This past week I attended the Productronica electronics trade show in Munich, Germany. About 38,000 visitors from 80 countries visited this exhibition.

I had the honor of speaking all four days. My topic was the “Business Outlook for the Global Electronics Industry (with emphasis on Europe.)” My charts are attached.

There was a very positive tone for the exhibition – both by the exhibitors and visitors.The show aisles were continually busy.

Rainer Kurtz, Advisory Board Chairman of Productronica, Managing Director of Kurtz Ersa and Chairman of the VDMA Electronics, Micro and Nano Technologies (EMINT), commented on the positive signals for the industry: "There are an incredible number of opportunities that drive our business. Industry 4.0 is a new market with the greatest growth potential. And in the field of automotive electronics, driving assistance systems significantly drive electronics manufacturing. The latest figures of the VDMA Business Climate Survey bear this out. According to studies, growth rates of around 15 per cent are expected by 2018 – among other things by Industry 4.0, the automobile industry, wireless network technologies and mobile communications.”

Munich’s weather in November is typically cold and often with snow or rain. But this year was a major exception with unseasonably warm, sunny weather. Despite the challenges of a Lufthansa strike everyone seemed to enjoy Productronica 2015 very much.


Walt D. Custer

Walt Custer

Walt Custer is an industry analyst focused on the global electronics industry. Prior to forming Custer Consulting Group he was Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Morton Electronic Materials, a global supplier of specialty chemicals and process equipment for the PCB industry.

Custer has been a member of the IPC trade organization since 1975 where he received both the President's and the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Awards. He is currently a member of the IPC Executive Market & Technology Steering Committee. Custer is also a Director of the EIPC European PCB trade organization.

He authors regular “Market Outlook” columns for Global SMT & Packaging magazine, the Journal of the HKPCA and the TTI MarketEYE website.

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