Last week most of the UPMG crew was in Las Vegas at Apex. It was the first Apex I’d attended in several years so I thought I’d get a fresh, first hand taste of the show and try to get a sense of the state of the PCB industry. Since Apex is primarily an assembly oriented show, the Circuits Assembly crew was the busiest. When I did get a chance to see CA Editor-in-Chief Mike Buetow he was running from appointment to appointment and asking for a Segue or motorized skateboard to get around the hall.
I did get a chance to talk to a couple of designers and people involved in design, and also a couple of people from the fab side of the business. But to be honest I could have probably gotten everything I needed to get done in two days and saved that $100 I fed the slot machines. And speaking of gambling, everyone else I talked to seemed to win money in Vegas. Am I the only one that loses money in Vegas? I’m still trying to do the math and figure out how the casinos can stay in business for three days on my measly $100.
Vegas is in some ways the best and the worst place to have a trade show. While there are lots of things to do away from the show, we all know the main function for Vegas and I don’t mean the shopping. I also figured out why the hotels (casinos) are all interconnected – they can’t put slot machines outside on the street.
I’d advise anyone who wants a good rundown on Apex to see Mike’s blog(s). I’ll just say that depending on who you talked to, attendance was either up, down or flat and Apex is still an assembly show.