Registration is now open for this year’s leading industrial manufacturing event, IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2018. Manufacturing professionals across the globe will gather at Chicago’s McCormick Place, Sept. 10-15, 2018, seeking technologies and innovations that will give their organisation a competitive edge. IMTS 2016 was the third largest in number of registrations (115,612) and in net square feet of exhibit space (1,370,256). This show hosted the highest number of exhibiting companies ever (2,407) and IMTS is on track to exceed these figures. Anticipating a stronger show in 2018, IMTS has worked with McCormick Place to expand exhibit space.
IMTS is the largest manufacturing event in North America, featuring the latest technologies and innovative solutions. For visitor ease, the event is organised into 10 Pavilions featuring: Additive Manufacturing, Abrasive Machining/Sawing/Finishing, Controls & CAD-CAM, EDM, Fabricating/Laser, Gear Generation, Machine Components/Cleaning/Environmental, Metal Cutting, Quality Assurance and Tooling & Work Holding Systems.
“With the U.S. manufacturing sector expanding at its fastest pace since 2004 and capital equipment investment likely to follow, we anticipate that IMTS 2018 will be one of the busiest shows ever,” says Peter R. Eelman, vice president – Exhibitions & Business Development at AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology, which produces IMTS.
Eelman notes that the December 2017 Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 59.7%, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the November reading of 58.2%, which is well above the PMI of 50 that indicates economic expansion. Further, U.S. cutting tool consumption continued to grow year-to-date in November 2017, showing gains of 8.2% compared to the same point in 2016 according to data compiled by the latest Cutting Tool Market Report, a collaboration between AMT and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute.
“In a growing economic environment, more manufacturers attend IMTS,” says Eelman. “To stay competitive, they know they need to research new technology, find productivity-enhancing solutions, evaluate vendors and connect with industry leaders. IMTS is the trade show of choice for this.”
Ten years ago, IMTS formed a partnership with Hannover Messe USA to bring even more technology and manufacturing solutions to IMTS. This year, Hannover Messe USA and its four co-located shows (Integrated Automated, Motion & Drives USA, Surface Technology USA, ComVac USA and Industrial Supply USA) will cover more space than ever before. For the first time Hannover Messe USA will feature a digital factory display.
The AMT’s Emerging Technology Center (ETC) has become the “must visit” place to educate, inform and excite the manufacturing community about ground-breaking innovations specific to the industry. It is renowned around the globe for showcasing state of the art and disruptive technologies that will impact manufacturing in the years to come.
Due to the rapid growth of the additive manufacturing sector, a second ETC, dedicated to this, has been included in the highly popular Additive Manufacturing Pavilion. In addition, Modern Machine Shop’s (MMS) Top Shops and Today’s Technology Center (TTC), will come together to create an emerging and top technology centre.
International visitors may attend the show free of charge. Click here for online registration.
