Electronex event a success

Electronex 2015, the Electronics Design & Assembly Expo and Conference, held in September at Melbourne Park Function Centre, saw over 1000 trade visitors and delegates attend the two-day event.

The overall visitor numbers were similar to the 2013 Melbourne event but over 56% of visitors had not attended the previous Melbourne event. The large number of first-time attendees reflects the transition towards niche manufacturing with new companies emerging in the marketplace to replace the larger manufacturers that had moved offshore, according to the show organisers, Australasian Exhibitions and Events (AEE). The number of attendees that were involved in electronics design and research and development also increased to 25%, which supported this industry trend.

Over 90 companies were represented on stands with many exhibitors featuring new products at the exhibition. Contract manufacturers reported high enquiry levels with several commenting that the lower Australian dollar was now making them more competitive and customers were recognising the better quality control and service they could obtain here in Australia. Test and measurement companies also reported strong interest with many featuring new products at the show.

Noel Gray, managing director of AEE, said, “We were delighted with the visitor attendance and support from the industry for this specialised industry event. The atmosphere was very positive at this year’s show, with many companies upbeat about the future for the industry in Australia.

“The lower dollar and high level of engineering expertise and innovation in Australia also appears to be helping the industry to develop new niche opportunities in Australia.”

In a follow-up survey after the show, 95% of visitors said that they believed a dedicated event such as Electronex was beneficial for their industry, 84% discovered new companies that they were not aware of, 78% attended to see what was new, 76% to keep up to date with new technology and 71% to locate new products and suppliers. A new series of free 30-minute presentations on a range of topics was also introduced at the show by the SMCBA to complement the two-day technical workshops. These proved extremely popular with more than 250 visitors attending the free sessions and over 80 delegates attending the workshops.

Electronex will be held next year in Sydney at Australian Technology Park from 14–15 September 2016.