productronica helps to attract young professionals to electronics production

From November 12 to 15, 2019, productronica will present the entire value creation chain for the electronics production industry in Munich. The motto for the world’s leading trade fair for electronics development and production will be “Accelerating Innovation.” This year’s event will focus on a range of topics including smart maintenance and attracting young professionals to the industry. This year too, SEMICON Europe will take place alongside productronica as it did two years ago.

According to the latest VDMA Business Climate Index, the manufacturers of electronics production equipment are expecting turnover to grow by 1.0 percent in 2019. In 2020, the sector is expecting growth of 1.4 percent. Asia accounts for almost half of all turnover, making it the biggest market for electronics mechanical engineering. It is followed by Germany with 25 percent and the European market with around 18 percent.

Falk Senger, Managing Director of Messe München, sees these figures as a positive sign for productronica 2019: “Electronics production is still in good financial shape. We’re therefore optimistic that we’ll have a successful trade fair and productronica will live up to its reputation as the world’s leading trade fair with numerous international exhibitors and visitors this year too.”

One issue affecting not only the companies in the electronics production sector is the chronic lack of specialist staff and young people joining the industry. As Falk Senger explained, productronica 2019 will feature a dedicated exhibition area for this: “According to various studies, there will be 100,000 unfilled vacancies for electrical engineers in Germany over the next ten years. We see it as our task to attract young professionals to the electronics industry and to encourage dialog between companies and graduates.”

productronica 2019 with “Accelerating Talents” area for young professionals

This year’s event will have numerous new features. The focus here will be on young professionals and startups. The lack of specialist staff remains the biggest obstacle to economic growth. With the “Accelerating Talents” area in Hall B2, productronica offers a platform for students, graduates and young professionals which aims to encourage them to take up a career in electronics production.

The concept is made up of three building blocks: A trail with entertaining features such as an escape truck to raise awareness of electronics production. A co-working space for discussions between the exhibitors’ personnel managers and visitors will also be available. In the Speaker’s Corner, visitors will find not only brief company portraits but also specialist presentations (“Tech Slams”).

Premiere for productronica Fast Forward

In addition to young professionals, the focus in electronics production is also on startups. Together with the specialist magazine Elektor, productronica is bringing young companies and international industry representatives together. During productronica Fast Forward, startups will present their products and solutions in a separate exhibition area and a forum in Hall B2. The companies with the most promising solutions will receive the productronica Fast Forward Award on the last day of the trade fair (Friday, November 15).

First ever hackathon at productronica 2019

Together with the VDMA and Fraunhofer, productronica will feature a hackathon format in Hall B2 this year. Exhibitors will function as taskmasters for students, young professionals and startups. They will have 48 hours in which to come up with ideas, solutions and prototypes on location. Exhibitors will benefit not only from the results of the challenge but also from contact with potential new employees. In return, the hackathon participants will have to opportunity to introduce themselves to a new employer and show their skills during the challenge.

Smart maintenance live demos and 3D AOI Arena

Other new features at this year’s productronica include the smart maintenance and 3D AOI (automated optical inspection) special shows. In Hall B2, visitors can find out about maintenance as the backbone of the factory 4.0. The exhibition with demo park will show how smart maintenance can help to reduce operating costs, increase profits and thus improve production efficiency.

The 3D AOI Arena in Hall A2 will be jointly organized by Messe München and Konradin Verlag. It will provide an overview of the 3D automated optical inspection market. Leading providers such as Cyberoptics, OMRON, Viscom and Yamaha will present the latest solutions during daily shows and hands-on sessions.