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CPCA 2013: Becoming the Show it Was Meant to Be
April 1, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
It’s that time of year again and we are in the throes of the high trade show season. As March ended, so did another CPCA show. And the most noteworthy thing about CPCA 2013 was that…well, nothing was terribly noteworthy.
The CPCA was proud to announce growth for this year’s show with the addition of a second, smaller hall in the convention center. The tone of the show was vastly more positive than it was last year. Orders are up all the way around, with 2013 looking to close strongly for many of the vendors we spoke to (see interviews with Laurent Nicolet, vice president, PCB Unit, Schmid Group, and Swen Fleischer, vice president and general manager, sales, ATG Luther Maelzer). Plenty of new technology made an appearance at the show, as well (see interviews with Mike Jennings, vice president, sales and marketing, Interdyne Systems and Tony Searle, business manager, Sun Chemical).
Traffic at the show was light. Perhaps this was due to the show being spread out in two halls. According to 20-year China veteran Bob Neves of Microtek Changzhou Laboratories, day one is always the best day at China trade shows, and this was the case for CPCA 2013. Day two and day three of the show were pretty disappointing. The energy of the show seemed low to me, or, at least, changed from shows past. There seemed to be a general lack of excitement about the region and the opportunities that CPCA presents. It’s all become very “normal.”
Of course, no show happens in a vacuum and this show was no different. Three distinct electronics trade shows occurred during the same week, a sign of growth for the area. electronica China/productronica China and the SEMICON show were going on in the “old” Shanghai Convention Center while CPCA took place in the “new” convention center across town. One colleague commented that the electronics on display at each of these shows are so closely related that it would have been beneficial for us all to co-locate in one venue--not to mention the superior convenience of the old Shanghai Convention Center. But others said that it is easy to get dwarfed in that larger venue which has not been to CPCA's benefit in the past.
Perhaps the most prominent factor was the lack of multinational companies that typically exhibit at CPCA. It is worth noting that non-Chinese companies apparently paid a premium for their booths, significantly more than their Chinese counterparts--something not widely known until folks began comparing notes. (Did they honestly think we wouldn't talk to each other?) If this had no impact on the show's vendor attendance in 2013 due to lack of awareness, it is bound to have an effect in 2014, even if that effect is nothing more than a churlish sentiment toward CPCA organizers.
Trade shows develop and change just as companies and industries do and it is worth noting that perhaps CPCA has simply grown into the local trade show it was meant to be. It is no secret that China’s economy will increasingly revolve around its large domestic population as the middle class expands. Wages in China continue to increase, making it far less viable for manufacturers to be in the region simply for the benefit of low labor costs. If you are not in town to sell within the region, there is less and less of a reason for you to be here. China is the second largest world economy and is becoming a mature economy. The fact that there are competing trade shows here, the fact that it is not the place to be because doing business with our Chinese colleagues and partners is now our day-to-day reality--these are good and normal developments in the process of maturation.
So, what will next year’s show look like? Some exhibitors won’t be back, but most will. And, as we watch world economies progress over the next several months, and how that drives energy, innovation, and work flow, I look forward to seeing what CPCA 2014 will bring.