1997 - 2006 Highlights

• Forms the World Electronics Circuits Council
• Adopts IPC as official name with tag line – Association Connecting Electronics Industries
• Opens Board of Directors candidacy to all IPC members
• Merges with the Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturers Association (SMEMA)
• Launches APEX
• Issues Board statement on lead free
• Names Denny McGuirk as IPC President
• Co-sponsors the International Printed Circuit & Electronics Assembly Fair in China
• Adopts new long range plan
• Launches EMS program manager training and certification
• Forms the Solder Products Value Council
• Opens office in Shanghai
• Holds first Sacramento Day
• Hires a European representative

1997

Ribbon cutting at IPC Printed Circuits Expo. Don Redfern, Insulectro (center), with Bonnie Fena, Hibbing Electronics Corp. (left) and astronaut Wally Schirra, Peter Sarmanian, Printed Circuit Corp., and Sam Altschuler, Altron Incorporated (right). Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC decides to submit all standards to ANSI for approval.
• The 1996 Market for EMS Providers, published by IPC, reports that the industry showed revenues of $14.5 billion in North America in 1996.
  
  

Recipients of the Presidents Award at IPC Printed Circuits Expo 1997. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC reports that rigid PWB production in the U.S. reached $7.2 billion in 1996.
• IPC receives a “Trophy of Excellence” award for government relations from the American Society of Association Executives
• IPC creates a conference solely on PWB surface finishes and solderability.
• The first European PWB financial benchmark survey is released.
• The Technical Activities Executive Committee votes to post all IPC Test Methods on IPC’s Web site.
• The IPC Board of Directors agrees to include non-voting members elected by the PWB Suppliers Management Council. The Council elects Richard Kessler, LeaRonal, as its first representative.

1998

IPC Printed Circuits Expo 1998. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• Thomas Dammrich, IPC president, is named to a one-year term as secretariat of World Electronics Circuits Council at their meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany.
• IPC and the SMTA hold the first Electronics Assembly Expo in October in Providence, Rhode Island. The event features 100 booths and hosts 1,300 attendees.
• IPC secures funding for the PCB Manufacturing Technology Center at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
• IPC (formerly known as the Institute of Printed Circuits and later as the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits) changes its name to the initials “IPC” with the identifier “Association Connecting Electronics Industries.”

Presidents Meeting at IPC Printed Circuits Expo, with (left to right) Rolly Mettler, Circuit-Wise, Dale Blanchfield, the Bureau Electronics Group, Stephen Mettler, Circuit-Wise, Joel Yocom, Litchfield, and Ren Sanscrainte, Pentex Schweizer. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• The last Surface Mount International Conference and Exhibition is held in August in San Jose.
• Driven by IPC, the “Printed Circuit Investment Act of 1998” is introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. While introducing the bill, Florida Senator Connie Mack says: “Printed wiring boards and assemblies are literally central to our economy as they are the nerve centers of nearly every electronic device.” The Act allows manufacturers to depreciate their equipment in three years instead of five years.

1999

Speaker Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL) addresses attendees of Capitol Hill Day 1999. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• The IPC Board of Directors publishes a position statement on the growing concern over lead-free legislation. The Board’s position: “… all available scientific evidence and U.S. government reports indicate that the lead used in U.S. printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing and electronic assembly produces no significant environmental or health hazards. Nonetheless, in the opinion of IPC, the pressure to eliminate lead in electronic interconnections will continue in the future from both the legislative and competitive sides.” A lead-free roadmap begins at IPC’s fall meeting.
• The Board of Directors eliminates IPC membership categories of regular, allied and associate members, resulting in eligibility of any individual from any IPC member company to the IPC Board of Directors.

