Happy’s Play-by-Play of IPC APEX EXPO

Reading time ( words)

This was the first time IPC had a virtual APEX EXPO. It went well, but I missed seeing everyone. On the other hand, all this material being available for 90 days certainly allows it to fit anyone’s schedule. I spent all week intently listening to the presentations.

Unfortunately, a virtual conference does not allow you to chat in the aisles, visit old friends during breaks, or have a Starbucks together. So, a successful virtual conference is difficult to compare to a live in-person conference.

To help you take full advantage of the 90-day on-demand availability, I’ve included summary information for a portion of the program. This is not an exhaustive list, as I had not yet been able to watch them all by the time this went to press.

Managers Forum: Managing Challenges in Periods of Transition
The show kicked off with a greeting from IPC President and CEO John Mitchell, followed by Gene Weiner, Hall of Fame council program chair. Gene was his usual “cheery” self as he introduced IPC VP of Global Government Relations Chris Mitchell, who spoke on “Seizing the Moment.”

To read this entire article, which appeared in the 2021 edition of Show & Tell Magazine, click here.

04/14/2021 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007

What a week that was! I didn’t get to endure the 11-hour flight each way, neither did I need my comfy old shoes, but it certainly was a marathon event. And real-time-plus-six-hours gave me a few late nights, but it was such a meaningful experience, and well worth the effort!

04/11/2021 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007

Gosh, I sure missed the live event! I listened in on several technical sessions, the awards ceremony, the keynotes, and the Hall of Fame management session. I tried a couple of professional development courses but got the frownie face on my screen and didn’t go back in. I have almost 90 days(!) to browse them to my heart’s content, so what the heck. There were good points and a few not so good things about this first ever virtual conference. You probably experienced some yourself.

04/09/2021 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007

In this week’s roundup, we have news about a new DFM environment from Siemens EDA, a 2D field solver from Avishtech, and a milestone for the IPC-CFX-2591 QPL. We also have a great article by Calumet’s Audra Thurston, who points out the many advantages of a virtual trade show. And in his latest column, Denny Fritz explains why the DoD is now thinking like many U.S. OEMs—worrying about single-source components, for instance—but the stakes are much higher.