This year's Productronica, held at the New Munich Trade Fair Center in Munich, Germany, attracted approximately 40,000 visitors, with two-thirds from Germany and the remaining third from around the world. This was the most active international trade fair for electronics production in quite some time. You could almost hear the universal sigh of relief from exhibitors as attendees bumped into one another looking at the 30 new SMT pick-and-place machines, as well as new soldering equipment, screen printers, X-ray and optical vision systems, and test equipment.

Click here to enlarge image Henry Lee with Gail How do Europeans see the world of electronics shaping up? The Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive, the guideline for restricting the use of harmful substances such as lead in electrical and electronic equipment will come into force in July 2006. The most commonly agreed upon eutectic solder replacement for tin-lead solder in Asia and Europe is a tin-silver-copper alloy that melts at 217��C. (For more info on lead-free technology, visit www.lead-free.org.) Japan leads the way, followed by Europe. China is on the verge of following Europe, while the U.S. is still exploring options.

European electronics experts remain amazed at how quickly EMS has moved to China. The Chinese share of the worldwide electronics market rose from 10 percent in 2000 to approximately 30 percent in 2002. Credit Suisse estimates that this number will reach 70 percent of total world electronics in three to five years. Since China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the confidence of multinational companies in the Chinese economy rose accordingly. European companies would like to sell production equipment to this emerging market, but are finding it difficult to lower their prices to attract buyers. U.S. assembly and production equipment makers expressed the same frustration overall.

What I found interesting was the number of partnerships between companies worldwide, consolidation and refocusing within individual companies, and the emphasis on calibration and quality control overall. Siemens Dematic introduced the Siplace HF/3 with three gantries, making it 14,000 cph faster than the Siplace HF. We toured Siemens' factory to see the careful calibration and testing their new equipment goes through before shipment and setup at a customer site. Willow Grove, Pa.-based Tyco Electronics introduced us to their Korean partner, Mirae. We interviewed Henry Lee, president and CEO of Mirae, a semiconductor test handler and board pick-and-place company. Tyco Electronics has agreed to represent Mirae for sales and service of their pick-and-place equipment in the U.S., and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As seen from their joint engineering projects and inside access to background information, this is a relationship that really works well.

Through European eyes, the world of electronics looks hopeful.

Gail Flower Editor-in-Chief