Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The Shaughnessy Report: On With the Show

It's almost 2023 and I keep asking myself, “Where did the year go?”

It’s been a pretty good year all around. From conversations that I've had at conferences recently, I know that some of your companies have had great years, in spite of supply chain pressures, an old-fashioned shooting war near some of our manufacturing base, and some unfilled positions in your office.

You are taking care of business, and it's a great time to be in this industry. To that end, we’re looking forward to meeting up at IPC APEX EXPO 2023, which takes place Jan. 21–26 at the San Diego Convention Center. In some ways, this will be the first true post-pandemic expo.

Unlike the 2022 show, there currently are no mask requirements this time. This will go a long way toward bringing back that feeling of community and camaraderie, a vibe that got lost when we all looked like bank robbers. It will be nice to see your smiling faces again, even if most of us likely won’t win any beauty contests. I hope that elbow-bumping is passé now too. In for a penny, in for a pound.

I know a lot of huggers in this industry, especially in sales and marketing, and for them, IPC APEX EXPO 2023 will be like a return to the good old days. I bet some of you are practicing in the mirror right now, saying, “Come on, bring it in, big guy!” (You know who you are.)

There’s a lot of excitement around this show, and the event is shaping up to match expectations. This year, IPC has about 370 exhibitors signed up, and more classes—with better content in the Professional Development and Technical Conference sections—than I can remember.

In this month’s issue of PCB007 Magazine, we bring you a preview of the big show. You’ll see articles and interviews with show organizers, committee leaders, and instructors. Julia Gumminger has a sneak peak of the special sessions at the show, while Alicia Balonek brings us details about the Women in Electronics Reception, and Gaurab Majumdar discusses the first-ever India Pavilion, which will showcase many of India’s PCB manufacturers. Charlene Gunter du Plessis of the IPC Education Foundation has details about the organization’s continuing drive to attract more students to STEM classes and careers, including a STEM event that takes place on Jan. 25–26.

As the new managing editor for IPC Community, Michelle Te discusses this industry-specific quarterly magazine that will be launched at the show. Copies of this publication will be available throughout the show in digital and printed format. Hard to believe we hired Michelle in April 2020 and didn’t get to meet her in person until IPC APEX EXPO 2022. She really upped the ante among us editors, and she’ll be managing this new magazine.

We even have one article designed to help you justify to your manager why you need to attend this show. When you suggest traveling to a nice location like San Diego, your manager might give you the side-eye, but if you’re armed with the info in this issue of PCB007 Magazine, I think you can make a pretty good case for yourself.

To round out our preshow coverage, we invite you to stop by our state-of-the-art booth and chat with us. We’ll be there all week, greeting guests while our editors and guest editors will be conducting scores of Real Time with… I-Connect007 video interviews with the industry’s top engineers, managers, and executives.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season, and I hope to see you in San Diego next month. Have a Happy New Year!

This column originally appeared in the December 2022 issue of PCB007 Magazine.