Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/921680
JANUARY 2018 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 79 their cellphones: "Oh my gosh. Who knew all this stuff had to happen to make one?" Balonek: Exactly. I had no idea before I joined IPC. Shaughnessy: Where were you before you came to IPC, Alicia? Balonek: I worked at a financial association in the banking industry, which was cool, though, because that was in the '90s, so you saw a lot of changes in banking with the ATM machines coming out, retail banking, gas stations and grocery stores. It was an exciting time there. It was right around the dotcom era too. Shaughnessy: That was the good time. Goldman: Not as exciting as circuit boards, though, right? Balonek: You know what? The longer I'm at IPC, the more exciting it gets. I finally get it. It took me a long time to grasp this industry. It's exciting to see how engaged our members are too. That's what I like most about working at IPC. Shaughnessy: Everybody you talk to in the industry will tell you about their job. They'll tell you how they love it, how they got into it. Every- body has some crazy path that led them to this industry . Balonek: It's funny. Engineers are typically intro- verts until you start asking them about their work in this industry. Goldman: Alicia, what else should our readers know about this year's show? Balonek: I'd like to just share a few facts with you. Just the sheer buying power of our attend- ees that come to the show—many of them wait until the y visit IPC APEX EXPO before they make their purchasing decisions for the year. In fact, through our attendee surveys, we know that 37% of our attendees indicate that they will be making a purchase within six months of the show. Then about 28% of our attendees actually make the final buying decisions for their companies, and 55% recommend or influence those buying deci - sions. We have the key decision-makers coming to this event. IPC APEX EXPO 2018 PRE-SHOW SPECIAL COVERAGE