A Brief History of IPC APEX EXPO

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Although IPC APEX EXPO was launched in 2000, the story began in 1994 with the opening of the IPC Printed Circuits Expo in Boston, where more than 1,700 people attended the event and which hosted 158 exhibitors.

In 1998, the Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturers Association (SMEMA) approached IPC for help. Because of IPC’s success with the Printed Circuits Expo and recognizing the need to establish control of its own event, the discussions between SMEMA and IPC ensued. This led to a merger between the two organizations and provided SMEMA with IPC member benefits. To further meet the needs of equipment manufacturers as well as other suppliers to the assembly industry, a new conference and exhibition was born. The goal of the IPC and SMEMA council was to produce the premier event for the electronics assembly industry, providing a cost-effective forum for user/supplier dialogue with the guiding principles of reduced costs, focus, and fairness. Named APEX, this new event focused on the full electronics manufacturing process and associated technologies. 

In 2004, IPC took the next logical step by co-locating the Printed Circuits Expo and the Designers Summit with APEX to create one event for the entire electronics interconnection industry. The intent of the APEX event was to concentrate solely on the electronics assembly industry. EXPO, the trade show floor exhibition, was designed to ensure that each exhibitor, regardless of booth size, is provided an equal opportunity to select exhibit space and that all show rules are fairly and uniformly applied to all exhibitors.

To that end, the exhibitor lottery drawing has remained the best way to guarantee each exhibitor has an equal opportunity to choose the best exhibit space. In keeping with IPC’s 40-year policy and to support the integrity of this important industry event for all paid exhibitors, no one who is not a part of the event’s official program can conduct or sponsor a function of any kind from the opening to the closing of the event. In short, any function that is not part of the event’s official program is prohibited.

To read this entire article, which appeared in the February 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.