The pcb industry still survives, and thrives, in Europe, albeit smaller than it was 10 years ago. I cannot answer for the CEMs as many have closed shop and moved steadily eastwards. I think that Europeans are focussed on maintaining their niche business, so may be less prepared to transfer knowledge, or are simply too busy to be able to contribute (I write this at 6.20pm after starting work at 7.45am). IPC, as we were recently reminded when we wanted some input on UL charges, is a standards organisation, and we thank them for this, but the Europeans have their own standards in some areas (such as lead free soldering), so we have other fish to fry. (comments may not reflect those of my employer or the industry at large) regards Dougal -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Inge Sent: 14 May 2009 17:56 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] NTC, no jokes serious q Hi all, I'm little thoughtful about the "internationalism" of our forum. With the years passing, I miss all participants from Spain, Switzerland, Germany, France, Portugal, India, Brazil, Norway, Mexico and more countries. IPC is nowadays more or less just american.What became of all the others? Are they still there but are silent? Do we suffer from narrowness and complacency? Just a thought. Inge --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- Stevenage Circuits Limited. Registered office: Caxton Way, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2DF. Registered in England under company number 1059497. The views of the author may not necessarily represent those of Stevenage Circuits Ltd. This message may contain information and/or data that is confidential and legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that any use, publication, reproduction or dissemination is strictly prohibited. In such an event, please contact the sender by return e-mail and destroy this and all copies of this message and/or data. Please be aware that the integrity of this email cannot be guaranteed, as it is not a safe and secure medium for communication. --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------