Attendance at the.four-day Productronica started slow today and built as the day went on. Still, the drop in traffic is noticeable. Americans and Asians are in very short supply.

Spoke with more than 25 exhibitors today. Most say September and October sales were improved and some capacity buying is occurring in Asia.

Some interesting developments seen thus far: a new modular placer from Juki, the KE-3020RL, now in beta and due out next summer or fall; DEK’s Sentinel post-solder inspection unit, which fits on any of its post 2005 printers and features 8 2MP cameras; and Asymtek’s Simultaneous Dual Jetting setup, which is aimed at high volume PCBs. (Asymtek had, as usual, several new machines, and also is pushing hard on its new corporate identity, in which parent company Nordson’s name is prominent. More on them later.)

Ran into old friend Keith Favre, the ex-Speedline and Electrovert sales wizard who was last seen running PhotoStencil. He has launched a rep business under the name FHP LLC and is handling Foulongwin and Mirae, among others. Also, his neighbor in Texas, Bob Stevens, the ex-Speedline Asia president, is alive and well.

Also seen: A women pushing a baby stroller — complete with sleeping baby — down the show floor. That’s a first.