2017FLEX Monterey Focuses on Accelerating to Manufacturing as Industry Growth Escalates

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FlexTech’s annual Flexible Electronics Conference and Exhibit – 2017FLEX – is set for the Hyatt Regency Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California from June 19-22, 2017. Consistently attracting more than 500 registrants, the event is the premier technology conference for the emerging flexible electronics industry. Twenty-six sessions will cover the landscape of flexible hybrid electronics and printed electronics, including R&D, manufacturing and applications. Short courses and networking events round out 2017FLEX. 

According to Zion Research, “global demand for the flexible electronics market was valued at $5.13 billion in 2015 and is expected to generate revenue of $16.5 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 21% between 2016 and 2021.” Key elements of the market include flex displays, sensors, batteries, and memory. Applications also abound in the automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare, and industrial sectors.

While technology advancement and accelerating to manufacturing are the primary themes of the FLEX Conference, applications and business trends are highlighted on the opening day:

• Applied Materials Keynote by Brian Shieh, corporate VP and GM, Display Business Group, on the flexible display market
• Flex, the global EMS provider, and NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute, on the challenges and solutions for manufacturing flexible and stretchable electronics 
• Libelium on how new IOT platforms that integrate sensors to monitor and control body parameters will lead to better healthcare for billions
• Experience Co-Creation Partnership on the ten starting points for the development of flexible/hybrid sensors for agriculture and food
• NovaCentrix on the OE-A Roadmap 2017, giving an outlook on organic and printed electronics developments and prospects
• Gartner Group on when flexible electronics will reach critical mass

Sessions are planned for FHE manufacturing, standards and reliability, substrates, conductors, inspection, encapsulation and coating, nanoparticle inks, direct write, and 3D printing, among others. Well-known companies will present, such as Molex, Panasonic, Eastman Chemical, and Northrup Grumman, as well as leading universities, and the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories.

Among the R&D organizations presenting at 2017FLEX are CEA-LITEN (France), ETRI (South Korea), Flexible Electronics & Display Center (USA), Fraunhofer Institute (Germany), Holst Center (Netherlands), National Research Council (Canada), PARC (USA), and VTT (Finland). Topics of the presentations range from new forms of flexible substrates to TFT and OLED pilot lines to printed health monitoring sensors. 

The exhibit floor, short courses and networking opportunities round out the event, as well as many member-only meetings.  FlexTech, the Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium (NBMC) and NextFlex hold member and planning meetings for the governing councils, technical councils and technology working groups. Initiatives in manufacturing, mobile power, e-health, as well as project proposals will be discussed, all buoyed by the information shared during the technical conference.

For more information on 2017FLEX, please click here.

About SEMI

SEMI connects nearly 2,000 member companies and 250,000 professionals worldwide annually to advance the technology and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Since 1970, SEMI has built connections that have helped its members grow, create new markets, and address common industry challenges together. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley (Milpitas, Calif.), Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org.

About FlexTech

FlexTech, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, is focused on growth, profitability, and success throughout the manufacturing and distribution chain of flexible hybrid electronics, by developing solutions for advancing these technologies from R&D to commercialization. Visit FlexTech at www.flextech.org.