The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago September 10 – 15, 2012. As sponsored by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) of McLean, Virginia, IMTS takes place every two years and is one of the largest trade shows of its kind in the world.
This year’s event is set to feature over 1,800 exhibitors from the metalworking sector and around 90,000 visitors. Exhibits are organized in pavilions geared towards specific industries, technologies and solutions. There are pavilions for metal cutting, tooling and workholding systems, metal forming and fabricating/laser processes, etc.
IMTS 2012 will also feature a job center, wher job seekers can network with potential employers, post resumes and investigate work opportunities.
“The show theme for 2012 is ‘Be There’ and is a call to action for the industrial decision makers from all over the world who will attend IMTS to get ideas and find answers to their manufacturing problems and challenges, but most importantly, to stay ahead of their competition,” states John Krisko, Director – Exhibitions for AMT.
Tool manufacturers say much the same.
“IMTS has grown into North America’s most important manufacturing technology trade event, rivaled only by EMO in Europe and JIMTOF in Asia. There is a true advantage when manufacturers and engineers can see, touch, and compare potential solutions in machine tools, tooling, software, peripherals and the many other aspects that production operations require,” states Christina Sutter, corporate communication manager for Kennametal in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
“IMTS is significant because it is the single largest show for manufacturing in North America. IMTS is not just a show, it is an event that provides a great environment for manufacturers such as us to connect with our customer base on a large scale,” says Mark Hemmerling, director of marketing at Walter, USA, the Waukesha, Wisconsin-based branch of a German parent firm.
“IMTS is the single biggest event and most important marketing initiative that our company executes you may think the Internet allows people to do [product] research, but most people still appreciate face-to-face interaction and the ‘touch and feel’ that a tradeshow provides,” adds Tim Stapula, marketing manager at Big Kaiser Precision Tooling in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
