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06/25/2006
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8th OPTATEC 2006 – Final Report
Those who attempted to get in touch with their contact persons at companies and institutes who are involved optical technologies from the 20th through the 23rd of June were frequently asked to be patient until the following week, or their calls were forwarded to a cell phone number – because the insiders were meeting with one another in Frankfurt at OPTATEC 2006! The international trade fair for future optical technologies, components, systems and manufacturing is a virtual must for the industry, and a successful course of events was once again registered for the exhibition.
Focal Points
The following focal points can be discerned from amongst the products which were presented by the exhibitors at OPTATEC: optical components, materials and systems, as well as optical measuring and test technology, mechanical and thermal machining, and opto-mechanical components and devices.
Trade Fair Statistics (parentheses: as compared with OPTATEC 2004)
• 555 exhibitors and co-exhibitors, add. represented companies (479), of whom 270 came from Germany (+ 5%) and 285 from outside of Germany (+ 67%)• 5,327 visitors, nearly as many as attended in 2004, namely 5500. The promoters were nevertheless quite satisfied in view of the fact that the event took place during the soccer world cup.
• 194,000 square metres of gross exhibition floor space (183,000)
Atmosphere
Most of the exhibitors were very satisfied with visitor quality and internationalism, and this has led to requests for increased booth floor space in 2008 which have already been confirmed. Above all during the second and third days of the event, the atmosphere was deemed good to very good without exception, and many designated the OPTATEC their most important trade fair this year. However, the fact that the event took place during the soccer world cup was considered unfavourable by many exhibitors. On the other hand, it was also observed that in particular experienced OPTATEC visitors took advantage of the less bustling first and fourth days of the trade fair in a targeted fashion, in order to speak with exhibitors when the crowd was a bit more manageable. (Exhibitor statements can be accessed at www.schall-optatec.com.)
Supplementary Program
The 2006 Carl Zeiss Research Award was conferred at a ceremony which took place during the OPTATEC. The prize was awarded to experimental physicist Professor Martin Wegener and theoretical physicist Professor Kurt Busch, both of the University at Karlsruhe (TH), for their fundamental contributions to the development of 3D photonic crystals and optical meta-materials. The trustees of the Ernst Abbe Fund of the Carl Zeiss Foundation have thus once again honoured top notch work within a group of topics which demonstrate great future potential.
The analyst conference which was held under the direction of the SPECTARIS German Industry Association with support from industry and the state of Baden-Württemberg was very well attended, and well received. Most of the approximately 100 participants were also very satisfied with the ArcaNova contact exchange. The presentations attended by 1365 visitors at the forum can be seen as a trend barometer (2004: > 1305).
Dates for the 9th OPTATEC are 17 through 20 June 2008.
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(Source: Optatec)
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