Rick Nelson

Not Semicon West
July 26, 2005

Two companies not exhibiting at Semicon West were nevertheless on hand in San Francisco to highlight their new products: ALIS to describe its helium ion technology for atomic-level microscopy (scroll down to the next item), and Credence Systems to introduce its Sapphire D-10.

ALIS's absence from the exhibit halls was not surprising, as the start-up is focused on developing its first product, which now exists in beta format. More unusual was the decision of Credence, which has traditionally maintained a high profile at trade shows (as had NPTest before the Credence acquisition). This year, Credence confined its profile to the W Hotel, across a street from the Moscone Center, which housed the Semicon West exhibits.

Conversely, Agilent Technologies, absent from the San Jose Semicon West venue last year (it offered product demonstrations in its nearby Santa Clara facility), was exhibiting in San Francisco this year to highlight its Versatest Series Model V5500.

The comings and goings of vendors at trade shows bring in to question the role of such shows in today's market, with many companies saying that their marketing dollars are better spent elsewhere. Of course, it was the presence of the Semicon West event that made San Francisco during the week of July 11 a particularly attractive location for exhibitors and nonexhibitors alike to be on hand.

Posted by Rick Nelson on July 26, 2005 | Comments (0)