Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1532533
28 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2025 taping interviews with industry pioneers. We watched for two days as a constant stream of elderly people came up on the the IP stage and added their wisdom and founding stories to the record. On the third day, as another elderly man came to the IPC booth, I overheard two of my colleagues wondering who this old fogey was and what he could say that was new and interesting. I soon recognized the man and told them the "old fogey" was Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. Complete silence followed. At least they had the grace to look embarrassed. Occasionally, someone brings up the idea of having a live display of running water in the equipment brought to the show instead of just a static display. Usually, we reject this idea, but one year in the 1990s, we let a company debut a new liquid etch resist. ey planned to demon- strate how easy it was to use to resolve very fine lines and spaces. I was somewhat apprehensive, as I was among those responsible for making sure everything ran smoothly at the show. How- ever, this was a mild sodium carbonate solution, so even if there were minor leaks, it would be harmless. What could go wrong? Well, on the first day of the show, some- one stepped on the drain valve and broke it off, which soaked several nearby booths with 80 gallons of warm, slightly alkaline water. It wasn't a light moment at the time, but we've looked back on it with amusement. However, since then, there has never again been talk of running another live water demo in our booth. As is part of the trade show experience, many characters have come through our booth over the years, but one has remained stuck in my mind. It was soon aer the first EXPO, some- time in the early 2000s. A poten- tial customer came into the booth and started asking ques- tions, but it was soon apparent that he knew absolutely noth- ing about wet processing or the electronics business. Our sales rep asked why he was at an electronics packaging exhi- bition. "Oh, I own several bak- eries around the country," he replied, "but I'd like to expand my investments, and I'm look- ing for something less com- plicated than the baking busi- ness to get into." For several seconds, there was a stunned silence before everyone in ear- shot dried away as unobtru- sively as possible while our sales rep tried to acquaint our poten- tial customer with reality. Finally, while these shows are fantastic venues to meet old customers and potential new ones, they also offer opportuni- ties to spy on your competitors, Alicia Balonek with Buzz Aldrin, 2007 keynote speaker.