What’s IMTS?
IMTS, the International Manufacturing and Technology Show, is organized by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and is held every second year (on even numbered years), in Chicago at McCormick Place – one of the world’s largest convention centres. The show is typically held in mid-September with this year’s dates being the 10th-15th. There will be over 1800 exhibitors and over 80,000 visitors.
Who should attend?
IMTS is basically a who’s who of manufacturing industry players. Whether you’re the owner of a small machine shop, or the CEO of an international company you can take something useful from the event.
Information on the newest and most cutting edge technology in the manufacturing industry is all under one roof. Attending is an effective way to learn a lot in a short amount of time and decide which new products will make sense for your business.
According to statistics on the IMTS website, 95 percent are satisfied with exhibit visits, 82 percent are successful in finding specific products or solving manufacturing problems and 62 percent make new business contacts.
Getting around:
– McCormick Place is located at: 2301 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois.
– Trams will be running to and from McCormick Place Monday to Friday, 10:00AM to 6:00PM.
– There are shuttle buses as well that run to and from many of the hotels in the city. More info on buses can be found by calling 1-877-214-6065.
– Driving yourself is an option. Parking will be available at three main lots in the area. The rates vary between $14 and $32 depending on the lot. Most have no in-and-out privileges.
Helpful tips and information:
– Get organized! There are a lot of booths spread out over 1.2 million square feet of space, so look online to see which exhibits make the most sense for you to visit and plan accordingly.
– Bring an appetite. There are over 45 restaurants at IMTS (some permanent buildings, others portable). Everything from health food to hot dogs and pizza will be on order.
– There is a coat ($3) and bag ($4) check available but laptops will not be accepted. cm
