Koh Young – a look back at APEX 2019

By Brent Fischthal, Sr. Manager of Americas Marketing and Regional Sales for Koh Young America

APEX is always a busy show for Koh Young America but coming off the back of our best quarter ever, with more than a machine a day sold, and with so much to share, APEX 2019 was huge! Judging on our first quarter performance, the show was tremendously successful for us.

As well as proudly receiving two NPI awards from Circuits Assembly, Koh Young America took part in the CFX and Hermes demo lines, the first fully functioning production lines at any SMT trade show. This demonstration of the connected factory was a great showcase for industry collaboration, for smart factory connectivity, and for the ability of IPC to bring people together with the common goal of increasing customer value. It was a terrific opportunity for visitors to see the K-Smart system working in a production environment.

The Koh Young team were not only busy on the booth, sharing new products and solutions with visitors, they were also extremely active in the various video studios around the show floor, where they talked to journalists and shared their insight into the latest trends in manufacturing.

On the opening day of the show, EMSNOW Publisher, Eric Miscoll launched his own unique chat show, entitled The Eric Miscoll Show, or ‘The EMS’, as most now refer to it. It was with delight that our Managing Director, Juan A. Arango, accepted Eric’s invitation to be a guest on the inaugural episode, discussing a board range of topics around manufacturing trends and technology. Eric’s choice of guests and relaxed Texan style made for a fun dynamic interaction. Juan and Eric chatted again later in the week in a one-on-one interview, to be published on EMSNOW.

On the SCOOPstudio, journalist Philip Stoten, asked Juan A. Arango, about our latest success and our plans in the region, talked to Americas Sales Manager, Joel Scutchfield about our latest awards and the trends around artificial intelligence, and chatted with newly promoted Country Manager for Mexico, Ramon Hernandez, about his new role and developments south of the border.

As well as their insightful interviews, SCOOP are well known for their roundtables, and at APEX, Koh Young were invited to offer expert insight in three of these lively debates. Joel Scutchfield joined Anh Nguyen of Creative Electron and Michael Ford of Aegis to explore the topic of “AI in Manufacturing.” Joel was in the spotlight again, this time with Dr. Bill Cardoso of Creative Electron and Miles Moreau of KIC to answer the question “Is Inspection Data the Currency of the Smart Factory”. And in a roundtable entitled “More on Mexico, What’s New South of the Border?”, our very own Sales Manager for Mexico, Gustavo Jimenez, sat alongside Resptronics’ Luis Tapia and Panasonic’s Miguel Vazquez, to discuss the impact of tariffs and technology shifts on Mexican manufacturing

For SMT Today, David Suh introduced our Auto Repair solution and our APC-MFB, while Ray Welch explained the benefits of the Koh Young Process Optimizer, or KPO. Juan Arango talked to SMT Today about development plans and the application of AI. And Joel was once more on camera with partner publication i4.0 Today, talking artificial Intelligence and its application as an Industry 4.0 enabler.

Also busy at APEX was Global SMT & Packaging Editor, Trevor Galbraith, who stopped by the booth to see the ‘raft of new products’ with Juan Arango. Trevor also moderated a debate on the Global SMT & Packaging booth, entitled “Automating inspection and utilizing AI”, where Joel Scutchfield joined guest from other inspection vendors to dive into this important topic.

 

It is wonderful when we get a chance to speak about our products and offer our insight ‘on-the-record’ at a trade show like APEX, but what really gets us excited is when one of our clients is happy, even proud, to share their Koh Young story with the media. At APEX, EMS company Intervala did just that! Their President and CEO, Teresa Huber and Director of Operation, Joe Benz did just that, talking to SMT Today and SCOOP about their recent investments in Koh Young experience, one which has elevated their production performance and delivered a new level of customer satisfaction and confidence in their services.

It is gratifying to play such a large role in APEX, not just on the show floor, but well beyond. Our activity in the CFX and Hermes demo lines are just part of our engagement with the committees and working groups within IPC. And our increasingly visible role as industry thought leaders in the media correlates directly with our role as technology leaders in our sector and active ecosystem partners in our industry.

You can see these and numerous other videos, including the recent testimonial from Bitron which debuted at APEX, on the Koh Young YouTube Channel. Thanks so much to all our team who took part and our wonderful media partners for helping create and deliver some amazing content.

 

About Koh Young Technology Inc.

Koh Young Technology Inc., the leading 3D measurement-based inspection equipment and solutions provider, performs an essential role for quality control and process optimization across a growing set of industries including printed circuit board assembly, machining and assembly process manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, and various medical fields. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Seoul, Koh Young has sales and support offices in Germany, Japan, Singapore, China, Mexico, and the United States. These local facilities ensure it sustains a close relationship with its growing customer base, while providing them with access to a global network of inspection and measurement experts.