Senior executives of PCB and EMS companies will convene on March 30, 2009 at the IPC management meetings to get answers to these questions and to evaluate global conditions and business strategies.

 

The PCB Executive Management Meeting and the EMS Management Council Meeting are exclusive full-day summits focused on the specific needs of executives in the EMS and PCB industries. Held in conjunction with IPC APEX EXPO, the meetings will take place at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

 

During the EMS Management Council Meeting, a panel of experts representing Dover, Assembléon and Indium will highlight the ways EMS companies can cut costs by implementing operating efficiencies. Leesha Peng, general manager, IPC China, will compare business strategies and challenges for North American and Chinese EMS companies. TJ Sponsel, director, McGuireSponsel, will explain how the R&D tax credit can save companies money. Finally, representatives from Fees & Burgess and Bryan Cave LLP will help EMS companies avoid legal problems with specific examples of practices in international contracting, ITAR and dispute resolution.

 

Attendees of the PCB Executive Management Meeting will get an inside look at the impact the new U.S. administration will have on the global electronics industry. Joe Pasetti, counsel, government affairs, at Applied Materials, will discuss the future of tax policy, federal investment in research and development, IP protection abroad and healthcare policy. An international panel of representatives from the Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association, MFlex, CIRE Group, and Meadville Holdings Group will hold an open discussion of industry trends and pose solutions to the challenges and positioning for opportunities. The meeting will also answer questions regarding the effects of REACH on the industry, what standards are driving the industry, and how companies can start profiting from printed electronics.

 

Both PCB and EMS management meetings will once again set aside time for valuable roundtable discussions where attendees can exchange ideas and solutions to common issues and discuss their views of the industry. "As an executive, I have to manage multiple issues - new technologies, customer requirements, economic trends, business strategy. The management meeting covers all the issues I need to know about. More importantly, it's an invaluable opportunity to meet with my peers and trade thoughts and ideas on the industry," said Greg Klein, chairman of Epec, LLC.