success.” Thilo Brückner, the CEO of EMINT productronic, a trade association of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, expressed his satisfaction with the event: “productronica was a very successful trade fair for EMINT and its members. Visitors, many of whom came from European countries outside Germany, had specific projects in mind and showed just how important in-person trade fairs are.” Volker Pape, a co-founder and member of the Supervisory Board at Viscom AG, stressed one other point: “We are happy that we could meet face to face with our customers once again and make live presentations of Viscom technology, even amid all of the restrictions. productronica proved its importance as a leading trade fair even in these times. The number of visitors was certainly below the levels seen during ‘normal’ times, but it was still much higher than expected.”

productronica Innovation Award

For the fourth time, Messe München joined with the publishing company Hüthig Verlag to present the productronica Innovation Award. The 60 nominations for the award, the winners of which are traditionally honored on the first day of the trade fair, demonstrated that the industry possesses an immense amount of ingenuity even amid today’s unsettled times.

• Cluster “Cables, Coils & Hybrids”: Schleuniger AG
• Cluster “Future Markets”: Koh Young Europe GmbH
• Cluster “Inspection & Quality”: Alfamation S.p.A.
• Cluster “PCB & EMS”: IO Tech
• Cluster “Semiconductor”: AP&S International GmbH
• Cluster “SMT”: SMT Maschinen- und Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG

Much tradition, a premiere: “productronica online”

“productronica online,” an addition that helps exhibitors and visitors digitally connect to one another, celebrated its premiere. The platform went online for the first time on November 8 and will remain online until November 26. All individuals taking part in the in-person event in Munich automatically had access to it. About 5,000 participants had used this new service by the final trade fair day.

The next productronica will be held from November 14—17, 2023, at the fairgrounds in Munich.

Other statements from our exhibitors and partners (in alphabetical order):

Dr. Sandra Engle, speaker, German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association Productronic
“Member companies of EMINT were pleased with productronica, even under the restrictions that applied to it. During the wide-ranging talks given at the Innovation Forum, visitors had an opportunity to learn about the topics that are moving the industry, including quantum technology, electromobility and innovative handling solutions for electronics production.”

Klaus Gross, Managing Director, FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH
“Fuji was very satisfied with productronica 2021. First, we were quite pleased about the number of visitors we had. We had about 30 percent to 40 percent fewer visitors than in 2019. But this was still much higher than we expected. Second, the conversations we had were very high quality. In many cases, they were even paired with a specific investment project. We are also very happy about the opportunity the trade fair gave us to meet in person with customers after a two-year period of abstinence. It was quite a refreshing feeling after spending so much time with TEAMS, Webex, Zoom and co.”

Günter Lauber, the CEO of SMT Solutions Segment & EVPc, ASMPT
“We are very satisfied. The atmosphere at our booth was really great. I believe one thing in particular: Now is the right time for hybrid trade fairs and events. We must also bring together the best of both worlds here, just as we have all learned to do in the past two years. This is also the case for productronica. Messe München created an exceptional platform here and applied an excellent safety concept as well!”

Ajit Manocha, President and CEO, SEMI
“The return of SEMICON Europa, co-located with productronica, to an in-person gathering with the necessary health and safety protocols is a vital step forward for the microelectronics industry in Europe. SEMI is excited to again be gathering leaders with the brightest minds from across the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain to collaborate in addressing the many shared opportunities and challenges we face.”

Jürgen Ries, Managing Director, ASYS Automatisierungssysteme GmbH
“We have seen in general that topics can be addressed well with digital formats – but these formats cannot completely replace in-person events. Following the long lockdown, we were extremely happy about the decision to hold productronica once again. productronica is definitely the leading trade fair for the electronics industry, and it means the world to us. Of course, we were a little worried about the number of visitors who would attend due to the worsening coronavirus situation. We were more than pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors, and the quality of our conversations was excellent.”

Christoph Stoppok, Managing Director, the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association’s ELECTRONIC trade association
“productronica was one of the few in-person trade fairs to be held this year. It was very positively received by exhibitors and visitors alike. Exhibitors and visitors really enjoyed their encounters with other people, their interesting conversations and the chance to really develop and cultivate business relationships. The pandemic has certainly given digitalization a tremendous boost. But digitalization will never be able to replace personal encounters. It can only complement them. In this regard, exhibitors and visitors are looking forward to other trade fairs in Munich.”

You will find photos of this year’s productronica in the media database.

You will find additional information at https://productronica.com.