A total of 417 companies from 26 countries presented their products and services in an area of 26,200 m². International exhibitors comprised 40% of the exhibitors, reflecting the exhibition's relevance to the European market.
SMTconnect 2019 attracted 13,050 visitors, 35% of whom came from 60 countries. In addition to the DACH region, the following countries were among the most represented: Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Great Britain, China, the Netherlands, Poland, and France.
Visitors work in the areas of production (27%), management (19%), research and development (17%), construction and technology (16%), and sales (10%). The fact that SMTconnect is suitable for preparing business transactions is not at all due to the audience's decision-making authority: 83% of visitors are involved in purchasing decisions within their companies.
In the 2019 exhibitor survey, 97% of exhibitors praised the discussions with visitors. "The quality of the discussions at SMTconnect is particularly high. Visitors to our stand are experts who know what they want, down to a specific order," comments Stefan Janssen, Deputy Managing Director, FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH.
According to this year's visitor survey, the main visitor industries were industrial electronics, EMS, and automotive. The EMS industry was given its own platform at SMTconnect 2019 with the dedicated EMS Park showcase area. This was very well received, attracting 12 exhibitors, and will be expanded next year. "Participating as an exhibitor in EMS Park was definitely a good investment for us. The discussions we had were very substantive and offer great potential," explains Dr. Lars Rebenklau, Systems Integration and Electronic Logistics Groupmanager, Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic and Systems Technologies (IKTS).
The Technology Days registered 164 bookings for substrates and solders. 16% of the participants came from abroad. The main objective of the participants—to gain access to specialized technical knowledge—was almost entirely achieved, with over 80% fulfilling their goal. Due to the positive response, the Technology Days will continue at SMTconnect 2020.
The next SMTconnect will take place in Nuremberg from May 5–7, 2020.
