The flexible and printed electronics industry is enjoying growth worldwide, and there are impressive gains being made in Canada. From May 24-26, printed electronics leaders will be gathering at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada for CPES2017, Canada’s premier conference and trade show for printable, flexible and wearable electronics (PE).

Organized by the Canadian Printable Electronics Industry Association (CPEIA), CPES2017 will feature more than 30 presenters, and anticipates more than 200 attendees this year. Peter Kallai, CPEIA’s president and CEO, said that all presentations this year will be from industry showcasing commercial solutions and manufacturing, with less focus on R&D.

“On Day 1, we explore high-volume applications for smart packaging and retail, intelligent homes and buildings, and wearables and smart textiles,” Kallai noted. “Day 2 looks at 3D printable electronics, inks, substrates and manufacturing components. In addition, the exhibition side of the event continues to grow – we have 27 tabletop exhibitors and academic posters this year, names like AFELIM (France’s PE industry association), NovaCentrix, Henkel, Myant, OMSignal and IEEE Canada.”

Day 3 will offer a new feature, concentrating on financing.

“Our consultations with the CPEIA’s industrial members last fall showed that the domestic industry sector remains fragmented,” Kallai reported. “There are a legion of startups and SMEs that need help securing sources of capital, partners for pilot programs, and resources for manufacturing scale up. So, on Day 3 we are featuring a financing panel with BDC, MaRS and others, and mentoring and pitch sessions for SMEs and startups. We will also be naming our first Startup of the Year.”

Kallai said that he is seeing growth in terms of pre-registration and exhibitors for CPES2017, with global companies showing greater interest.

“We are certainly seeing greater interest and participation from across the supply chain,” he observed. “More industrial companies, including multinationals, are taking part than ever before. The academic and research side remains a big part of CPES, but we are constantly working to evolve the event into a common meeting ground for organizations of all stripes that have an interest or a stake in this industry sector. It’s not just about Canada, but connecting Canada with the world. So you will find more international and global players here this year than last year.”

Ultimately, printable electronics is a growing multibillion-dollar global industry, and Kallai sees opportunities for Canada to play a leading role in this growing field.

“We’ve already seen in recent years the hundreds of millions of dollars invested into institutes for PE-related R&D and commercialization in the US and Europe – government, industrial and academic partnerships we need to see more of here in Canada,” Kallai said.

“We are watching all these developments with an eye to understanding what Canada must do to make the most of its innovation and seize its share of this market opportunity,” he added. “Our role at the CPEIA is to create that rising tide that will float all ships. CPES is a big part of this, but it’s not the only one. We continue to engage with our members, as well as government, to understand what we must do, and how we can do it, to further develop the Canadian ecosystem, get more products to market, and extend this supply chain around the world.

“We have a lot of great work being done by our members,” Kallai concluded. “This is the CPEIA’s third go at this conference and the word is getting out. Our homegrown startups and established mid-sized companies are engaging more with each other and the multinationals who are key suppliers, end-users of PE products and applications, and potential commercialization partners. We continue to build awareness, attract broader interest and, most importantly, get people talking to each other. This usually results in new business alliances and new customers.”


To register or for more information on CPES2017, please check the web at https://cpes2017.ca/