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October 2008 - Chairman's Report
SMART Group SA Seminar Tour - A to Z
of Soldering
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The success of this seminar tour is due to many factors,
including, but not limited to, the thirst that the South African Electronic
Manufacturing Industry has for knowledge, as we all strive to meet the
technological challenge ahead. It is encouraging to know that the industry is
willing and ready to commit resources, time and money to attending these
seminars.
My thanks go to every company, individual and organization that
participated in this series, as well as all the previous seminars since the
inception of SMART Group SA.
We must also acknowledge and thank the many
local, as well as overseas sponsors and speakers that traveled from Europe and
the USA, without you we would not have been able to achieve the success that we
have.
With this seminar tour complete it is interesting to see so many
new faces at each venue, currently 38% of delegates are with us for the first
time, this is good for the industry as the information of technology is growing
a broader base, as well as knowing that we are presenting interesting topics,
that the majority of you come back for more.
This seminar tour was
particularly interesting as we had six different presenters, it should have been
seven, but that's another story. This presented us with a tight timetable, which
I can only say went extremely well, again thanks to all the presenters,
including Igmar Grewar, our first South African. This was a long standing
request from many, and we have plans for more in the coming year, as we have a
wealth of local capability that is yet to be tapped.
The response from
delegates was again outstanding, with more than 92% of the presenters' content
being rated as Good or V. Good. The biggest turnout of people in the room goes
to Durban, with 41 present, well done to all those present. The venue for Cape
Town was moved closer to the Mother City after many requests; the feedback forms
indicated this was appreciated. Midrand continues as an appropriate location
between Pretoria and Johannesburg.
As we close the book on the first
period of the South African SMART Group we recognize the amount of ground that
has been covered, but realise how far we still have to travel on this never
ending road of technology.
The plan for next year is already coming
together, with seminar tour dates during April and October being a focus. There
is always the possibility of running smaller mini-seminars regionally, I would
be grateful to receive any comments, help, support or advice on
this.
Again, thank you to all those that have supported the common goal
of growing the capability of our local electronic manufacturing industry through
technology.
Steve Eglinton
Chairman |
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