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ATLANTA, March 30 — Attendees and exhibitors gave the 13th annual PCB Design Conference West
a "thumbs up" for the five-day conference program and two-day
exhibition. Almost three-fourths of the exhibitors have signed on for
next year's show.
Conference producer UP Media Group,
which also publishes PCD&M, also announced dates for PCB West 2005.
Next year's show will be held March 7-11 at the Santa Clara (CA)
Convention Center. (For more information, visit www.pcbwest.com.)
PCB West drew 1,482 attendees for the March 15-19 show, which was held at the San Jose Convention Center.
"Trade shows and conferences in just about every market have been
depressed in the last few years, so it is good to see that PCB design
shows are following the same upward trend that we're beginning to see
in other markets," said UPMG president Pete Waddell. "We also are
pleased that so many exhibitors have continued to include PCB West in
marketing budgets that remain cautious and tight. Our exhibitors were
enthusiastic about the quality of the attendee traffic on the show
floor—to the extent that 72% of our 2004 exhibitors have already
re-signed for 2005."
Rick Almeida, president of DownStream Technologies,
echoed Waddell. "DownStream Technologies decided to exhibit at PCB
Design Conference West 2004 because the exhibition provides our company
the most targeted access to the PCB design and manufacture
professionals that we want to reach. We are very pleased with the leads
that we were able to capture during the two-day exhibition and we've
already re-signed for next year's show."
According to Waddell, conference attendees also were excited by the
number and technical depth of courses taught during the five-day
conference, which included more than 35 technical courses.
"In fact," said Waddell, "this year's conference-only attendance not
only exceeded our forecast, it also expanded our reputation for
providing attendees with the best selection of technical courses and
expert speakers available at any PCB industry show, bar none."
Several special events were well-attended and received praise from
those who participated. These include the PCB Technology Forum and
Welcome Luncheon, the Keynote Address by Mentor Graphics CEO
Wally Rhines (on "Breaking the PCB Design Process"), and the PCB West
Book Store, which featured participation by publishers Prentice Hall and Wiley.
UPMG's next trade show is the eighth annual PCB Design Conference East 2004, which will be held October 4-8 at the Radisson Hotel Manchester in Manchester, NH.
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