ECWC11. Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition, International Hotel, Shanghai, China, 17-19 March 2008

Citation

(2008), "ECWC11. Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition, International Hotel, Shanghai, China, 17-19 March 2008", Circuit World, Vol. 34 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2008.21734dac.001

ECWC11. Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition, International Hotel, Shanghai, China, 17-19 March 2008

Article Type: Exhibitions and conferences From: Circuit World, Volume 34, Issue 4

This was the 11th world printed circuit conference and it was the first for China to host. It is now formed by the World Electronics Connections Council (WECC) of PCB organisations. David Bergman is the first Chairman of WECC, made up of six organisations, namely the IPC, EIPC, JPCS, KPCA, TPCA&IPCA and their Presidents are seen in the photo. The opening ceremonies are lavish affairs that always prelude the event, and this one was no exception, with attendance of nearly 1,000 people with almost 700 pre-registered. The host country has the advantage of being able to supply a larger number of the technical papers for the conference and of the papers presented; the breakdown by PCB organization was as shown in Table I.

The impression of the papers from these organizations, in terms of content was approximately as follows:

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  Japan. Top fabrication technology applications, advanced materials and processes.

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  Korea. Advanced mobile phone and telecom application papers.

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  North America. Chemical processes and design applications for high reliability, complex PCBs.

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  Europe. Advanced fabrication application, machinery and chemical processes.

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  China. “How to” papers, management of fabrication, problem solving, environmental and FR 4 materials basics.

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  Taiwan. Chemical processes and FR 4 laminate advancements.

The 92 papers and 28 posters presented over the three days were segregated into 27 topic sessions from management challenges I-III to new processes and HDI fabrication I and II. The World Conference reflects the current maturity of the PCB industry and the major focus on papers from each region reflected that region’s particular strengths. The two declining regions, North America and Europe, reflected sophisticated chemical research, North America on design superiority, and Europe on machinery and test. There were no OEMS or EMS attending from North America or Europe, although Europe had its major fabricators attending. Japan clearly leads in advanced fabrication technology and many materials. Korea was well represented in mobile phones and telecom advanced fabrication. The Taiwanese papers were mainly focused on advanced materials, FR4 and flex. China’s papers represented a growing laminate focus to catch up with Japan and Taiwan. Fabrication dealt with current concerns on the environment and the “Green” focus. Technology was not a topic but “Management” of production and technology was, representing the growing problem of lack of business and technical “Middle Management”. One senior Chinese manager stated that many of the “first tier” fabricators were doing significant technology work but “TOP” management is unwilling to share this information due to the competitive environment in China today, with their nearly 3,000 fabricators.

On the second day, the CPCA equipment exhibition opened in the exhibition park. These new buildings are patterned after the Munich exhibition facilities for Productronica. Many of the American, European and Japanese attendees disappeared, as they were there to run their booths at CPCA. This year, the PCB part occupied two buildings, with a third for electrical components and a fourth for Laser Technologies. This was in parallel with six buildings for SEMICON.

The closing ceremony had a government Minister who outlined the status of electronics and the printed circuit industries in China. Then he focused on the problems and structural issues and the challenges going forward for China. One area emphasized was the focus of R&D and intellectual property (IP). He stated that the number of patents from Chinese companies was going up but was nowhere near what companies like Panasonic, IBM or Siemens file each year. This forms a large percent of the costs of exports, but more importantly, it hinders the products from being “leading edge” and which can thus command higher profit margins. China has failed to realize their goal of 6 per cent profit margin; since 1999 they have only averaged 3.79 per cent profit margin. This requires China to focus more on R&D, management sciences and international marketing.

I have attended all 11 World PCB Conferences from London in 1975 to today. My parting impressions; I was disappointed by the meagre 30 Americans and 50 Europeans out of nearly 1,000 attending. The lack of North American and European OEMs and large fabricators also puzzles me! This conference is a way to size up the World PCB Market and Technical Climate. It appears that OEMs will have to get their PCB technologies from their fabricators but those fabricators were also absent. I do not know how fast local shows will disseminate that information but it was clear that the two BIG dragons of the East (Japan and China) and the two smaller dragons (Taiwan and Korea) are clearly the dominant factors in printed circuit technology both now and in the future.

CPCA observations

This was my second CPCA exhibition, but I am a veteran of 35 years of PCB equipment shows. After all of those, it takes a lot to impress me. This one did not. However, CPCA is new and China is still in its infancy for printed circuit production. It is a proverbial, 800 pound infant gorilla, with it being the number one PCB producer in the world now, over $12 Billion, with over 3,000 companies and a double digit growth rate. Because of these statistics, an equipment show is a big event and the International Exposition Park in Shanghai is a big place. The PCB part occupied two large buildings, while the Semicon and laser equipment occupied another seven buildings. There was even an electronic component exhibition going on and on the far side, a woodworking and furniture making equipment show. Brought together, with the 23 million inhabitants of Shanghai, the thoughts of a “circus” entered my mind and the crowds certainly reinforced that impression.

From an equipment point-of-view, there was nothing “new” there, for innovations, you have to go to the JPCA show in Tokyo in June. But, the industry was certainly represented by the exhibitors. Every nuance in PCB production had a booth there. From large automated systems down to the utility equipment, every aspect of PCB production was trying to sell us something. I even got to see equipment I have not seen in 30 years. Does anyone remember a Du Pont “A” processor for dry film? It was my first developer in 1971. Well, it is alive and well and being made by a Chinese company. There was a lot of the “simple” old equipment there, and why not, it still works and you cannot beat the price.

One unusual observation was the number of government laboratories and technical institutes with booths. In this country, it looks like these organizations want a piece of the electronics pie. I can see that this could be an advantage, since process development and research is still at a minimal level. That is one of my overwhelming impressions; the Chinese printed circuit industry is benefiting from 50 years of everyone else’s work and cashing in by investing in enormous factories and an abundant young work force. The government also seems to be taking another look at the printed circuit industry. Because of the pollution, PCBs have lost their favoured status with the government but, with 3,000 already established, this might be an example of closing the barn door after the horses have left! One old friend, who is Chinese but with 25 years of North American experience, was telling me that since profits have dropped so much for PCB owners, they are all doubling the size of their operations. If the industry demand does not rise proportionately, this will drive prices down even more and will further lower profits.

Seems we have a lot to look forward to!!

Happy Holden