Minneapolis, MN - The SMTA today released a summary of the SMTA International Conference and Exhibition 2008 that took place August 17-21 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

“The conference and exposition are world renowned for high caliber speakers that draw key decision makers from around the world”, said Dan Baldwin, SMTA’s new President. “Orlando was no exception,” continued Baldwin. “International speakers from 13 countries continued a long tradition of SMTAI addressing the key technical issues facing our global industry.” Speakers came from countries all over the world including Australia, China, France, Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Finland, Canada, and Thailand.

While threatening and periodically inclement weather did dampen local visitor attendance, the attendance at conference sessions was impressive. “The session addressing cleaning issues was near capacity,” said Mike Bixenman of Kyzen and General Technical Chair of the upcoming SMTA/IPC High Performance Electronics Assembly Cleaning Symposium in Chicago, IL, Oct. 28-29. “It was clearly the best in many years and bodes well for solid attendance at the all-star technical conference we have assembled for Chicago; hope to see everyone there.”

The Keynote Address also drew strong numbers. Attendees were treated to a presentation by Dr. Sharon Nunes, VP of Big Green Innovations at IBM who spoke on the strategic implications, benefits and business opportunities that green initiatives present to the industry in general. Photos and special presentation materials from SMTAI 2008 are available on the scrapbook page on the web at http://www.smta.org/smtai/scrapbook.cfm.

The 2009 SMTAI Conference and Exhibition will once again be held under one roof, but will return to the West Coast at The Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, CA on October 4-8, 2009. SMTAI will conduct its world-renowned conference, drawing an international audience of attendees to the conference and associated exhibit floor. Come focus with us in San Diego on the pressing challenges facing our industry, and hear how other leaders are solving those challenges first hand.