As LOPEC 2017 came to a close on March 30, show organizers OE-A and Mess Munchen noted that the conference set new records, with attendance up 20% from 2016, as more than 2,500 attendees came through the conference. With 154 exhibitors, LOPEC set a new record for exhibitors and exhibition space, nearly filling the Messe Munchen hall it has been using for past conferences.
 
“What once again made this year special is the increase in exhibitors,” said Wolfgang Mildner, LOPEC general chair and founder/CEO of MSW. “It is pretty crowded, but these are successful changes. This year, we had an increased emphasis on automotive and medical. Printed electronics is a technology that can have an impact with anything, and we have to show that impact.”
 
“LOPEC went really well,” added Klaus Hecker, executive director of the OE-A, which organizes LOPEC with Messe Munchen. “We have had great attendance and excellent feedback from our exhibitors. We see a lot of end-users here from the consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and medical fields. We are seeing a move toward more end-use applications.”
 
The closing session of LOPEC 2017 featured more news on key markets such as automotive and aerospace, wearables, flexible displays and more, and there was a sense that the flexible and printed electronics market is on the rise. Speakers during the final day noted these opportunities. Dr. Giovanni Nisato, business and technology development senior manager for CSEM, discussed “Printed Sensors: Approaches from Consumer Health to Lifesciences.”
 
“Sensing helps us to understand what is going on in our body,” Dr. Nisato noted. “It measures, quantifies and analyzes. There are opportunities for printed electronics and additive manufacturing to print sensors.” Dr. Nisato gave a few examples, such as on-body monitoring and pressure sensors that detect pill usage.
 
“The consumer healthcare space is vast,” Dr. Nisato concluded. “Printed electronics is an enabler for body sensors, compliance monitoring and other applications.”
 
Jennifer Y.C. Lin, associate VP of advanced technology research center, AU Optronics, gave her insights into “Toward Flexible Future of Electronics.” Lin reported on the importance of displays for smart devices, and the possibilities of printing these displays.
 
“Smart devices are now all around us and use displays as a critical interface,” Lin noted. “Plastic displays enable more applications. We are working on flexible AMOLED technology. Organic thin film transistors (OTFT) has potential for printing, but has a long ways to go.”
 
“A new era of electronics is emerging,” said SEMI/FlexTech CTO Dr. Melissa Grupen-Shemansky, CTO, who covered “Collaboration and the Development of a Flexible Hybrid Electronics Ecosystem.” “We are connected to smart devices day and night. This is opening doors to packaging solutions and other opportunities. Health and wellness monitoring and medical technology are early adopters.”
 
In the Automotive and Aerospace session, Dr. Matthias Ogonda, expert for Opto-Mechatronic Technology, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., covered the automotive field in his talk,” OLED Technology in Rear Lamps.” He noted that OLEDs will be part of the overall solution for lighting.
 
“The question is which technology will be used for rear lamps,” said Dr. Ogonda. “We need several technologies, as these technologies will complete each other. The selling feature of OLEDs is style, and wil lead to an increase in styling freedom.”
 
Exhibitors said they were pleased with LOPEC 2017.
 
“The first day was fantastic, up dramatically from past years,” said Mike O’Reilly, director, Aerosol Jet, product leader, for Optomec, Inc.“People came here to address their 3D production needs. We received many more quality leads, and noticed how educated users are today on our technology compared to three or four years ago.”
 
“All aspects of the show continue to grow, “ added Stan Farnsworth, VP of marketing for NovaCentrix. “Attendees are enthusiastic. We continue to see more attendees coming with specific requirements.”
 
“This was the best first day of the last few years,” noted Thomas Kolbusch, VP of Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH. “There are a lot of new faces, big customers and big brands with requests for specific products.”