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The mood at SMTA International was different this year, but in a good way. The conference and expo have long been a bastion of consistency for the EMS industry, delivering a predictably solid event with a “boots on the ground” perspective and a program tailored to the professional individual as much as to the corporate participant.
The attendee sentiment on the show floor felt noticeably different this year, and spoke volumes about the frame of mind in the industry. Show leaders said the conference drew approximately 1500 attendees and 114 exhibitors for a three-session expo and a weeklong slate of papers and presentations.
The tone amongst vendors and customers was one of cooperatively balancing demand against capacity. People were serious—enthusiastically so—about doing business. When vendors are working to healthy backlogs, and customers are intent on line improvements, adding capability, or finding a new vendor, the conversations take on a serious, matter-of-fact tone. Exhibitor feedback indicated that while lead numbers were down slightly compared to 2025, those conversations were more serious; tire-kicking was less prevalent.
At the technical conference, SMTA reported “90+ presentations across six technical tracks.” In addition, the conference also hosted 10 professional development courses. Attendance was likewise strong at the conference, according to SMTA. With professional development programs on topics such as solder joint voids, intermetallics, developing solder profiles, improving manufacturing efficiencies, and PCB Interposers, SMTA is bringing strong basic best practices and cutting-edge advanced packaging knowledge to the industry.
In 2025, SMTA launched a new educational outreach program, the Bright Manufacturing Challenge. This year’s challenge began in July, when college teams were tasked with building a line-following robot by designing, fabricating, assembling, and programming PCBs. The challenge culminated in an on-the-show-floor competition amongst the teams. We'll be publishing an interview with Bright Engineering director, Tara Dunn, so watch for that.
Networking, of course, is an important part of attending an industry event. SMTA International organizers continued to co-locate the show floor with The Assembly Show, providing a seamless crossover between EMS-specific vendors and the wider box-build sector. Both shows cooperate to host a Tuesday night attendee social on the floor, as well as an after-show party on Wednesday. They encourage wider mingling and networking for exhibitors than is possible when working a booth.
All in all, another successful industry event hosted by SMTA.
Be sure to check out more coverage from the show on our Real Time with... SMTAI International 2026 event page.
