IMTS resurgent in return to McCormick Place
With handshakes, hugs, high-fives, and hearty backslaps as people greeted each other after four years apart, the connectedness of the manufacturing community was the literal showstopper at IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show.
Held from Sept. 12-17 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, IMTS 2022 achieved a total registration of 86,307, including 11,715 students, and featured 1,212,806 million square feet of exhibit space representing 1,816 exhibitors and 1,603 booths. The North American visitor-to-exhibitor ratio increased by more than 10% compared to 2018’s record-breaking show, reaffirming the need to meet in person.
Renewal of friendships, collaborations, partnerships, networking opportunities – and more easy-to-deploy robots than you can imagine – created a new level of excitement at IMTS 2022 for 86,307 registrants.
“While the excitement and electricity were clearly evident in every aisle of the show, what was most gratifying for the industry and the country was the scope of commerce taking place as visitors sought out, and found, key technologies and productivity solutions to move their businesses forward,” says Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, which owns and produces IMTS.
“At IMTS 2022, the manufacturing community achieved something that hasn’t been done since World War II: it brought our industry back together after a worldwide disruption. We proved our resiliency, but we achieved much more,” adds Peter R. Eelman, chief experience officer at AMT. “The digital technologies and other new products at this show aren’t just advanced: they are accessible, inclusive, and ready to be implemented by small and medium-sized businesses regardless of their workforce composition.”
The show also attracted 7,647 people to its educational and networking events. The IMTS Women Make Manufacturing Move specialty program attracted more than 1,213 people, representing 400 companies and 52 countries, to its three events.