Last month in Shenzhen, NEPCON/EMT South China hit new heights when the 2008 edition closed its doors on a series of records. The 14th annual Shenzhen show benefited from a cornucopia of new releases, and educational and networking events that provoked a surge in visitors. The exhibition, renowned for setting the pace for the industry, confirmed its reputation with a record-breaking 25,912 visitors and its concurrent events including Assembly Technology Expo China, Automotive Electronics South China and Finetech China 2008 over the four days. “NEPCON South China 2008 has exceeded my expectation in terms of visitor numbers. Although the market is not so strong this summer, NEPCON South China 2008 still attracted so many visitors. This is very impressive,” said Erik van de Ven, Senior Director of Business Support and Marketing for Asia Pacific at Assembléon.

Despite having such a large numbers of visitors to contend with, the concerted effort of the exhibition management to maintain consistently high-quality footfall also paid off. The number of visiting VIPs increased by 16 percent this year, hitting 3,714, and proving once more that NEPCON/EMT South China is indeed fully representative of the industry. The successful Diamond Club, launched for the first time for the Shenzhen event, which is designed to receive key executives including presidents, general managers and directors from key buying companies, brought in 159 participants. Moreover, the event has attracted recorded a breaking number of buyers at 743. “NEPCON/EMT South China is one of the world’s most important and effective electronics assembly exhibitions. The show management provides excellent promotion and execution, delivering high-quality show floor traffic,” said Richard H. Short, Director of Corporate Communications at Indium.

“We have been steadily building on our existing high-quality concurrent events to keep the show at the front of the pack,” said Josephine Lee, Vice President of Reed Exhibitions, East China, illuminating the remarkable success of NEPCON/EMT South China 2008. This year, NEPCON China events’ longstanding association with the SMTA continued to provide a cornerstone with the conference proving, as usual, to be a huge draw. Moreover, the Certified SMT Engineers Award entered its second year, allowing the brightest technical talent an opportunity to be recognized. These stalwarts were joined by the prestigious US-based International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, which kicked off with its Asian Steering Committee meeting and later discussed hot topics in the Test Technical Group and Asia Collaboration. However, this was not the only industry addition. Even individual companies have begun to take advantage of the vibrant environment of the show for their conferences. Foxconn held an important staff training on the 28 August led by a renowned expert in the Japanese SMT industry with more than 30 years experience at Sony and Foxconn.

Around the halls, exhibitors and visitors expressed general satisfaction with the event. Yohei Sato, International Sales and Marketing Account Manager at Fuji’s Electronics’ Assembly Equipment Division commented, “It is FUJI Headquarters’ first participation at NEPCON South China. The show gathered many of our customers, giving us an opportunity to communicate with them face to face and understand customers’ needs well. Meanwhile, our customers hope to witness FUJI’s innovations. It’s a win-win show both for customers and suppliers. We are 100 percent satisfied with the organizer’s service, spacious venue and the nice user forum. We’ll definitely return next year.”

“We are very happy with the outcome of the exhibition and determined to ride the ongoing wave of innovation for the benefit of future shows,” affirms Josephine Lee. “Currently, we are excited about the upcoming launch of e-NEPCON, which will allow our exhibitors to extend their presence at NEPCON/EMT”. The October roll-out of the online sourcing directory is set to provide the most comprehensive Web-based guide of top global SMT suppliers, showcasing the latest equipment and products 365 days a year. Exhibitors from all three ‘NEPCON across China’ events will be able to utilize this cost-effective marketing platform to reduce their annual sales costs and respond to growing needs for online sourcing. There has been a real buzz about the new site that will reach beyond even the tens of thousands of customers who visit the exhibitions.

The next NEPCON/EMT South China event will take place at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre from August 31-September 2, 2009. Given the popularity of the show, rebooking always starts early. Major exhibitors who already have reserved space for 2009 include Assembléon, Fuji, Hitachi, Juki, Kasion, Panasonic, Omron, Siemens, Samsung, Saki, Suneast, Universal and WKK.