‘There is no alternative to personal contact’ – productronica 2021 declared a success

productronica was held at the fairgrounds of Messe München on November 16—19 in observance of strict hygiene rules: Exhibitors were required to be recovered from a COVID-19 infection, be vaccinated or have a negative PCR test result. Visitors had to be either recovered or vaccinated. A total of 894 exhibitors from 36 countries and about 20,000 visitors from nearly 70 countries attended this year’s edition of the world’s leading trade fair for electronics development and production. The share of international visitors among all visitors was around 60 percent in spite of all the restrictions.

The Top 10 visitor countries after Germany were (in this order): Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Netherlands.

Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy CEO of Messe München, expressed his satisfaction with the trade fair: “We are really very happy that we could hold productronica as an in-person event. As you might expect, this year’s exhibition turned out to basically be Europe’s leading trade fair. But its appeal extended well beyond the region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as the large number of visitors from Italy, France, Israel and Turkey demonstrated.” Barbara Müller, the Exhibition Director of productronica, added: “productronica underscored its position as a leading trade fair for the industry.”

Exhibitors agree: attendance more important than ever

Rainer Kurtz, the Chairman of the Advisory Board for productronica and the CEO of Kurtz Holding, agreed with Barbara Müller: “productronica demonstrated once again that it is actually something more than the leading trade fair for electronics production.” Elaborating on his experience with the in-person event, he added: “For our customers and business partners, there is no alternative to personal contact. The industry lives from this showcase of innovation. Considering the current pandemic situation, we think the trade fair was a complete success.”

Thilo Brückner, the CEO of EMINT productronic, a trade association of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, expressed his satisfaction with the event: “productronica was a very successful trade fair for EMINT and its members. Visitors, many of whom came from European countries outside Germany, had specific projects in mind and showed just how important in-person trade fairs are.” Volker Pape, a co-founder and member of the Supervisory Board at Viscom AG, stressed one other point: “We are happy that we could meet face to face with our customers once again and make live presentations of Viscom technology, even amid all of the restrictions. productronica proved its importance as a leading trade fair even in these times. The number of visitors was certainly below the levels seen during ‘normal’ times, but it was still much higher than expected.”