On the show floor at IPC Printed Circuits Expo 1999. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC merges with the Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturers Association (SMEMA) to form a new group called the IPC SMEMA Council, an IPC operating division. Steve Hall, BTU International, becomes the group’s first chairman. In addition, IPC amends its bylaws to provide voting representation on the board for both SMEMA and for the IPC PWB Suppliers Council. Gerhard Meese, Universal, joins the Board as the SMEMA Council representative.
• Technet, IPC’s e-mail peer-to-peer forum, surpasses 1,700 subscribers.
• IPC releases the GenCAM (Generic Computer Aided Manufacturing) standard, a robust data description format that will replace limited Gerber files.
• A certification program on rework and repair training, based on the IPC-7711 and IPC 7721 assembly rework and repair specifications, is launched.
• The Department of Defense cancels 11 military specifications and authorizes their replacement with IPC documents.
• IPC President Thomas Dammrich resigns to head the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
• 580 designers have passed the IPC Designer Certification exam.

2000

New IPC President Denny McGuirk with keynote speaker Norman Schwarzkopf.

• Denny McGuirk, head of the National Fluid Power Association, becomes IPC’s third president in January.
• IPC launches the SMEMA Council’s Electronics Assembly Process Exhibition and conference (APEX) at the Long Beach Convention Center in March. Three hundred and thirty-seven exhibitors fill more than 140,000 square feet of floor space and 5,700 attendees visit the exhibition. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf (Ret.) delivers the keynote address to a standing room only crowd.
• U.S. customs officials are trained by IPC to recognize PWBs and substrates, alleviating years of problems with misclassifications and suspect import data.

Ribbon cutting at the first APEX. From left to right: Bob Balog and Steve DeCollibus, Speedline Technologies, Jim Donaghy, Sheldahl, Inc., Deny McGuirk, IPC, Bonnie Fena, K-Byte-Hibbing Manufacturing, Gerhard Meese, Universal Instruments, Ron Underwood, Circuit Center, Steve Hall, EKRA America, Stan Plzak, Pensar Corp., Leo Reynolds, Electronic Systems. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC Printed Circuits Expo attracts 309 exhibitors and 4,200 attendees.
• To keep up with changes, the Technical Activities Executive Committee votes to remove test methods from printed standards and instead place them online.
• With the rise of the Internet, reverse auctions for printed boards appear, along with Internet portals intent on squeezing costs from the supply chain. IPC forms an e-business and also Supply Chain Committee to acquaint members with Internet supply chain issues. The committee releases a white paper, The Myths of E-commerce.
• IPC publishes IPC-7095, Design and Assembly Process Implementation for BGAs.

2001

On the show floor at APEX 2001.

• To avoid millions of dollars in compliance costs for the PWB industry, IPC swiftly organizes opposition to the EPA’s "Effluent Limitation Guidelines for Metal Products and Machinery." The EPA subsequently abandons these guidelines.
• PWB shipments for March 2001 decrease 14.6 percent over March 2000 while orders decrease 51.4 percent.
• IPC ends its relationship with its lobbyist in Washington and brings the function in-house with a full-time director.
• EMexcess, a searchable database for components, is launched.
• The IPC Board votes to close the Interconnection Research Technology Institute because of a lack of industry support.

Keynote session at IPC Printed Circuits Expo 2001.

• A “Needs Assessment and Member Loyalty” survey concludes that IPC members are satisfied with services and programs. The most highly rated services are standards, market research and training/certification.
• Based on “Focus-on-the-Future” member meetings and the membership survey, the IPC Board adopts a new long-range plan, which include the following objectives:
  • Establish the IPC as the recognized global association for the electronics interconnection industry.
  • Strengthen IPC’s position as the industry’s worldwide standards-setting organization.
  • Expand the reach of IPC to all membership segments.
  • Enlarge IPC’s global data collection, analysis and dissemination process.

2002

Members of the IPC-A-620 committee. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC-A-620, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies, is published. The document is well received and in its first year becomes one of IPC’s most widely used standards.
• IPC launches EMS program manager training and certification.
• Executives from global solder manufacturers are organized into the Solder Products Value Council. The group forms a subcommittee to “resolve the confusion of alloy choice” for lead-free solders.
• The U.S. Department of Defense adopts IPC-A-610.
• As the industry begins to focus on the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances, IPC and JEDEC jointly organize a conference on lead-free technology in San Jose. Nearly 300 technologists attend.

