Automatica 2010, the show goes on with more pep than before

This years edition of Automatica was astounding success. It may tell us a positive story we all badly need and longing to read in the Embedded Industry as well as in others. In comparing to the year 2008, this years edition was bigger and better. Visitors jumped to some 32000, not quite on the par with 2008 admitting organizers, but we expected only 30000 this year (?). However foreign visitors came in droves (34% as opposing to 26% 2 years before), Exhibitors were 708 as opposing to 868 2 years ago.
The organizers tried to prove badly that the crisis is over and we are back to business.
Not quite so sees the writer. It is plain to all who attended the press conference: Exhibitors are still reluctant to invest marketing activities, expecting (justly) fewer visitors from home markets. And they were right, fewer visitors from Germany made the foreign component larger in entire visitors account.

The so called "positive Bilanz" is still going to be waiting until 2012 the next edition of this still interesting event. That is not what organizers wanted to say.
Munich exhibitor area is an excellent facility, well connected, hotels, restaurants, etc, for several venues, however, the trend is to move out to Nuremberg (SMS/Drives) and those which stay tend to morph into a regional rather than national shows. Productronica and Electronica comes to mind, or even close like the Systems have done. I remember that sometimes at Systems there we all 12 pavilions, full of exhibitors, where now 5-6 are taken at the most. It may be some trend here but if so the crisis started way before the 2008 when Lehman Brothers bank collapsed in September.