Page 26 - january_123021.indd
P. 26
TAP TIMES -26- JANUARY 2022
The return of SEMICON West: slow going at Moscone Center
W ithout question, time, as a result of a stressed, shaky glob-
SEMICON West was
al economy.
once the place to
inspect semiconduc-
COVID-19 steps-in
tor gear that you
might need for
tations has arrived, SEMICON West, with
your fab, assembly, packaging or test Now, as a lethal virus with its several mu-
“Hybrid” added to the name, had to learn
areas. to produce a work-around for a physi-
cal event in 2020. “Virtual” events, many
While this grand event has held the indus- people found, doesn’t work that well.
try’s attention for several days a week ev-
ery year for decades, things change. The This year’s event had one big thing go-
development of the Internet was one early ing for it: delightful, spring-like weather.
driver of that change. rainy, blustery weather is
common for San Francisco in
December. That wasn’t the-
case on opening day.
While Moscone wasn’t exact-
ly a ghost town, it was close.
Unlike past San Francisco
shows, there were few po-
lice or meter maids sternly
directing what little vehicu-
lar traffic there was in front
of North and South Halls on
Howard Street.
North Hall for registration
North Hall was limited to vis-
This was South Hall at Moscone Center on opening day, December 7. In the past, this itor registration, unlike prior
building was used for most front-end equipment exhibitors. This year, it was used for
all exhibits, and registration was held across the street. Nearby West Hall was used years when it held assembly,
by the Design Automation Conference. (TAP TIMES) packaging and some test ex-
hibits. This year all exhibits
SEMICON West — a tradition were in South Hall.
While SEMICON West has become a tradi-
tion over its 50 year history, it has also
suffered from the inevitable starts and If you happened to meander down the
long North Hall stairway, expecting to
stops of the global economy and the for-
tunes of the semiconductor industry. enter a vast room filled with crowded ex-
hibits, you were met instead with closed
For example the recession of 2007-2009 doors, and directed to walk under the
was a gut-punch to the show, and the street to South Hall where the exhibits re-
ally were. next page
number of exhibitors fell dramatically for a
