Productronica 2019 saw 44,000 visitors and over 1500 stand holders. Overall, 44 different countries were represented. ‘A massive success,’ Rob Walls called it. The numbers of both participants and visitors keep going up. Not only are the latest trends and gadgets in the electronics interconnect industry inspected, but people are also interested in being a jury member of the IPC Hand Soldering Competition.
Both Rob and Stefan Walls are in the jury of this contest, which actually consisted of two contests. On Tuesday and Wednesday the contest was for the best hand solderer in Germany. The winner of this round qualified as the last contestant for the world championship on Thursday. The top 17 hand solderers battled each other on Thursday to see who would get the number one spot.
‘The differences were very small indeed, and this year, too, the quality level was extremely high,’ says Stefan Walls. The winners of the best-of-Germany contest had the following prize money: €300 for first place, €200, for second place and €100 for third place. Apart from this various sponsors had also brought in some prizes. Ms Pauline Duval of the French company Thales DMS won first prize in the best-of-Germany contest. On Thursday the finals were a tense affair. All finalists were focused and on edge, as only one could win. This was Mr Indra Setiawan of the company Pt. SIIX EMS from Indonesia. As the winner of the world championship he can call himself the best hand solderer in the world. His prize money was €1,000 plus various other prizes donated by sponsors.
Comments Rob Walls: ‘Productronica is an important fair for everybody active in the electronic interconnect industry. All novelties can be found here, and all of our customers are here and visit our stand. We also talked to a number of prospects who had heard of the qualities of PIEK through their network. Of course, we were delighted to hear this, especially because we always strive to offer our customers a full-service package. On behalf of PIEK I would also like to congratulate the winners and hope to see them back in 2020.’
