Showtime, Day One

It was the first day of SEMICON West and InterSolar NA 09 and we've got a report all the halls. As normal practice for some, 9am is the time when people start trickling in to setup, clean up, prepare, and get the last minute things done. And of course, there are some that come in at 9am and just start setting up their whole booth. I did notice a decent amount of people on the show floor at 9am gettings things ready in the South hall which was a positive sign.

As I walked the South hall, I did notice less equipment from exhibitors and more virtual displays and graphics. A huge size change for Disco was evident; once a 30' x 40' double deck structure to a 20' x 20' booth. Semitool who once brought two large machines, did not bring any and did not have a custom booth; they rented a modular system. The space that was once occupied by ASML, is now a TechXPot area and seating. Verigy has a decent sized booth that looks pretty good and is a rental booth; great space and design.

In the North hall, traffic was light, aisles were not that crowded, and the same scene; not much equipment on the show floor. Honeywell who once had a 20' x 30' double deck structure is not there either. A few other companies to note that are not in attendance are Oerlikon, K&S, and Rudolph Technologies. It's also good to see that ASML is still supporting the show by doing promotions and advertising in various locations throughout the halls.

West hall and the InterSolar NA show is huge! 3 times the growth from last year, more and larger exhibits, tons of foot traffic and buzz. The hall is packed on all levels and it looks like quality attendees. It even seems like there is more interest and traffic in the West hall than in North and South combined.

I also attended booth assigning with my client this morning and got to see the antcipated floor plans for next year. I was also told that last year, booth assigning was 80% full during the show and over the course of the year, 40% canceled their reservations for one reason or another. That is a staggering number of cancelations and lost revenue. Some exhibitors have even said that they will not come back next year as it is too expensive to be there and others just have not decided yet. The industry is changing again and no longer is it cyclical. It seems the downturn has lasted for years now and everyone is looking for the end of it. More tomorrow from showsite.

I did hear a funny comment from an exhibitor today, "next year, all the semiconductor guys will be over in the West hall at InterSolar since that seems to be the future." Follow us on Twitter as well to see other comments as heard on the show floor.