According to Dale Reed, Vice President of Sales for Emerson Connectivity Solutions, and President of the IICIT, “The connectivity industry is an obvious extension of the wire and cable industry, and a close collaboration between IICIT and IWCS addresses the reality of the marketplace, where customers seek end-to-end solutions in both optical and copper technologies”. John Sicotte, Senior Vice President of Corning Cable Systems, and Chairman of the Board of the IWCS, added “The IWCS maintains a close focus on industry developments.

This collaboration with IICIT is a strengthening of the mission of the IWCS event and we are looking forward to addressing an expanded audience with key technical information.” For nearly 60 years, the IWCS has organized a technical symposium in which the latest developments in wire and cable technology, materials and systems/applications have been presented. In later years, the forum has expanded to include an Executive Forum program for industry general management, and a Suppliers’ Exhibition where industry suppliers present their latest products and services. In the 2008 event, taking place in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, November 9 to 12, more than 100 technical papers, an exhibition with nearly 150 exhibition stands, and eight Professional Development Courses will be part of the program.

IICIT has organized a similar event for the connector and interconnect industry for approximately 40 years. While not as large as the IWCS event, the IICIT has similar program elements and provides a natural addition to the IWCS program. In 2008, IICIT is sponsoring a specialized track for technical papers at the IWCS event related to the IICIT industry focus.

Through this new commitment to a consolidated forum, IICIT will be issuing a Call for Papers for the 2009 combined event with an eye toward a re-branded and expanded conference. More information about the 2008 IWCS Conference and the IICIT support of the conference may be found on the respective web pages, www.iwcs.org and www.iicit.org .