Per IPC’s May 2023 Economic Outlook report, the global economy continues to cool, but not quite as severely as expected at the start of the year. Stronger-than-expected growth in 2023 will come at the cost of weaker growth in 2024.
Senior executives of 26 electronics manufacturing companies from across the United States are calling on the U.S. Congress to support robust funding for reinvigorating the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing sector.
On May 17, 2023, IPC and Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo (EWPTE) in Milwaukee, Wis., USA. The MoU aims to promote the adoption and use of IPC-2591, Connected Factory Exchange, the plug-and-play industry standard for factory communication which sets the baseline for companies to achieve Industry 4.0.
The third annual Golden Gnome Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 2023, at IPC SummerCom. The awards recognize the outstanding and creative work of IPC A-Teams, dedicated groups of volunteers within IPC standards working groups who take on a significant amount of work on behalf of their groups.
IPC is now accepting abstracts for technical paper presentations and technical posters for the Electronic Circuits World Convention 16 (ECWC16) at IPC APEX EXPO 2024, and professional development courses at IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
In 2022, IPC celebrated a decade of successful support to India’s electronics manufacturing industry and launched a series of activities including member networking events and skill challenge competitions throughout India, culminating in the inaugural Integrated Electronics Manufacturing & Interconnections (IEMI) event in New Delhi and Bengaluru last August. Based on the success of last year’s event, IPC will once again play host to IEMI events in Chennai on August 1 and in Pune on August 3.
IPC announces the launch of three new online courses designed to equip professionals with valuable knowledge and skills in the rapidly evolving electronics sector. Available on IPC’s online education platform, IPC EDGE, these new courses will provide industry experts and enthusiasts with opportunities for growth and development.
The forecast for U.S. economic growth, initially expected to be 0.5 percent at the beginning of 2023, is now expected to grow by 2 percent. While the U.S. economy has surpassed expectations, the Federal Reserve has raised rates significantly over the last year, signaling tremendous headwinds as those rates take effect. In Europe, growth in the Eurozone expanded by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter, marking the most substantial growth since the second quarter of 2022, according to IPC’s August 2023 Economic Outlook report.
In conjunction with NEPCON Vietnam 2023, IPC hosted its popular IPC Hand Soldering and Rework Competition in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 6-8, 2023. This tenth competition got “heated” as 35 contestants from 13 electronics companies in Vietnam vied for top prizes.
With the introduction of eight new training courses in 2023, IPC reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that professionals in electronics manufacturing remain at the forefront of the industry.