Four individuals were presented with President's Awards for their dedication to IPC and the industry. From left to right, Jeff Ferry, Circuit Technology Center, Inc.; Peggi Blakley, NSWC - Crane; IPC President Denny McGuirk, Daniel Foster, Soldering Technology International; and Karen Tellefsen, Alpha Metals.

• IPC participates at the third JISSO International Council Meeting in San Jose where technical volunteers from associations from Japan, the U.S. and Europe work toward agreement on standards adoption and use.
• IPC opens a representative office in Shanghai, China. IPC President Denny McGuirk notes, “This is the first of many steps IPC plans to take in seeing that our long-range plan comes to fulfillment.”
• The U.S. Department of Commerce, under its Market Development Cooperator Program, confers a grant that is intended to support IPC’s efforts to promote the adoption and use of IPC standards in China.
• Congress passes realistic depreciation under President Bush’s “Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002.” This act includes a bonus of a 30 percent first year depreciation allowance for newly qualified capital investments.

2003

On the APEX 2003 show floor.

• The Printed Board Process Capability, Quality and Relative Reliability database, a joint effort between IPC and Conductor Analysis Technology, Inc. continues to gain OEM acceptance. The program provides quantitative data to compare the capability, quality, and reliability demonstrated by printed circuit board suppliers on test boards. IPC and CAT, Inc. expect the program to reduce PWB qualification costs for board manufacturers.
• The first project on liquid crystal polymers is launched by the Electronic Interconnection Center for Excellence. The center is a partnership formed by IPC and the Naval Surface Warfare Center — Crane Division to increase PWB research and development in the United States.
• IPC California Circuits Association holds its first “Capitol Hill Day” in Sacramento.
• IPC and the Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association co-produce the first International Printed Circuit and Electronics Assembly Fair in September in Guangzhou, China.

Participants in the 2003 IPC Printed Circuits Expo Innovative Technology Showcase. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• In spite of the political and economic climate, IPC Printed Circuits Expo attracts 3,000 visitors to Long Beach in March. Five days later, IPC APEX in Anaheim attracts 5,000 attendees.
• After 28 long months, the IPC printed circuit board book-to-bill remains above the 1.0 mark for three straight months for the first time since March 2000. However, U.S. rigid PWB production in North America falls to $4.4 billion in 2003.
• Over 100 technologists attend IPC’s first conference on embedded passives.
• IPC and Soldertec produce their first European lead-free technical conference in Brussels.
• IPC urges membership support for “Buy America” provisions contained in the U.S. House of Representatives version of the fiscal year 2004 Defense Authorization Bill. Sixty-seven IPC members contact the Senate co-authors of the bill in support of its passage.
• 2,000 designers successfully become Certified Interconnect Designers through IPC’s designer certification program.
• IPC standards become available for download through IPC’s online store.

2004

Dieter Bergman was honored for 30 years of service to IPC at IPC Printed Circuits Expo in 2004. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC-2581, Generic Requirements for Printed Board Assembly Products Manufacturing Description Data and Transfer Methodology, is released. This document ends the war over competing data transfer formats and unites the industry with a single standard for data interchange.
• IPC and other standards-setting organizations file an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of Infineon and JEDEC versus Rambus Technologies. The landmark case tests the boundaries of patent disclosure during the standards-setting process. Two years later, the court rules in favor of Infineon and JEDEC.
• Designers Summit becomes part of IPC Printed Circuits Expo and APEX.
• To rave reviews from the industry, IPC co-locates IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Summit in Anaheim.
• IPC hires a European representative to support IPC members and programs in Europe.

