ATLANTA — UP Media Group (UPMG) announced today that Mike Buetow, UPMG Editorial Director and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY/PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB Editor in Chief, will present the keynote “The Changing Electronics Market – and Customer” at the 17th annual Atlanta Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) Expo.

An industry veteran who has covered electronics manufacturing since 1991, Buetow will look at a little-discussed but potentially game-changing trend taking place among OEMS and EMS companies. The keynote will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the lower level exhibit hall at the Gwinnett Civic Center, and close at 10:00, followed by a Q & A session. 

“EMS companies don't sit still. They jump in and out of end-markets; buy and sell companies; move to new regions; and are forever adding services,” Buetow says. “But in the quest for margins, some EMS firms are effectively becoming OEMs. Meanwhile, having outsourced everything from assembly to design to component purchasing, OEMs are finding themselves with little remaining ability to innovate. With their backs against the wall, will OEMs bring assembly back in-house? And is Apple's manufacturing model the roadmap for saving the traditional OEM?”

The Atlanta SMTA Expo is a free event open from 9:30 – 3:30 and features leading suppliers to the electronics industry, technical presentations, and lunch on the exhibit floor. In addition, Georgia FIRST Robotics will provide live demonstrations throughout the day on the exhibit floor.

For more information, please visit http://www.smta.org/expos/#atlanta.