Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1520956
Feinberg: We suggested to the IPC Board of Directors that we do our own show, but they were lukewarm about it. We spoke with each individually and told them we could bring a lot of revenue to IPC with this model. Suppliers would pay a reason- able amount to be in the show, but we would not do what we had been doing. Gene, who else was at that meeting? Weiner: Jerr y Siegmund and Mike Carano were both involv- ed. We had to decide what to do and whether it should be an annual show. ere was still some resistance from the board of directors: Sanders Associates, Parlex, and those compa- nies. We eventually won over some of the guys like Pete Sarmanian and IPC's first Executive Director Ray Pritchard, who, with Jerry Sieg- mund, helped convince the last holdouts to approve it. Dan kept organizing the show. e equip- ment members, who at that time were Excel- lon, Chemcut and a few others, said, "ere are so many shows. We can't go from show to show with our equipment." I kept work- ing on the suppliers, trying to convince them to attend. "Let's try it," I said, "and see what you think for next year. If it doesn't work, we'll do it every other year like productronica." We finally won them over. Feinberg: Jim and I were the fiercest competi- tors. But we agreed on this. In fact, we decided to take it to the next level. We wanted to safe- guard the future. ings could end up going that way again. So, it was decided, with the support of the IPC Board, that there would be no hospitality suites. Any "hospitality suite" would be run by IPC. ey would put on the party and involve everyone. Weiner: ere was a big IPC gala in those days to replace hospitality suites. e very first year, Dan Feinberg, Washington, D.C., giving a presentation. ber of IPC, you had to be a fabricator. Suppli- ers could be members, but they couldn't vote. Suppliers were getting tired of having no voice. There was a lot of discussion. Feinberg: That's right. IPC started a Supplier's Council and asked me to head it. Gene, Jim, and several other heads of large companies— Chemcut, Shipley, DuPont, Excellon, Gould, Nelco—were involved. At our first meeting, some of us talked about what we could do that IPC wasn't doing yet. At that point, there was no EXPO. NEPCON West had just happened. Jim and I were always trying to outdo one another on the hospitality front, so costs were on our minds. We started talking about it. We went to the blackboard and began brainstorm- ing ideas on how the suppliers could add value to IPC. What were you trying to accomplish? Weiner: We were imagining a trade show that would be equal with a maximum display space, not competitive in entertainment with giant hospitality rooms, where everybody would have an equal chance for business. This is still something IPC strives to honor today. 88 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2024