Theresa Rowe, AAI (front) at a standards development committee meeting at the IPC shows. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• The core of IPC documents describing manufacturing and acceptability for printed wiring boards, revision B of IPC-6012, Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards, and revision G of IPC-A-600, Acceptability of Printed Boards, are released. In all, 17 new standards or revisions are released throughout the year.
• In response to the growing concern of the lead free implementation dictated by the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) requirements, IPC launches a new lead free information Web site. The high costs of raw materials prompt IPC to begin posting raw materials’ costs, including gold, copper, tin, silver, nickel, lead and indium.
• IPC holds several “Let’s Talk” meetings to solicit comments from IPC members on the Long-Range Plan.
• IPC holds its first interim standards meeting in China in December during the joint IPC/Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association conference and exhibition. Several IPC standards for both PWBs and assemblies are discussed during the meeting.

2005

The IPC-A 610 and IPC-J-STD-001 committees celebrate the release of their new revision. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• IPC provides the voice of the industry during a National Academies Workshop examining the impact of PWB technology on U.S. military readiness.
• The blockbuster revision D to the IPC-A-610 and Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies (J-STD-001) are released. Although both documents contain lead-free criteria, every criterion is reviewed and updated as needed.
• The co-located IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and Designers Summit takes place in February in Anaheim, along with a successful Electronic Circuit World Convention 10.
• Sentry Insurance partners with IPC to provide insurance for EMS and PWB companies.

IPC Printed Circuits Expo and APEX co-locate for the first time.

• With the significant drive for lead free products, the IPC Board of Directors adds a fifth objective to the Long-Range Plan: “Position IPC as the Source of Assistance for Compliance Issues for Lead-Free and RoHS Regulatory Compliance.” In other action, the board removes the “designated” seats held by suppliers. The message, which the board sends is “rather than they (the suppliers) being short-changed, they have arrived and are full partners in the association.”
• IPC Solder Products Council issues a final reliability research report on the tin/silver/copper family of lead-free solder alloys. The report recommends SAC 305 as the solder paste alloy of choice.
• A technology interchange, organized by the IPC PCB Suppliers Council, takes place at Motorola.
• Nineteen designers at Huawei Technologies in Shenzhen, China, become the first Certified Interconnect Designers in China.

2006

Ribbon-cutting at the IPC shows in 2006. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• Responding to the global need for a streamlined and standardized materials declaration system, IPC releases IPC-1752, Materials Declaration Management. One of the fastest released documents IPC’s history, it has been downloaded by more than 10,000 people in 70 countries.
• With IPC’s site membership becoming problematic in an Internet age, IPC creates telecommuter memberships for individuals working remotely for member sites.

Materials Declaration conference in June 2006. Click on the picture for a larger image.

• The new OEM Critical Components Council released its first IPC standard: IPC-9591, Performance Parameters (Mechanical, Electrical, Quality and Reliability) for Air Moving Devices. With the use of a content expert, the standard is developed in nine months. During 2006, the Council also begins work on lithium-ion batteries and power conversion.
• In recognition of the dramatic changes in the industry, the TMRC is reshaped and relaunched as the Executive Market and Technology Forum. The Forum will formally expand IPC’s market research globally, increase electronics assembly coverage, and commission in-depth studies from consultants on timely topics. In June, the group holds its first research conference in Asia, in Hong Kong.
• In addition, amid the unrelenting quest for global data, IPC launches a global PCB statistical program partnering with seven other PCB associations under the auspices of the World Electronic Circuits Council (WECC).
• IPC launches Certification for the RoHS Lead-Free Electronics Assembly Process Capability Program, an audit program for lead-free implementation and validation. Solectron in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the first site certified.
• Translation becomes a key focus. During 2006, IPC-A-610D and its certification program are translated into seven languages. Two popular desk reference manuals are translated into Swedish.
• In China, interest in training and certification continues to grow. By mid-2006, more than 200 trainers and 19 designers have been certified in three years. The training materials for IPC-A-610D and IPC-A-600G are translated into Chinese in 2006.

2007

IPC celebrates its 50th Anniversary

• More to come! Stay with us for the next 50 years!