There are more than 200 laser, laser system, and related product suppliers exhibiting at the World of Photonics trade fair in Munich that I would like to visit next week. Reality is that this is impossible to do in four days, which would be a pace of 50 per day, and I already have booked about a third of the available show hours for meetings, press conferences, and key technical sessions at the concurrent Congress. That means I would have to visit one supplier every 6 minutes. Since I tend to manage about 4 to 5 per hour, the best I can hope for is to spend some time with about half of these industrial laser products exhibitors.
Exhibitors at the Munich show tend to be very hospitable, many with copious gustatory offerings, so even that schedule is impossible to keep. And it never fails that an unscheduled exhibit will catch my eye, causing me to stop-in for more information. Thus, I am issuing an apology to those to whom I give a perfunctory look-see and assure you that I have noted your presence.
If the above sounds like a "poor me" excuse, it isn’t. This show, every two years, is a must-see because it gives international visitors a look at current and new, mostly European, industrial laser technology in the form of commercially available products focused on manufacturing applications. That’s why Messe Munich, the organizers, label the two halls getting my interest as "Production." Thus, I'm sorry to say I will likely miss some industrially oriented exhibitors in Halls A and B.
I may be blogging from the show and surely will do so after the show. That way, followers will get a sense of the many items that got my attention.