Despite the Difficult financial situation faced by many exhibitors and attendees, Electronica 2008 attendance remained remarkably stable. Held Nov. 11-13 in Munich, Germany, the international trade fair attracted approximately 2,800 exhibitors — 58% of whom came from abroad — and around 72,000 attendees. These numbers are largely unchanged from Electronica 2006.
The number of attendees from Central and Eastern Europe, Taiwan, Brazil, South Africa and Russia increased compared to previous years. However, the number from the United States, United Kingdom, France and Israel declined, due in part to the current economic conditions and to individual companies' limits on the number of employees allowed to attend.
Exit evaluations revealed top marks for the completeness and range of the exhibited products and services. The results also showed respondents were pleased with the presence of market leaders and the internationality of exhibitors. The world economic situation dominated discussions in the exhibition halls, with almost all exhibitors and visitors expecting an economic downturn. Nevertheless, companies are confidently facing the situation and reorganizing accordingly.
The conference, which focused on automotive topics such as hybrid vehicles, low-cost cars and the i-car, drew 250 delegates from 23 countries. Speakers from leading international automotive companies attended, and the featured topic included technologies to reduce automotive CO2 emissions.
In addition, this year's Electronica proved to be the “greenest” one thus far, with the sustainable theme permeating the entire conference and trade fair. Numerous technologies and solutions providing higher energy efficiency, as well as energy generation components and systems that conserve resources, were featured.
The CEO Roundtable also tackled the green issue. Chaired by Dr. Jürgen Gromer, the former president of Tyco Electronics, the CEOs of Infineon Technologies, Freescale Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, National Semiconductor and Osram Opto Semiconductors discussed “The Contribution of the Semiconductor Industry to Climate Protection.” All agreed that intelligent semiconductors can significantly increase electronic systems' efficiency. The electronic industry's economic future is closely tied to increasing energy efficiency in each product developed.