With many major fabs now located in the Far East and China, it is the start-ups, spinouts and academic organisations of the knowledge-based economies of Europe which are forming the core customer base for the European semiconductor sector. According to Mike Smyth, Chairman of Semiconductor 2K, “For the European semiconductor industry, competitive advantage will come from the adoption of innovation-based approaches to business and new product development. Information and Communication Technologies are now the key drivers of today’s most advanced economies. Markets and industries are evolving rapidly and Semiconductor 2005 will show that companies must respond to such competitive challenges by increasing the flexibility and agility of their innovation processes or else they risk falling by the wayside.”
Now in its sixth year, Semiconductor 2005 is organised by Semiconductor 2K on behalf of JEMI UK (the association of manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, materials and services for the Semiconductor manufacturing industry in the UK and Ireland) to address the technological and commercial challenges facing the industry.
Scottish Enterprise is the main sponsor of the event. Other sponsors include the National Microelectronics Institute who will sponsor a Decision Makers Lunch, IDC, MKS, The Epichem Group, Marks & Clerk, Tenon Group, Kratos Analytical and European Semiconductor.